Member Avatar for Alv45525

Hello,

I want to buy a new graphic card GTX 1060 6gb which is directx 12 and my motherboard supports up to directx 11.

I would like to know if i can used the directx 12 GPU on my directx 11 motherboard

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Trasser

Dani AI

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Short answer: yes — a GeForce GTX 1060 (DirectX 12 capable) will work in a board whose spec sheet lists "up to DirectX 11." Many motherboard listings refer to the integrated/chipset graphics feature set (what the onboard graphics support), not a hard limit on a discrete PCIe card. The DirectX functionality actually exposed at runtime is controlled by the GPU, its drivers and the OS/runtime, not the board's marketing line. (asus.com)

Quick pre-purchase checklist (common edge cases to avoid):

  • OS: Windows 10 (November 2015 update or later) / Windows 11 for full DirectX 12 runtime; older Windows releases will not expose DX12 features.
  • Drivers: install the latest NVIDIA GeForce driver after fitting the card.
  • Power & connectors: GTX 1060 cards draw about 120 W and typically require one 6‑pin auxiliary power plug; NVIDIA lists a ~400 W recommended system PSU.
  • Bus/fit: the card needs a PCIe x16 slot; PCIe is backwards/forwards compatible so a newer card will normally work in an older slot (it will run at the slowest supported generation). (support.microsoft.com)

How to confirm after installation:

  • Run dxdiag (Win+R → dxdiag) and check the Display tab — the "Feature Levels" entry will show the highest Direct3D feature levels the GPU/drivers expose (12_1, 12_0, etc.).
  • Verify the NVIDIA driver is installed (Device Manager / GeForce Experience) and use Windows Update for any platform updates. If something doesn’t appear right, update the BIOS (on very old boards), confirm the 6‑pin cable seating, and reinstall the latest drivers. (learn.microsoft.com)

Note: was on the right track about drivers/OS being the determining factor, and ’s request for the exact motherboard model is useful for diagnosing rare edge cases (legacy BIOS, tiny OEM PSU, or integrated-only small‑form systems).

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Member Avatar for rproffitt

That's not how it works. The OS and the GPU sets the maximum version of DirectX. To prove this I wrote about some old iron from 2009 which was a HP D4999T running W10 Pro. It runs the current latest DirectX yet the old spec sheet for the machine from memory writes about DX9.

With the new 1050 Ti and next the GTX 1060, the DX version on this machine is now DirectX 12.

Member Avatar for Alv45525

Hello,

, so i take it as a positive reply then.. i can go ahead on getting a directx 12 GPU?

Member Avatar for rproffitt

It's more a maybe. Since you didn't supply which OS I can't give you a fully positive signal.

Just in case you could glean some other tidbits read where I upgrade an old beast step by step, testing each configuation along with benchmarks, Speccy and power usage reports.

Edited by rproffitt
Member Avatar for Trasser

Write a motherboard model to get the exact answer.

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