ZOTAC International, a global innovator and channel manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today expands the successful ZOTAC GeForce 600 series with new value offerings. The ZOTAC GeForce GT 630, GT 620 and GT 610 series deliver a savory taste of Microsoft DirectX 11 technologies for an outstanding visual computing experience.

"ZOTAC is pleased to bring the GeForce 600 series to value shoppers seeking a superior visual experience discrete graphics brings to computing," said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International. "By installing one of our ZOTAC GeForce GT 630, GT 620 or GT 610 series graphics cards, users can experience faster video and image processing and perfect high-definition video playback with a simple upgrade."

Here are the first pictures of GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 670 WindForce OC graphics card. As the name suggests, the card is GIGABYTE custom-design implementation of NVIDIA's upcoming performance-segment SKU, which utilizes its signature WindForce 3X cooling solution, and is overclocked out of the box. GIGABYTE's card appears to make use of a custom-design PCB, which is longer than NVIDIA reference design. According to a GPU-Z screenshot, the card comes with out of the box clock speeds of 980 MHz (core base), 1059 MHz (core boost), and 1502 MHz (~6.00 GHz effective, memory). Its specifications as reported by GPU-Z match early reports, with a CUDA core count of 1344, and 2 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit memory interface.

TechPowerUp today announced GPU-Z 0.6.1, and with it, a new graphics card giveaway in partnership with PowerColor, in which you could win some of the fastest and coolest Radeon HD 7000 series graphics cards in the industry. Version 0.6.1 of GPU-Z adds support for some new GPUs on the horizon, such as NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690, GeForce GTX 670, GeForce GT 640 (desktop), GeForce GT 630, GeForce 605, GeForce GTX 675M (mobile), and GeForce GTX 670M; AMD Radeon HD 7970M (mobile), and Radeon HD 7450 (desktop); Intel HD 4000 and HD 2500 "Ivy Bridge". GPU-Z 0.6.1 improves NVIDIA GPU Boost clock speed detection. A host of other stability and reliability changes were made (refer to the change-log below).

With GPU-Z 0.6.1, TechPowerUp is teaming up with PowerColor to present to you this year's first GPU-Z Giveaway, in which you could win some great graphics hardware. Up for grabs are PowerColor HD 7970 PCS+ Vortex II, PowerColor HD 7870 PCS+ Vortex II, and the yet-unannounced PowerColor HD 7770 PCS+ Vortex II. To participate in the Giveaway, simply run GPU-Z 0.6.1 (main version), click on the "PowerColor Giveaway" tab, and follow the instructions. Entries are open till June 01, 2012; multiple entries may lead to elimination. Good Luck!DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 0.6.1 | TechPowerUp GPU-Z 0.6.1 ASUS ROG Edition

The complete change-log follows.

NVIDIA unveiled GeForce Experience, a new cloud-based technology that assesses PC hardware and tweaks settings of games to deliver the most optimal gaming experience. GeForce Experience goes a step beyond today's System Requirements Labs applets, and assesses hardware at a much more minute scale, sends information back to a data center that houses supercomputers, which methodically build the perfect game settings for each GPU, CPU, motherboard, and drivers configuration.

Speaking at GeForce LAN Shanghai, NVIDIA president and CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said that PC games require a greater knowledge about the capabilities of the system than required by consoles. To get the most out of PC games, gamers need to dig into its settings and tweak them to work best with the hardware available, and that could be a disadvantage compared to consoles.

NVIDIA today announced the GeForce GTX 690, the world's fastest consumer graphics card -- with a bold industrial design to match. Powered by dual Kepler architecture-based GeForce GPUs, the GTX 690 is meticulously designed -- inside and out -- to deliver the most refined, elegant and smooth PC gaming experience possible.

The surprise announcement was made by NVIDIA CEO and co-founder Jen-Hsun Huang during his keynote address at the NVIDIA Game Festival in Shanghai, which is being attended by more than 6,000 gamers from across China.

NVIDIA is poised to launch its high-end GeForce GTX 690 dual-GPU graphics card on the 28th of April, according to a VR-Zone report. NVIDIA has chosen the 2012 NVIDIA GeForce LAN / NVIDIA Gaming Festival (NGF) held in Shanghai, China, as its launchpad. NVIDIA even put up a countdown timer on GeForce.com that counts down to the event. GeForce GTX 690 combines two 28 nm GK104 graphics processors for an SLI-on-a-stick solution. It is gunning for absolute performance leadership, enabling gamers to throw any game, at any resolution at PCs equipped with it.

