Montage Technology, a leading data processing and interconnect IC company, today announced that it has taken the lead in the trial production of 1st-generation DDR5 Clock Driver (CKD) chips for next-generation client memory. This new product aims to enhance the speed and stability of memory data access to match the ever-increasing CPU operating speed and performance.

Previously, clock driver functionality was integrated into the Registering Clock Driver (RCD) chips used on server RDIMM or LRDIMM modules, not deployed to the PCs. In the DDR5 era, as data rates climb 6400 MT/s and above, the clock driver has emerged as an indispensable component for client memory.

Intel over the weekend released the latest version of the Arc GPU Graphics Drivers. Version 101.5382 WHQL builds incrementally on the 101.5379 Beta from a week prior. It doesn't include any game-specific optimization, but is WHQL-signed, and fixes a couple of issues along the way. To begin with, an issue that caused "Horizon Forbidden West" to show higher than expected game load times has been fixed. Also fixed is an application hang during loading of the 3DMark Speedway benchmark. "Starfield" experiencing a game crash with High or Ultra graphics settings has been fixed. Grab the drivers from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.5382 WHQL

The Professional Gamers League (PGL) showcased its newly upgraded tournament rig specification prior to the kick-off of their (still ongoing) CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 esports event. As reported, over a week ago, competitors have been treated to modern systems decked out with AMD's popular gaming-oriented Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 graphics cards, while BenQ's ZOWIE XL2566K 24.5" 360 Hz gaming monitor delivers a superfast visual feed. A hefty chunk of change has been spent on new hardware, but expensive cutting-edge tech can falter. Virtus.pro team member—Jame—experienced a major software crash during a match against rival group, G2.

PCGamesN noted that this frustrating incident ended the affected team's chance to grab a substantial cash reward. Their report put a spotlight on this unfortunate moment: "in the second round of a best of three, Virtus Pro were a few rounds away from qualifying for the playoffs, only for their aspirations to be squashed through no fault of their own...Jame experiences a graphics card driver crash that irrecoverably steers the round in G2's favor, culminating in Virtus Pro losing the match 11-13. Virtus Pro would then go on to lose the subsequent tie-break match as the round was not replayed. In effect, the graphics card driver crash partly cost the team their chance at winning an eventual $1.25 million prize pool." PGL revealed, via a social media post, that officials are doing some detective work: "we wish to clarify the situation involving Jame during the second map, Inferno, in the series against G2. A technical malfunction occurred due to an NVIDIA driver crash, resulting in a game crash. We are continuing our investigation into the matter." The new tournament rigs were "meticulously optimized" and tested in the weeks leading up to CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024—it is believed that the driver crash was a random anomaly. PGL and NVIDIA are currently working on a way to "identify and fix the issue."

Konstantin Seurer, a Mesa developer, has spent the past couple of months working on CPU-based Vulkan ray tracing—naturally, some folks will express scepticism about this project's practicality. Seurer has already set expectations with a brief message: "don't ask about performance." His GitLab merge request page attracted Michael Larabel's attention—the Phoronix founder and principal author was suitably impressed with Seurer's coding wizardry. He: "managed to implement support for VK_KHR_acceleration_structure, VK_KHR_deferred_host_operations, and VK_KHR_ray_query for Lavapipe. This Lavapipe Vulkan ray tracing support is based in part on porting code from the emulated ray tracing worked on for RADV with older Radeon GPUs." A lone screenshot provided evidence of Quake II running at 1 FPS with Vulkan ray tracing enabled—this "atrocious" performance was achieved thanks to a Mesa Lavapipe driver "implementing the Vulkan API for CPU-based execution."

VideoCardz has highlighted an older example of CPU-based rendering techniques: "this is not the first time we heard about ray tracing on the CPU in Quake. In 2008, Intel demonstrated Enemy Territory: Quake Wars running at 720p resolution at 14 to 29 FPS on 16 core and 20-35 FPS at 24 core CPUs (quad-socket). The basic implementation of ray tracing in 2008 is not comparable to complex ray tracing techniques designed for GPUs, thus the performance on modern system is actually much lower. Beyond that, that game was specifically designed for the Intel architecture and used a specific API to achieve that. Sadly, the original ET demo is no longer available, it would be interesting to see how it performs today." CPU-based Vulkan ray tracing is expected to hit public distribution channels with the rollout of Mesa 24.1. Several members of the Phoronix community reckon that modern AMD Threadripper PRO processors have the potential to post double-digit in-game frame rates.

