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Nvidia has announced the release of its first drivers produced specifically for GeForce card owners running the beta of Windows 7. This is just the beginning of regular driver updates for the forthcoming operating system, according to the graphics firm, which is excited about the fact that Windows 7 will be the first Windows OS to fully integrate and take advantage of the GPU for both graphics and parallel computing.

The new GeForce drivers version 181.71, which come in 32-bit and 64-bit flavors, support the new Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 1.1 which is a tweaked graphics driver architecture standard for Windows 7 that debuted with Vista and promises improved performance in both 2D and 3D applications, including the 3D Windows Aero desktop.

The early support for Nvidia graphics drivers in Windows 7 also comes in contrast to how the company handled compatibility with Vista. Although the operating system had been in development for several years, Nvidia was unable to provide final versions of Vista-suitable drivers in time for the operating system’s launch. They are clearly aiming to avoid such issues again.