Creative releases final Windows Vista drivers

There has been a lot of turmoil around Creative and Vista support for the company's soundcards. There have been Beta drivers available for some time and the firm has released the final 32-bit and 64-bit Vista drivers yesterday. The drivers can be downloaded from the company website here.

The latest version of SpeedFan, one of the best pieces of software for temperature monitoring and fan control, has been released taking it to version 4.32. It's only a minor update, adding improved motherboard support and other small fixes. One of the biggest improvements is full 64-bit support, including Vista, and full Core 2 Duo support. Here is the complete list of changes:

• added a digitally signed 64 bit driver (fully tested under Vista 64 bit)
• added full support for INTEL CORE DUO internal temperature readings
• added full support for Andigilog aSC7621
• added full support for Fintek F71882F
• added xAP support to publish temperatures and fan speeds
• improved support for Fintek F71782F
• improved support for IT8716F
• renamed temperatures readings for MAX6640
• improved compatibility with Intel D975XBX2
• reduced AD7416 and AD7417 false detections
• reduced MAX6650/6651 false detections
• improved Intel SMBus routines

You can download it here.

Apple has recently been doing quite well for themselves recently. In the browser department, Safari is gaining users while Firefox is losing them. However, every rose has it's thorns. Safari has been often criticized with having a memory leak problem. A system can lose up to 76% of system performance just by having Safari open in the background. There have even been articles published detailing how you should shut down Safari when running anything else. Fortunately, Apple began working on a fix to this problem as soon as they heard about it. Anyone who runs Safari should grab the update.

Anyone who connects to the PS3 network this morning will promptly discover that they need to update their PS3 firmware. Too bad it doesn't really do too much to games. The main changes are...

• An added ability to resize the video chat window.
• The ability to attach a USB camera to the PS3, for video chat

We will probably see a substantial PS3 firmware upgrade come March 23rd, when we will see the console released in PAL territories.

Mozilla has officially released an update for Firefox 2.0 taking it up to version 2.0.0.2. Although this is only a minor update, it fixes a couple of security issues (yes, IE isn't the only imperfect browser) and you can update Firefox quite easily by clicking on "Help" and then choosing "Check for Updates". Here are the changes:

• Security Update: The following list of security issues have been fixed.
• Windows Vista Support: Many enhancements and fixes for Windows Vista are included along with the following caveats.
• New Languages: Beta releases for several new languages are now available for testing.
• Permissions Bug Fixed: In the German (de) locale on Windows and Linux, resolved a problem with certain files tagged as read-only.

NVIDIA has released its first WHQL certified drivers for Windows Vista, both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. The release number is 100.65, and these drivers work with all GeForce series 6, 7 and 8 cards, offering DirectX 10 support to those with 8800 cards. DirectX 10 with SLI is still unsupported, but it's good to get beyond the beta stage of drivers. You can download them here.

NVIDIA has released the following new GeForce 8800 Series drivers for use with Windows Vista 32/64bit version. For a full list of fixed issues, please view the release notes - 100.64.

Download: ForceWare 100.64 Vista 32bit (29.4 MB), ForceWare 100.64 Vista 64bit (41.9 MB)

The latest version of CPUID's processor and motherboard information utility has been released. Version 1.39 of CPU-Z generally improves support and offers small enhancements, here are the changes:

• Windows Vista 64 support
• VIA CX700/VX700 chipset
• Added Merom XE (X7900/X7800)
• Added "PCI" and "MaxPCIBus" in the ini file to configure PCI scanning
• Added "-core" parameter to display the clock speed of the specified core

You can download it from here.

I can gladly say DNA-Drivers is back alive. This is supported by the release of DNA's ATi 5.0.7.1 Driver. This can be found here. I have information directly from the creator (KillerSneak) that NVIDIA drivers will be released in a matter of a few weeks. He also stated Vista drivers may take a bit longer due to the fact of Microsofts new "security" measures that requires all drivers to be signed. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out for Vista and modded drivers.

NVIDIA has released its chipset drivers for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista. The drivers are for all nForce 4, 5 and 6 based motherboards, with WHQL certification. There aren't any chipset drivers for nForce 1, 2 or 3 boards, and with only alpha versions of the audio and networking driver for the nForce 3 it seems unlikely that NVIDIA will be releasing any Vista drivers for these chipsets.

You can download the drivers here.

Sony has updated their PS3 firmware edition to 1.51, and requires the update the moment a user logs into the PlayStation Network. However, it doesn't really address any major issues (I'm not saying there are any), and it doesn't add functionality. When asked what 1.51 does compared to 1.5, Sony gave us a fine-worded answer.

Support for PLAYSTATION 3 format software titles has been expanded.

This probably has something to do with backwards compatibility, or allows future games to work.

Download: DirectX SDK [432 MB]
Download: DirectX SDK: Symbol Files [34.4 MB]
Download: DirectX Redist Runtimes [44.2 MB]
Download: DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer [45 KB - 31.7 MB]

People who bought the PS3 got a very nice surprise yesterday, the PSP firmware has been updated. There are no really major changes from version 3.0, but some things to take note of if you do upgrade.