AMD Linux engineers have been working on "GFX1150" and "GFX1151" targets for a while—official references to "Strix 1/Strix Point" and "Strix Point Halo" have appeared several times on official development channels. Phoronix's head honcho—Michael Larabel—monitors these activities with keen interest, his latest finding indicates that Team Red is preparing open-source RadeonSI/RADV driver support for the GFX1151 IP. Their MESA 24.1 update merges in GPU enablement for possible high-end "Strix Point Halo" laptop processors—tech tipsters believe that these chiplet variants could sport up to sixteen Zen 5 CPU cores and forty RDNA 3.5 GPU cores.

AMD's enablement of the "GFX1150/Strix Point" GPU appeared online late last month—these monolithic laptop chips are alleged to sit below "Strix Point Halo" in Team Red's product hierarchy. Insiders suggest that the best configurations could house twelve Zen 5 CPU cores and sixteen RDNA 3.5 GPU cores. Phoronix posited that the "RDNA 3 refresh" graphics solution: "is just rumored for select APUs, while ultimately we'll see where this GFX 11.5.1 IP is found if for some further upgraded APU or something more special. In any event the open-source Linux driver support is coming together." According to official product roadmaps, the initial batch of "Strix Point" mobile chips are expected ship later this year—representing a proper next-gen upgrade over current "Hawk Point" offerings.

NVIDIA has released a new GeForce Hotfix Driver Version 551.46 that should fix stuttering issues in some scenarios. According to the release notes, the new hotfix driver fixes micro-stuttering in some games when vertical sync is enabled, as well as stuttering when scrolling in web browser. It also fixes stuttering issues on Advanced Optimus Notebooks when running Red Dead Redemption 2 under Vulkan API, and stability issues in Immortals of Aveum under extended gameplay.

The new GeForce Hotfix Driver Version 551.46 is based on the latest GeForce WHQL driver, version 551.23. You can download the new GeForce Hotfix Driver Version 551.46 over at NVIDIA's support page.

AMD's Ryzen 7040 "Phoenix" mobile APUs debuted last year with Ryzen AI capabilities (via onboard Xilinx IP), thanks to the fitting of an on-board NPU—Team Red's first generation XDNA AI Engine received immediate support on Windows platforms. Naturally, Linux users expressed frustration about being left out in the cold—later on in the year, AMD put some feelers out (as reported by Phoronix), and gauged interest in a potential Linux deployment of Ryzen AI. Fast forward to January 2024, we see movement with an initial release on open platforms—according to Michael Larabel's latest article: "More than 1,000 requests for Linux support were logged following that October statement and since then I've been hearing quietly of AMD working on Linux support... Well, there's now an open-source but currently out-of-tree driver available. "

AMD's GitHub has been updated with the "first public code drop of the XDNA Linux driver." According to System Requirements, the entry point "to run AI applications (test machine) on an Ryzen AI processor" is Phoenix silicon, as expected. Ryzen 8040 "Hawk Point" is presumably on the support list, since it shares the same basic underpinnings—albeit with greater NPU performance. One of AMD's GitHub authors has teased that "Strix" will also be supported in the future—second generation XDNA NPUs are expected to drop later this year. Targets for GFX1150 and GFX1151 were uncovered earlier this week—"Strix Point" and "Strix Point Halo" (respectively) are codenames for next generation Team Red APUs.

RTX Video HDR—first announced at CES—is now available for download through the January Studio Driver. It uses AI to transform standard dynamic range video playing in internet browsers into stunning high dynamic range (HDR) on HDR10 displays. PC game modders now have a powerful new set of tools to use with the release of the NVIDIA RTX Remix open beta. It features full ray tracing, NVIDIA DLSS, NVIDIA Reflex, modern physically based rendering assets and generative AI texture tools so modders can remaster games more efficiently than ever. Pick up the new GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER available from custom board partners in stock-clocked and factory-overclocked configurations to enhance creating, gaming and AI tasks.

