Cooler Master, a leading provider of PC components, gaming peripherals, and tech lifestyle solutions, has today announced its strategic partnership with HubAuto Racing at the celebrated 70th Macau Grand Prix for the FIA GT World Cup. This collaboration melds the thrill of GT3 racing with the immersive world of SIM racing, spotlighting Cooler Master's innovative Dyn X racing simulator system.

Kevin Estre and Thomas Preining, renowned for their achievements in the motorsport world, will commandeer two Porsche 992 GT3R cars under the Cooler Master and HubAuto Racing banner. This venture not only amplifies Cooler Master's footprint in the racing arena but also offers a prime stage to demonstrate the exceptional capabilities of the Dyn X racing simulator system.

In the latest Linux Kernel patches, Intel engineers are submitting initial support for Meteor Lake processor generation, with some interesting potential features. In a patch submitted yesterday, the Intel engineer noted, "On MTL, GT can no longer allocate on LLC - only the CPU can. This, along with the addition of support for ADM/L4 cache, calls a MOCS/PAT table update." What this translates to is that starting from Meteor Lake, the integrated graphics can no longer allocate on the last-level cache (LLC), the highest numbered cache accessed by the cores before fetching from memory. Instead, only the CPU cores can allocate to it. Even more interesting is the mention of the Meteor Lake platform's level 4 (L4) cache. For the first time since Haswell and Broadwell, Intel may be planning to bring back the L4 cache and integrate it into the CPU.

Usually, modern processors use L1, L2, and L3 caches where the L1 version is the fastest and smallest, while the others are larger but slower. The inclusion of L4 caches often is unnecessary, as this type of cache can consume a big area on the processor die while bringing little benefit, translating to the cost of manufacturing drastically soaring. However, with Meteor Lake and its multi-die tile design, we wonder where the L4 cache will end up. We could see integration into the base tile, which holds the compute cores and essential compute elements. This makes the most sense since the logic needs access to fast memory, and L4 could improve the performance in specific applications.

Intel's upcoming Meteor Lake (MTL) processor is set to deliver a wide range of exciting solutions, with the first being the Intel 4 manufacturing node. However, today we have some interesting Linux kernel patches that indicate that Meteor Lake will have a dedicated "Standalone Media" Graphics Technology (GT) block to process video/audio. Moving encoding and decoding off GPU to a dedicated media engine will allow MTL to play back video without the GPU, and the GPU can be used as a parallel processing powerhouse. Features like Intel QuickSync will be built into this unit. What is interesting is that this unit will be made on a separate tile, which will be fused with the rest using tile-based manufacturing found in Ponte Vecchio (which has 47 tiles).

Intel Linux PatchesStarting with [Meteor Lake], media functionality has moved into a new, second GT at the hardware level. This new GT, referred to as "standalone media" in the spec, has its own GuC, power management/forcewake, etc. The general non-engine GT registers for standalone media start at 0x380000, but otherwise use the same MMIO offsets as the primary GT.

Standalone media has a lot of similarity to the remote tiles present on platforms like [Xe HP Software Development Vehicle] and [Ponte Vecchio], and our i915 [kernel graphics driver] implementation can share much of the general "multi GT" infrastructure between the two types of platforms.

EVGA have recently unveiled their SuperNOVA 1000 GT 80 Plus Gold certified power supply, joining the current EVGA SuperNOVA 850 GT, 750 GT, and 650 GT models. The power supply features a 135 mm Fluid Dynamic Bearing fan optimized for reliability that is automatically disabled at low loads for silent operation. The SuperNOVA 1000 GT utilizes a compact design measuring 150 mm by 150 mm with a unique radial design fan grill and 100% Japanese capacitors. The fully modular design makes cable management a breeze and the single +12 V rail provides a stable output for maximum compatibility. The EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 GT is now available to purchase for 189.99 USD and comes with a 10-year warranty.

Acer announced plans to spin-off a portion of its PC peripherals division to a gaming peripherals brand of its own. The company sees opportunity in the swelling, high-margin gaming peripherals market, as online PC gaming is on the rise, and gamers look to eke out competitive edge through better peripherals. The name of the brand is expected to be "GT," short for Gadget Technology.

GT will sell gaming keyboards, mice, mousing surfaces, headsets, gaming chairs, and suitcases to carry your hardware to BYO events. The date set for the spin-off is September 14. GT will be given a paid-in capital of about $1.5 million. There's no word on how this move will affect Acer's Predator line of pre-built gaming desktops and notebooks. In all likelihood we could see GT peripherals re-badged under the Acer Predator logo included with those products, or provided as options.