• Streamlined PlayStation Store downloads.
• New Location Free player, which supports MPEG4-AVC.
• The Network part of the Cross Media Bar now features a PlayStation Spot option.
• New "low memory usage" option for the internet browser.
• Dynamic Equalizer to balance audio.

Sony should also be patching a few security issues in this version of PSP firmware, and Spring PSP games should require it.

NVIDIA today released new version of the ForceWare Vista 32/64bit drivers. This time the new BETA ForceWare version 100.59 should enable SLI support for DirectX9/OpenGL with GeForce 8800 GPUs. DX10 NVIDIA SLI support will be available in a future driver. Click here to read the full v100.59 Release Notes.

Download: ForceWare 100.59 Vista 32bit (33.4 MB), ForceWare 100.59 Vista 64bit (45.9 MB)

Finally, all GeForce 8800 users can download the latest Windows Vista 32bit/64bit BETA ForceWare drivers directly from NVIDIA. The bad news:
- DirectX 10 NVIDIA SLI support for GeForce 8800 GPUs will be available in a future driver
- DirectX 9 and OpenGL NVIDIA SLI support for GeForce 8800 GPUs will be available on January 31, 2007 in a new driver from NVIDIA

Download: ForceWare 100.54 Vista 32bit (29.4 MB), ForceWare 100.54 Vista 64bit (41.8 MB)

AMD has released its first Catalyst driver for Vista to feature WHQL certification. The driver works with both 32bit and 64bit versions of the new operating system and is based on the same driver as the 7.1 Catalyst for Windows XP, so it is currently using the same number system. CrossFire multi-GPU support has been enabled but Alternate Frame Rendering is still unavailable, and only the 32bit version can play HD-DVDs and Blu-ray disks. The driver introduces native OpenGL support for Vista and features a redesigned Catalyst Control Center. You can download these drivers here.

Nintendo has updated its firmware for the new Wii console to enable the news channel, a day ahead of schedule. The channel uses feeds from the Associated Press, with categories for National News, Regional News, International News, Sports, Arts/Entertainment, Business, Science/Health and Technology. You can't use your own RSS feeds yet, but this adds to the forecast channel to give Wii users quick and direct access to news and weather. Admittedly the free internet channel can also be used for this, but it gives users a simpler way to see news stories on their console.

One of Sony's most promoted features in the PS3 is it's backwards compatibility. Unfortunately, when the PS3 was first released, it hardly could boast this. Classic PS2 and PS1 games would be presented as garbled lines of text instead of something playable. In a firmware release that brings the console to version 1.5, Sony has fixed almost all compatibility issues, with exception to a very small amount of isolated cases. Any older game you run on the PS3 will be presented with a higher clarity than on the PS1 or PS2.

Havok announces today the official release of Havok 4.5, the latest update to its modular suite of artist tools and run-time technology. Fully optimized for Sony PLAYSTATION3, as well as Microsoft Xbox360 and Nintendo Wii, Havok 4.5 dramatically accelerates the development of cross-platform, cutting edge electronic games, meeting the needs of the world's top developers and producers. Havok 4.5 allows game developers to scale game content to thousands of dynamically-driven game objects and characters, harnessing the full power and speed of next generation architectures.

While most of us do not own or run Vista, Microsoft is already working on the first Service Pack for the new OS. It includes upgrades like the "Powershell" which is to replace the good old Windows "Shell". The Service Pack will be released in the second half of 2007. Anyone worried about Vista and stability, may take this as a good reason to wait before upgrading to the new OS.

NGOHQ has released the latest version of their NVIDIA optimized driver, based on NVIDIA ForceWare 97.92. This driver includes NVIDIA's old Control Panel and also has support for all GeForce/Quadro cards - including mobile series (Go) as well. This driver has a special compatibility mode option that provides better stability, and workaround for some known bugs.

Download: NGO NVIDIA Optimized Driver v1.9792

The first details about EA's next expansion to the Battlefield series are beginning to leak, with the booster pack expected to be named Battlefield 2142 - Northern Strike. The most notable changes are three new European maps, two new vehicles, ten new rewards, ten new unlocks, the new Epic Titan mode for two maps and improved use of pods. The new content is generally intended to focus on infantry battles instead of using vehicles for extreme force, with the new maps tweaked to create choke-points. There isn't any word on pricing yet, although rumours that the in-game advertising could lead to free add-on packs haven't been mentioned by EA.

Finally, LaptopVideo2Go.com has leaked one of the most anticipated NVIDIA ForceWare drivers for GeForce 8800 Series working with Windows Vista 32/64bit. According to other users the driver performs really well, but be carefull because it is not WHQL certified. Use at your own risk. Click here to download the NVIDIA ForceWare X 100.30 Vista driver for 8800 Series of video cards.

After more than a year without any update, here is Memtest86+ V1.70. In my personal opinion this is great memory overclock test for stability written by Chris Brady. This new version comes with complete support for many new chipsets and many new CPUs, including Intel Core/Core2 and AMD K8 with DDR2 memory. Memtest86+ V1.70 now includes a new DMI polling feature in order to show all the memory-related DMI informations. Click here to read the change log.

Download: Memtest86+ ver1.70

NVIDIA has released an updated set of ForceWare drivers, version 97.92, for anyone using an 8800 based card on Windows XP. The official download is available here, there aren't too many fixes.