Part of the RTX 40 SUPER Series announced at CES, it's equipped with more CUDA cores than the RTX 4070, a frame buffer increased to 16 GB, and a 256-bit bus—perfect for video editing and rendering large 3D scenes. It runs up to 1.6x faster than the RTX 3070 Ti and 2.5x faster with DLSS 3 in the most graphics-intensive games. And this week's featured In the NVIDIA Studio technical artist Vishal Ranga shares his vivid 3D scene Disowned—powered by NVIDIA RTX and Unreal Engine with DLSS.

Intel Graphics today released the Arc GPU Graphics drivers 101.5122 WHQL. These are the first drivers to support the Intel Arc Xe-LPG integrated graphics of the recently announced Core Ultra "Meteor Lake" mobile processors. The drivers also introduce a handy 30% performance uplift for "Battlefield 1" at 1080p with Ultra settings. Intel also introduced a handful new features with Arc Control, which include neural style webcam filters over background effects; HDR capture and HDR to SDR streaming HDR displays, and customized hotkeys. With this release, Intel fixed a bug that caused a display corruption during "Fortnite" gameplay with certain AA settings.

DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.5122 WHQL

NVIDIA has released its latest GeForce 546.33 WHQL Game Ready Drivers, bringing Game Ready support and optimizations for The Finals, and Squad, games as well as specific DLSS optimizations for Fortnite Chapter 5. The new drivers also add GeForce Experience support for six new games. In addition addition to these game-specific optimizations, the latest drivers also fix the issue seen with Discord where colors may appear muted when streaming gameplay, and the general bug where a new NVIDIA icon is created in the system tray each time a user switch happens in Windows.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 546.29 WHQL

NVIDIA has released the latest version of its GeForce graphics drivers, the GeForce 546.17 WHQL. The new drivers are once again Game Ready drivers for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III but also add optimizations for DLSS 3 in Starfield game.

The new GeForce 546.17 WHQL drivers also fixes several game bugs including stability and performance degradation issues in Alan Wake 2, bring an improved functionality and performance for NVIDIA Reflex in Counter Strike 2, fixes stuttering issues on some Advanced Optimus notebooks in Starfield and Cyberpunk 2077, and fixes stability issues in Control. The new drivers also fix several general bugs which can be seen in the release notes.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 546.17 WHQL

Intel Graphics has released the latest version of Arc GPU Graphics Drivers, version 101.4953 WHQL. This one comes with a several fixes for Starfield, Alan Wake 2, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and World War Z games. Intel fixed flickering color corruption in the sky during night scenes in Starfield, corruption issues on water and reflective surfaces in Alan Wake 2, lower performance in the Xbox Game Pass version of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and lower performance in the Epic Games Store version of World War Z.

Intel did not fix all of the issues as Starfield is still having trouble with Dynamic Resolution Scaling, which can be fixed by using the Render Resolution Scale slider. Intel also lists known issues with Ghostrunner 2, Total War: Pharaoh, and Dead by Daylight games, as well as errors with some models for video enhancement in Topaz Video AI.

DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.4953 WHQL

Montage Technology, a leading data processing and interconnect IC company, today announced it has taken the lead in trial production of the 3rd-generation DDR5 Registering Clock Driver (RCD03) designed for use in DDR5 RDIMMs. With its blazingly fast 6400 MT/s data rate, the RCD03 sets a new bar for DDR5 memory performance in upcoming server platforms. It unlocks dramatic capacity, bandwidth, and latency improvements to meet the growing demands of data center, cloud, and AI applications.

The RCD03 marks a major advancement in Montage's continued role as an innovator driving rapid DDR5 developments. This chip achieves a 14.3% speed increase over the 2nd-gen DDR5 RCD and a 33.3% increase over the 1st--gen, making it one of the fastest DDR5 memory interface solutions available today.

