DA:I DirectX Error Parallels for Mac

Sorry but, the only solution is a grpahics card that meets the minimum requirements to run the game. It must have at least 512 mb DEDICATED memory or VRAM, MUST support DirectX 10 and, Shaders 2.0 or better to run the game.

I wish there were a software fix for you but, there isn't, you need a better graphics card, and that means finding out if your computer can be upgraded, what graphics cards would work with your system, and, buying one and installing or having it installed.

Laptops generally cannot be upgraded in this way so, you might not be able to play the game on that computer.

Taking a look at the Parallels website, it's a virtual machine environment that runs Windows within OS X.

It looks like Parallels uses its own graphics drivers in the virtual machine, and that shouldn't work when running this game. If you want to use the full power of your computer, use Bootcamp instead of Parallels.

That said, the Intel HD 4000 is a non-gaming graphics chipset that falls far below this game's system requirements. Once, just for fun, I tried running the game on Intel HD Graphics 4600 and had to lower the graphics to the absolute minimum and turn down the resolution to 1280 x 720 to get a playable framerate. It was not a pleasant experience.

What I'm wondering is if the graphics driver itself is what's causing the error. I found a thread from last year where someone with parallels managed to get the game running, so I suspect that the driver itself (which supports DirectX 11) isn't the problem.

Well, it looks like Parallels isn't using your graphics chipset at all, so you may want to look for a way to get Parallels to not use its own emulated graphics.

I've looked into some parallels options and it turns out I didn't have enough memory allocated to the graphics driver.

I have since given the graphics driver 1 GB of memory and I'm still getting the same error message. I definitely meet minimum system requirements now, so I don't know why this error keeps happening.

AFAIK, no one has ever successfully run this game with Parallels, so you would be the first, although I don't believe you will succeed.

The game requires real, actual GDDR4 or GDDR5 VRAM, not slow main memory borrowed to use.  It doesn't require a lot, but it requires the real thing, on a real GPU. 

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@hcvalentio wrote:

I've looked into some parallels options and it turns out I didn't have enough memory allocated to the graphics driver.

I have since given the graphics driver 1 GB of memory and I'm still getting the same error message. I definitely meet minimum system requirements now, so I don't know why this error keeps happening.

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Memory is almost irrelevant. While Parallels may be able to allocate memory to the graphics chipset, it's still using a generic driver that likely doesn't support DirectX. The game needs to recognize a supported GPU. Even if the GPU were properly recognized, it's an Intel HD chipset, which definitely does not meet the system requirements.

My advice is still to use Bootcamp, which runs Windows natively on your hardware. Your hardware will be able to launch the game, but since it doesn't meet the system requirements, performance will be very bad.