NVIDIA’s recent launch of its 196.75 drivers was marred by reports of the drivers causing GPU fans to die, potentially leading to some of the cards burning out.

The company did pull the drivers and is set to release another set that not only avoids the fan issue but provides some gaming improvements along the way.  The 197.13 are only beta drivers, though, WHQL versions should be cropping up shortly.

Improvements includ:

• Up to 13% performance increase in Crysis: Warhead with a single GPU
• Up to 30% performance increase in Crysis: Warhead with SLI technology
• Up to 13% performance increase in H.A.W.X with single GPU
• Up to 15% performance increase in H.A.W.X with SLI technology
• Up to 30% performance increase in Left 4 Dead with single GPU
• Up to 28% performance increase in Left 4 Dead with SLI technology

It also includes new SLI/multi-GPU profiles for Assassin Creed II, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Command and Conquer 4: Tiberium Twilight, Grand Theft Auto IV: Episodes from Liberty City, Mass Effect 2, Napoleon: Total War, and Zombie Driver.

The drivers can be downloaded directly from NVIDIA: http://www.nvidia.com/Download/Find.aspx?lang=en-us

If you do test them out, leave a comment on your experience, including any problems or positive improvements you encounter.