Toshiba Corporation announced the introduction of the industry's first notebook PC featuring playback of 3D content in the Blu-ray 3D format. The new "dynabook TX/98MBL" will be available from the end of July in the Japanese market.

dynabook TX/98MBL features a 15.6-inch wide LCD display with LED backlighting and a 120Hz scan rate. It employs WinDVD BD for TOSHIBA to play back content in the Blu-ray 3D format and NVIDIA 3D Vision software and hardware to deliver a rich 3D experience.

NVIDIA today released version 197.13 of its GeForce system software. The suite includes drivers for all NVIDIA GeForce GPUs and IGPs since GeForce 6 series, NVIDIA ION platform, as well as system software for NVIDIA PhysX, NVIDIA 3D Vision technology, and drivers for the on-chip HDMI audio which the latest GeForce GPUs are shipping with. The WHQL-signed driver includes PhysX 9.10.0129 system software, updated HDMI audio driver to version 1.0.9.1, application-specific performance increments for several games, notably the following:

• 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

SLI profiles are added for the following applications: 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. SLI support is improved for: Metro 2033, Supreme Commander 2, Unigine, and World of Warcraft
- Ambient Occlusion support for Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, Need for Speed: Shift, Resident Evil 5, RUSE, and Street Fighter IV. Anti Aliasing can now be overridden for Mass Effect 2. As always, a number of new and existing bugs were fixed. For more information, refer to the Release Notes documents for Windows 7/Vista, Windows XP.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 197.13 WHQL

Acer America today debuts a new high-end, high-resolution display that features a 120Hz refresh rate. This display can also perform as a full HD 3D display when combined with NVIDIA 3D Vision active-shutter glasses, making it perfect for showcasing high-definition 3D games, Blu-ray movies and other multimedia.

"As 3D content becomes more widely available in popular games and videos, users desire computing products that can take advantage of these new capabilities," said Irene Chan, senior product marketing manager for peripherals, Acer America. "We are excited to offer Acer's first monitor to support 3D technology, enabling consumers to fully immerse themselves in leading-edge 3D games and movies at an affordable price."

Nearly a year since its first release, the creators of FurMark have released a new version of their Physx based FluidMark, which like Furmark can be used as either a stress test or benchmarking tool. FluidMark is designed to run in hardware mode for all CUDA ready NVIDIA cards, which includes the 8, 9 and 200 series of graphics cards. For all others the program runs in software mode, which can be forced even if your system has one of the above mentioned cards. The creators say in software mode, the tool "is an excellent CPU benchmark." The latest graphics drivers and Physx version 9.09.0428 is recommended to be installed prior to running this. For more information and to download go here

FluidMark 1.1.0 changelog:

• New: simple color point rendering mode (press the R key in stability test).
• New: use the code base than FurMark.
• New: command line parameter (/no_sph) to disable SPH fluid simulation method.
• Change: compiled with NVIDIA PhysX SDK 2.8.1.
• Bugfix: minors bugs fixed

SiS today announced the SiS672/96/307DV chipset supporting the latest Intel Atom 230 CPU which has been adopted by PEGATRON to develop the Ultra Slim Atom NetTop project. SiS672 of low power consumption and fanless is equipped to bring Ultra Slim Atom NetTop into full play.

The PEGATRON Ultra Slim Atom NetTop platform, demonstrating its unique aesthetics and elaborate design with practical features to enhance the implementation of multimedia and video and to provide high quality of visual entertainment. The space-saving design is only 0.5L of the mini tower chassis with SiS672/968/307DV chipset on motherboard. The frequency of Wi-Fi wireless network options can reach up to 2.4~2.5GHZ for remote access. The ultra slim NetTop system is designed to perfectly link with various LCD monitor models so as to catch on the All-in-One LCD PC market.

AMD today announced the availability of the ATI FirePro V7750 graphics accelerator for the high-end market, ideally suited for graphics professionals working in engineering, digital content creation and scientific fields. These professionals need a 3D graphics accelerator that can quickly handle large models and shader-intensive applications, while delivering accurate color reproduction and superior visual quality. The ATI FirePro V7750 delivers features that matter most to these users at $899 MSRP.

"Creating astounding visuals for movies is a tremendous challenge - it has to look absolutely perfect, but time is always of the essence," said Jabbar Raisani, visual effects expert, Troublemaker Studios. "The ATI FirePro V7750 graphics accelerator helps me achieve flawless effects fast by speeding up rendering so I can focus on creating content rather than waiting for it. I need stable and robust performance graphics hardware to get the job done quickly and the ATI FirePro V7750 is the perfect solution."

iZ3D Inc., designer, developer and pioneer of advanced stereoscopic 3D visualization systems, will have its 2D/3D gaming monitors showcased in the Gainward Stand this week at the CeBit tradeshow in Hanover, Germany in Hall 27, Stand E47. iZ3D brand monitors are top of the line 2D monitors the entire family can use for everyday applications. Then, with the push of a button, users can put on a pair of 3D-glasses and enjoy their favorite off the shelf games in stunning 3D.

"We are pleased that Gainward chose iZ3D monitors to demonstrate the versatility and power of their new graphics cards. 3D as an entertainment delivery medium is here to stay. More off the shelf 3D games, 3D TV broadcasts and a multitude of 3D movies will be distributed this year," commented David Chechelashvili, VP Marketing for iZ3D Inc.