New DirectX downloads are available for a range of Windows operating systems, including Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Service Pack 3. The August 2008 DirectX Software Development Kit and DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer went live on the Microsoft Download Center this past week. In addition to the 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Vista RTM, SP1, as well as XP SP2 and SP3, x86 and x64 versions of DirectX End-User Runtime and SDK Available (August 2008) have also been delivered for Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008.

"The Microsoft DirectX End-User Runtime provides updates to 9.0c and previous versions of DirectX - the core Windows technology that drives high-speed multimedia and games on the PC. Microsoft DirectX is a group of technologies designed to make Windows-based computers an ideal platform for running and displaying applications rich in multimedia elements such as full-color graphics, video, 3D animation, and rich audio. DirectX includes security and performance updates, along with many new features across all technologies, which can be accessed by applications using the DirectX APIs," Microsoft revealed in the description of the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer.

The August 2008 release of the DirectX SDK offers a bundle of DirectX Runtime and adjacent DirectX solutions designed to permit developers to take advantage of the graphics technology included in Windows. With every DirectX SDK version, the Redmond company essentially offers an update, helping DirectX resources, from tools to utilities, but also samples, runtime debug files as well as the associated documentation, evolve.

The August 2008 DirectX Software Development Kit brings to the table new samples, the Games for Windows Branding Tool, Echo Effect Added to XAPO Effects Library, Notch Filter Added to XAudio2 and PIX enhancements. "This release introduces the Games for Windows Branding tool. This tool helps developers and publishers test their compliance against the Games for Windows technical requirements and test requirements," Microsoft indicated.

The August 2008 DirectX Software Development Kit SDK is available for download here.
The August 2008 DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer can be grabbed from here.