Windows 10 isn’t ready yet, but when it does roll out this summer most Nvidia GPU-toting gamers will be ready for it. Nvidia recently announced its GeForce DirectX 12 drivers for select models of the GeForce 600 series and up are now certified by Microsoft’s Windows Hardware Qualification Lab. WHQL certification means Nvidia’s drivers have Microsoft’s stamp of approval for use with the new OS. WHQL-certified software can also be distributed through Windows Update.
It’s not uncommon for new graphics drivers to be released in “beta” form during a new game release, but recently Nvidia has been focused on making sure its drivers are WHQL-ready on day one.
“We’ve had a GeForce Game Ready WHQL-certified driver for each and every title [in 2015],” Nvidia said in a blog post on Friday. “Go back a year earlier and the same is true: Every major game launch of 2014 was accompanied by a WHQL-certified Game Ready driver.”
The company’s chief rival, AMD, has not shown the same consistency, often releasing beta drivers for newer games. AMD has yet to announce its drivers for Windows 10 are WHQL-certified, but it would be surprising if the company weren’t ready for the new OS on day one. Especially given that AMD’s CEO seems to know exactly when Microsoft will release Windows 10.
The impact on you at home: Anyone running the Windows 10 Technical Preview on an Nvidia-powered rig can grab the drivers from the company to test them out. Although most of the company’s work is done, Nvidia still isn’t finished completing its DirectX 12 support. The company says its graphics cards using the Maxwell and Kepler architectures support DX12 right now, but many cards using the older Fermi architecture will get DX12 support “later.”