Directx 11 Now Available for Vista Through Platform Update
Microsoft launched its much anticipated Windows 7 operating system last week to great fanfare. One of the features of Windows 7 is DirectX 11, which is a superset of DirectX 10.1 already used in Vista Service Pack 2.
Windows Vista introduced the Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM), which allowed new features such as virtualized video memory and scheduling of concurrent graphics contexts. Windows 7 also uses WDDM, albeit a newer version.
Microsoft had promised that Vista users wouldn't be left in the cold, and would be able to download and use DirectX 11. It included DirectX 11 in a beta version of its "Platform Update" available in September. The final version is now available via Windows Update.