Intel has released the latest version of Arc GPU Graphics Drivers, version 101.4900 Beta, which brings Game On Driver support on Intel Arc A-series Graphics for Alan Wake 2, Cities: Skylines 2, WRC, and Ghostrunner 2 games. New drivers do not fix any issues or bugs, so it will still have some issues in games like Starfield.

In terms of performance, and compared to the 101.4887 drivers, these will bring up to a 20 percent average performance uplift at 1080p and high settings and up to a 22 percent average performance increase at 1440p and medium settings in the upcoming Alan Wake 2 game which launches on October 27th. It also increases the average FPS by up to 34 percent at 1080p with high settings and up to 26 percent at 1440p with medium settings in Cities Skylines 2 (DX11), which launches today, October 24th.

DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.4900 Beta

NVIDIA today announced an update to RTX Video Super Resolution (VSR) that delivers greater overall graphical fidelity with preserved details, upscaling for native videos and support for GeForce RTX 20 Series desktop and laptop GPUs. For AI assists from RTX VSR and more - from enhanced creativity and productivity to blisteringly fast gaming - check out the RTX for AI page.

The Super RTX VSR Update 1.5
RTX VSR's AI model has been retrained to more accurately identify the difference between subtle details and compression artifacts to better preserve image details during the upscaling process. Finer details are more visible, and the overall image looks sharper and crisper than before. RTX VSR version 1.5 will also de-artifact videos played at their native resolution - prior, only upscaled video could be enhanced. Providing a leap in graphical fidelity for laptop owners with 1080p screens, the updated RTX VSR makes 1080p resolution, which is popular for content and displays, look smoother at its native resolution, even with heavy artifacts. And with expanded RTX VSR support, owners of GeForce RTX 20 Series GPUs can benefit from the same AI-enhanced video as those using RTX 30 and 40 Series GPUs. RTX VSR 1.5 is available as part of the latest Game Ready Driver, available for download today. Content creators downloading NVIDIA Studio Drivers - designed to enhance features, reduce repetitiveness and dramatically accelerate creative workflows - can install the driver with RTX VSR releasing in early November.

AMD has released the AMD Software Adrenalin Edition Preview Driver which add support for AMD Fluid Motion Frames (AFMF) technical preview which is available in several games and only works on AMD Radeon RX 7000 series graphics cards. AMD Fluid Motion Frames (AFMF) will be available as a part of FidelityFX Super Resolution 3.0 (FSR3), which is expected to launch tomorrow and supported in Forspoken and Immortals of Aveum games.

With the new AMD Software Adrenalin Edition Preview Driver, AMD enables Frame Generation on a driver level as "Fluid Motion Frame" option, which can be enabled via HYPR-X, or individually for each game by using the Global Graphics Settings page. AMD has an extensive list of over 20 titles, including Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Starfield, Hogwarts Legacy, The Last of Us Part 1, Far Cry 6, Shadow Of The Tomb Raider, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and others. AMD also notes that AFMF can also be manually for any title such as Cyberpunk 2077 using the per-app settings within AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition Preview Driver for AMD Fluid Motion Frames

Moore Threads latest driver update, 230.40.0.1, is a noteworthy advancement, bringing many improvements and new features, most significantly introducing OpenGL 3.3 support. This inclusion is crucial, as this API was previously incompatible with MTT S70 and S80 GPUs, highlighting MTT's commitment to broadening user experience across various platforms and games. Moreover, the update offers substantial performance enhancements, with notable increases in frame rates in popular games. Valorant supposedly gets a 40% FPS improvement at 1080p, while Project CARS brings a 10% increase. Game engines such as CryEngine v5.7 also receive a 40% performance uplift. However, the release of only percentage improvements without specific framerate values calls for measured optimism, as the tangible impact on playability is yet to be assessed.

Equally important in this update is the emphasis on stability, with many popular titles seeing enhancements for a smoother and more reliable gaming experience. This focus underscores MTT's dedication to maintaining a robust and stable gaming environment on the Windows 10 operating system. Integrating 20 fixes and ongoing resolutions to existing issues mark this update as crucial for users aiming for a refined and seamless experience in graphics-intensive applications and games. The amalgamation of enhanced compatibility, heightened performance, and bolstered stability in this update is pivotal for users looking to maximize graphic and gaming capabilities.