Colorful Technology Company Limited, professional manufacturer of graphics cards and motherboards, is proud to announce that gamers and eSports enthusiasts can now enjoy full customization and personalization with the latest Colorful iGameGTX1070 X-TOP-8G Advanced Limited graphics card. This card features the latest technologies from both NVIDIA's 10-series GPU as well as Colorful's own technology to enhance performance as well as bring out your personal style in your gaming rig.

Featuring the new Silver Shark cooler designed by Colorful, the iGameGTX1070 X-TOP-8G Advanced Limited delivers 3 key benefits in a single package: aggressive performance, aggressive cooling and aggressive styling. Thanks to the cooling performance of the Silver Shark cooler, this new card delivers faster performance so you can game to peak levels without any hitch while enjoying cool and quiet performance.

Japanese developer and publisher Capcom has publicized that the PC version of their anticipated Resident Evil 7 game will support up to 4K resolutions and HDR. Naturally HDR will remain dependent on being connected to a compatible TV or panel, whereas high resolution support could provide additional levels of image quality through the use of super sampling on screens that do not support such resolutions natively. It is said that HDR will complement the immersive experience, better enabling the game to deliver overwhelming fear and ultimate horror.

As previously revealed by Capcom, Resident Evil 7 will also support cross saves between the PC and Xbox One versions of the game, however this will only be possible if you purchase it for PC on the Windows Store. Resident Evil 7 is also available on Steam and this version will not support cross saving. Resident Evil 7 will be available for PC on the 25 January, 2017.

Futuremark rolled out a major update to its 3DMark benchmark suite. Update v1.1.0 introduces Ice Storm extreme preset for the Windows version of the software (it was exclusive to the Android version), and optimizes the software for four-GPU and three-GPU setups. This could improve the scores for setups with GeForce GTX 690 Quad-SLI or Radeon HD 7990 CrossFireX. Months of work was put into getting this part right, according to the developer. Ice Storm extreme preset adds yet another way to test entry-level graphics solutions, using a DirectX 9.0c feature-level scene.DOWNLOAD: 3DMark v1.1.0

MSI, the world-leading manufacturer of Gaming motherboards, graphics-cards and All-in-Ones PCs storms CeBIT with a new line-up of Gaming products. Hardware enthusiasts and gamers will flock to MSI's new Z77 GAMING motherboards with their new distinctive looks. To complement MSI's new Gaming motherboards MSI will also display a new concept of graphics cards that match the striking looks of the new gaming motherboards. CeBIT 2013 will also be the first opportunity to touch MSI's new AG2712, world's first Gaming All-in-One. 2013 is an exciting year in the computer industry and MSI has reserved a spot in the driver's seat, as can be seen on CeBIT 2013.

Joystiq is reporting that CCP Games, the developer behind EVE Online, has struck a deal with NVIDIA for players to use in-game currency -- PLEX -- to purchase GeForce 560 GTX graphics cards, which run almost $200 at retail. That's fake money for real items, folks. NVIDIA and CCP will start by selling 100 graphics cards (limit one per EVE account) to test the demand. After CCP announced its NVIDIA deal, the in-game price of PLEX jumped "significantly," CCP said. PLEX (Pilot License Extension) is an in-game currency that can be used to pay for 30-day EVE subscriptions. PLEX can be purchased with ISK, EVE's main currency that can be earned throughout the game, meaning some dedicated players end up with a free subscription each month. Now they may end up with a "free" graphics card as well.

Focused on developing its own high tech brand name, MSI Notebook's steady stream of innovations has enabled it to break one world record after another. For example, MSI G Series gaming notebook computers that were tested at the recent IDF Forum organized by Intel in Beijing racked up over 20,000 points on the PC Mark . Soon afterward, the GT780DXR was awarded Innovations Honorees at CES 2012. Now, MSI is introducing the GT60, GT70, GE60, and GE70-the ultimate in next generation gaming notebooks. They feature Intel's next generation top-of-the-line quad core processors and the nVidia new generation discrete graphics card-the fastest one of its kind on the planet. Specially designed to meet the extreme demands of extreme gamers around the world, these killer notebooks also boast awesome peripherals.

