Many commercial games and visualization tools released between 2010 and 2015 shipped with the SlimDX runtime for .NET 4.0, including:
The performance of the SlimDX runtime on .NET 4.0 was remarkably close to native C++ DirectX, typically within 5–10% overhead for draw call submission. This was achieved through:
This installer-based approach led to what developers affectionately called "SlimDX dependency hell." A .NET 4.0 application using SlimDX could not simply be XCOPY-deployed; it required administrative privileges to run the MSI. Consequently, many developers began using tools like (limited success due to mixed-mode assemblies) or custom bootstrappers that silently installed the SlimDX runtime as a prerequisite.
: It exposes a wide range of DirectX features—including Direct3D, DirectInput, XAudio2, and DirectSound—through a consistent, type-safe .NET API.