Thanks to the latest report from Phoronix, we know that Intel is working on supporting the latest "Xe2" graphics architecture for their upcoming Lunar Lake processors. Today, the latest enablement comes in the Mesa Linux drivers. By employing a new technique that allows for importing prior-generation XML files within the Intel Mesa driver code, Intel engineers have managed to streamline the overall file size. This is significant not just for the efficiency it brings but also because it signifies the beginning of work on enabling Xe2 graphics support. It suggests a thoughtful approach to building upon existing architectures, making it easier to adapt and evolve the software support for each new generation of Intel graphics.

Even though we are at the early stage and Lunar Lake is far away, the progress on Xe2 doesn't stop at Mesa driver changes. There is already some work at the kernel level, and new merge requests for draft compiler changes and shader compiler patches have also been spotted. This proactive development strategy positions Intel well in offering robust open-source graphics support for Linux, and it sends a strong signal to the developer community about Intel's dedication to the platform. After the Linux kernel driver works, this Mesa driver will enable better OpenGL/Vulkan API compatibility, so Lunar Lake arrives with proper software support.

Intel just released the latest version of Arc GPU Graphics Drivers. Version 101.4824 WHQL adds Game On optimization for "The Crew Motorfest" and "Mortal Kombat 1." Among the issues fixed with this release include flickering or display corruption noticed in Fortnite (DirectX 12), and erratic fan behavior on some Arc Graphics products. For Intel Core processor iGPUs, the drivers address a "Tactics Ogre Reborn" display flickering issue during the dialog sequences.

DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.4824 WHQL

Intel Graphics today released the latest version of Arc GPU Graphics Drivers. Version 101.4669 beta comes with Game On (day zero) optimization for "Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon." With the new drivers in place, the Arc A750 can provide average frame-rates of up to 92 FPS at 1080p with Ultra settings; and up to 82 FPS at 1440p with High settings. Among the issues fixed with this release include an application crash for "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" in DirectX 11 mode, in the game menu. Also, it turns out that Arc A380 reporting a base frequency of 2150 MHz compared to 2000 MHz reference with the previous 101.4644 drivers, was a bug. Intel fixed it with this release.

DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.4669 Beta

Many of you are most likely familiar with iFixit's various toolkits, even if you don't happen to own one, as they've become quite famous all around the world as affordable, yet good quality tools. Now Corsair has decided to jump into the toolkit marketspace with its PC DIY Precision Toolkit, which is very similar to iFixit's Mako Driver Kit. Both kits come with a flexible extension rod, but where Corsair bests iFixit is when it comes to the actual driver handle, as it has a much better grip and the top cap appears to be made of aluminium rather than plastic. The box is also very similar, as both kits are kept closed with magnets and both have a magnetic insert in the lid which will hold your screws in place while you disassemble whatever it is you're trying to fix or upgrade.

The two toolkits also differ in terms of the kind of bits you get, with Corsair providing some extremely fine tool sizes, especially for Philips and pentalobe compared to iFixit, although iFixit has smaller Torx sizes in their kit. Corsair also offers more socket bits than iFixit, but loses some other bits like the SIM ejection bit and a magnetic pick-up bit. Overall Corsair provides 65 bits vs 64 for iFixit, so it really comes down to which bits make the most sense for you. Corsair also charges US$5 less for their kit compared to iFixit, with an MSRP of US$34.99.

RubyRapids and westlake tipped off VideoCardz to the presence of interesting information sitting within the latest AMD Adrenalin update notes—its integrated driver compatibility list has been expanded with the addition of a mobile-oriented iGPU Radeon 700M family (780M, 760M and 740M). It seems that Team Red's Phoenix series will be included in the main branch, and not be limited to OEM distribution for software improvements. A public driver release schedule for the Radeon 700M series will provide gamers with access to official updates through normal channels, with the benefit of—hopefully—no major delays.