Microsoft has revealed the top 20 most popular games played on the Xbox 360 in 2011 based on numbers of unique users logged into Xbox LIVE (Silver and Gold members). Note that this gives a different result to the total playtime for a particular game, which has not been disclosed here. Unsurprisingly, the Call of Duty series dominates the chart, but what is sure to irk CoD detractors, but make fans very happy, is that a massive five of those positions are taken up by CoD - that's 25% of the rankings. Even CoD4: Modern Warfare which was released way back in 2007 sits at a very respectable number 14. However, top games Battlefield 3 and Skyrim did very well nonetheless, sitting at five and six respectively, with only Halo beating them at number 4. Can you guess which CoD game hit the top spot before looking at the chart?

Graphics major NVIDIA has begun sampling the first GPUs of its next-generation Kepler family. Kepler succeeds the present generation Fermi family of GPUs, that make up the GeForce 400 and 500 series. Members of the GeForce Kepler family will follow the codename nomenclature of GK1xx, like GeForce Fermi followed GF1xx. The first GPU being sampled is codenamed GK107. The codename suggests that this isn't the top-end part, it's more like a lower-mainstream or value segment offering.

It is reported that GK107 has a 128-bit GDDR5 memory bus, which also supports inexpensive DDR3 memory. It is built in small quantities on TSMC's 28 nanometer fab process (as the foundry isn't ready for 28 nm bulk manufacturing. NVIDIA will follow a "bottom-to-top" strategy, when dealing with a new fab process technology. It will first design the smallest, simplest GPUs in the lineup, and then gradually move on to larger ones. The first GK107-based SKUs will succeed the GeForce GT 500M series. NVIDIA will carve out four SKUs, internally, NVIDIA will refer to those as N13P-LP, N13P-GS, N13P-GT and N13E-GE, with N13E-GE being the "enthusiast" part. Its market SKU will likely succeed the GeForce GT 560M.

Thermaltake Technology continues to fulfill the corporate mission of "delivering the perfect user experience", and regard "building Thermaltake Technology into a cultural brand for the enjoyment of entertainment, e-Sports, technology and lifestyle" as a vision, in order to bring the joy to all the users worldwide. Since the collaboration with BMW DesignworksUSA for the creation of "Level 10" and got awarded with "red dot design award : product design 2010", the "Level 10 GT", especially built for e-Sports gamers and DIY enthusiasts, deriving from the concepts of Thermaltake and BMW DesignworksUSA, has also got the award of "red dot design award : product design 2011" which is recognized as the Oscar Award of the designing field this year, breaking an impressive record.

This July, with the special and unique aesthetics evolutionism that Thermaltake has, the new exciting professional eSports chassis Level 10 GT Snow Edition captivates with a purist design and expresses a passion for visual aesthetics combined the dark black and pure white to give all users a new visual experience. It is more than just a high-end gaming chassis, but rather a true piece of art, allowing gamers and enthusiasts to experience the power of their high-end computers through the sophisticated design.

Japanese display manufacturer Iiyama announced a new 20-inch 16:9 monitor model, the ProLite E2008HDD(-B). Its panel features a native resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels, response time of 2 ms (GTG), contrast ratio of 1,000:1, 30,000:1 DCR; and maximum brightness of 250 cd/m². The inbuilt ECO mode function brings about power savings of up to 30%. Display inputs include DVI and D-Sub. Backed by a 3-year warranty, the Iiyama ProLite E2008HDD-B is priced at $208 in Japan.

NVIDIA released a beta version of its GeForce driver suite. Version 195.62 beta provides driver support for GeForce 6 series, 7 series, 8 series, 100 and 200 series GPUs, along with support for the NVIDIA ION chipset. This release also bundles PhysX version 9.09.0814 system software. Important changes include:

• Added GPU-acceleration for smoother online HD videos with the new Adobe Flash 10.1 beta.
• Added support for GeForce GT 240.
• Added support for OpenCL 1.0 (Open Computing Language) for all GeForce 8-series and later GPUs.
• Added support for CUDA Toolkit 3.0 features and performance enhancements.
• Added SLI and multi-GPU support for many top new gaming titles including Borderlands, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, FIFA Soccer 10, and more.

Be cautioned, these are beta drivers, the use of which is not covered by product warranties.

DOWNLOAD: GeForce 196.62 BETA

Corsair, a worldwide leader in high-performance computer and flash memory products, today announced the launch of the new Dominator GT line of ultra high-performance DDR3 memory modules for Intel Core i7-based systems.

Sporting a new racing red color scheme and the next-generation of Corsair's patent-pending Dual-path Heat eXchange (DHX) technology, the new Dominator GT comes in 3-up 6GB kit, running at 2000MHz with latencies of 7-8-7.