NVidia driver "Direct3d is not compatible" problem. Desperate for help?

[Shocked]

I just assembled a new rig for gaming. I installed everything, I installed the latest nVidia driver. I launch a game on steam.. It crashes to desktop saying "Direct3d is not compatible with this card" or something like that. The thing is, I know it IS compatible.

So I'm thinking maybe there's something i'm missing? I would be grateful for any solutions. I've rolled it back to an older driver, and the older games work. When I try to launch Skyrim however, it doesn't even launch.

This is so frustrating it's unbelievable...
Specs:
Intel i5 2500k 3.3 ghz processor
nVidia GTX 560 Ti 1 GB graphics card
6 GB DDR3 RAM
Asrock z77 Extreme 4 motherboard.
Windows 7 64 bit

Once again, I DO have the latest graphics driver.

Edit: I've found a stable nVidia driver that doesn't give me the original problem, though Skyrim still isn't launching every other game is working.