VideoCardz reckons that an integration into the main branch means: "that whether the GPU being updated relies on RDNA3 in a discrete GPU or as an integrated solution, it will be fully supported through one package. The latest 23.7.2 driver now supports Radeon 7000 desktop and mobile, AMD Ryzen 7045 Dragon Range, Ryzen 7040U and Ryzen 7040HS series." The ASUS ROG Ally's Ryzen Z1 series seems to be the exception, since AMD has not included these APUs in the latest list of supported devices. Folks who have pored over the document have discovered up to "517 devices listed on the hardware support list, including PCI Device IDs and sub-IDs." Many Phoenix APU models are seemingly destined for fitting in a wide variety of laptops and (very likely handheld) gaming consoles. A mysterious model—Ryzen 7 7840S—was also spotted. This looks to be a Lenovo-specific 8-core Ryzen processor based on Phoenix silicon—ITHome believes that it utilizes a customized FP8 package.

Intel's Alchemist engineering team has been working on improving its open-source Vulkan drivers for Linux—recent coverage from Phoronix shows that Team Blue's hard work is paying off, especially in the area of gaming performance. The site's founder, Michael Larabel, approves of the latest Mesa work produced by Intel engineers, and has commended them on their efforts to better the Arc Graphics family. His mid-month testings—on a Linux 6.4-based system running an Intel Arc A770 GPU—demonstrated a "~10% speed-up for the Intel Arc Graphics on Linux." He has benchmarked this system again over the past weekend, following the release of a new set of optimizations for Mesa 23.3-devel: "The latest performance boost for Intel graphics on Linux is by supporting the I915_FORMAT_MOD_4_TILED_DG2_RC_CCS modifier. Indeed it's panning out nicely for furthering the Intel Arc Graphics Vulkan performance."

He apologized for the limited selection of games, due to: "the Intel Linux graphics driver still not having sparse support in place, but at least that will hopefully be here in the coming months when the Intel Xe kernel driver is upstreamed. Another recent promising development for the Intel open-source graphics driver support is fake sparse support to at least help some games and that code will hopefully be merged soon." First up was Counter-Strike: Global Offensive—thanks to the optimized Vulkan drivers it: "enjoyed another nice boost to the performance as a result of this latest code. For CS Linux gamers, it's great seeing the 21% boost just over the past month."

Audeze, the leading premium headphone manufacturer, today announced the release of a limited edition gaming headset developed in partnership with Microsoft, for their Designed for Xbox Summer product collection. This stylish, limited edition "Ultraviolet" version of their highly lauded Maxwell gaming headset features a new finish that adds a head-turning and unique look to one of the best gaming headsets on the market. The Ultraviolet edition of the Maxwell headphone is available on the Audeze website for pre-order in limited quantities.

The partnership between Audeze and Microsoft which began in 2021 with the Microsoft certification of Audeze's Penrose gaming headset, and continued recently with Microsoft's certification of our new Maxwell gaming headset. This partnership has expanded access to Audeze's industry-leading planar magnetic headsets to Microsoft's vast audience of console users. Epic life-like audio quality as delivered by Audeze's legendary planar magnetic drivers are a powerful tool for gamers, and now with the Ultraviolet limited edition of Maxwell, they can use their sonic advantage in style.

When it comes to APIs, OpenGL is something of a classic. According to the Khronos Group, OpenGL is the most widely adopted 2D and 3D graphics API. Since its launch in 1992 it has been used extensively by software developers for PCs and workstations to create high-performance, visually compelling graphics applications for markets such as CAD, content creation, entertainment, game development and virtual reality.

To date, Imagination GPUs have natively supported OpenGL up until Release 3.3 as well as OpenGL ES (the version of OpenGL for embedded systems), Vulkan (a cross-platform graphics API) and OpenCL (an API for parallel programming). However, thanks to the increasing performance of our top-end GPUs, especially with the likes of the DXT-72-2304, they present a competitive offering to the data centre and desktop (DCD) market. Indeed, we have multiple customers - including the likes of Innosilicon - choosing Imagination GPUs for the flexibility an IP solution, their scalability and their ability to offer up to 6 TFLOPS of compute.