DirectX 11 tools are also designed to help Windows 7 recognize multicore systems to improve performance of graphics and other applications. A feature called "Compute Shader" harnesses the parallel processing capabilities of GPUs (graphics processing units) to improve gaming on PCs. These improvements could make games more realistic through faster frame rates.

The tools also help break up multiple tasks effectively over existing CPU and GPU cores. For example, DirectX 11 will enable video conversion on the fly simply by dragging and dropping video from PCs to portable devices. It will also accelerate tasks such as image manipulation or DVD playback by off-loading them over CPUs and GPU cores.