Looking for the biggest bang for your buck in terms of multimedia performance and style? MSI's new CX70 and CR70 17.3-inch multimedia laptops pack Intel's new generation Core i processor for the ultimate in computing power. What's more, to meet the needs of increasing high resolution of today's HD multimedia, the CX70 and CR70 come equipped with cinema-level SRS PC Sound and faster transfer ports, including USB 3.0, which is ten times faster than USB 2.0, HDMI 1.4, which can handle the latest HD resolution, and the new generation Bluetooth 4.0, which connects more quickly and covers a wider area.

Eric Kuo, associate vice president for global sales, MSI Notebook, notes that the CX70 and CR70 laptops are designed to handle the latest digital multimedia entertainment, featuring powerful transfer technologies to meet the needs of high resolution and large files as well as 17.3-inch anti-glare full HD screens. If you want something bigger than a high definition computer screen for viewing films, the MSI CX70 and CR70 laptops also come with an HDMI 1.4 port, so any type of high-fidelity, high-definition video can be played on your NB, but viewed via a cable on a large-screen LCD television.

Towards the end of March, Gainward launched the GeForce GTX 680 Phantom Edition, with a its uniquely-designed cooling assembly that inverts the positions of fans and heatsink, which lends an aesthetic touch. Like most other GeForce GTX 680 graphics cards launched till date, the Gainward GTX 680 Phantom has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory. We're now learning that Gainward is working on a 4 GB variant, and it's more than close to release, as Swedish retailer Komplett.se has already listed it for 5,995 Kronor (US $878.7). Pictured below, the card looks otherwise identical to the original 2 GB model. It's likely that a backplate is used to cool memory chips on the reverse side of the PCB.

NVIDIA has today made available a new graphics drive, the beta-tagged GeForce 301.24 which includes support for the GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 Series cards, as well as for the GeForce GTX 680.

Download: Windows 7/Vista (32-bit) | Windows 7/Vista (64-bit) | Windows XP (32-bit) | Windows XP (64-bit)

The GeForce 600 series grew by two members today (albeit, OEM-only), NVIDIA re-branded the GeForce GT 520 to a new model name, "GeForce GT 620". This "new" part is otherwise identical to its predecessor, except that its standard memory amount has been halved from 1 or 2 GB to 512 MB or 1 GB. A feature addition here, is that the GT 620 supports the OpenGL 4.2 API, something the GT 520 doesn't. The GT 620 continues to be based on the 40 nm GF119 silicon, with 48 CUDA cores, 8 TMUs, and 4 ROPs.

NVIDIA also unveiled to OEMs the "new" GeForce 605, which is a re-branded GeForce 510. Based on the same GF119 silicon as the GT 620, the GeForce 605 core runs at 523 MHz, with 1046 MHz CUDA cores. This model comes with memory size options of 512 MB and 1 GB. It also inherits the core configuration of the GeForce 510, with 48 CUDA cores, 8 TMUs, and 4 ROPs.

Corsair, a worldwide designer and supplier of high-performance components to the PC gaming hardware market, today announced its participation and activities at PAX East 2012, an annual festival for tabletop, console and PC gamers being held in Boston, Massachussetts from April 6th to April 8th. Corsair will be located in booth #1150.

Corsair has teamed up with Digital Storm, Intel, and NVIDIA to give away a fully configured dream gaming PC each day of the event. These awesome dream machines will be built using Corsair's PC cases, power supplies, CPU coolers, SSDs, and Vengeance memory. These gaming PCs will also Intel Core desktop processors and NVIDIA GeForce GTX graphics cards.

Over the weekend, HIS unveiled its iTurbo graphics card tweaking software. Bundled with HIS graphics cards and available as a download, iTurbo gives you nearly total control over your graphics card, apart from real-time monitoring. Apart from fine-tuning clock speeds and voltages, iTurbo gives you precise graphical control over the fan's desired behavior. It gives you equally precise control over sensitive voltages.

It doesn't end there. iTurbo is designed to support graphics cards of all makes, and vendors. It supports clock offset-tuning on NVIDIA GeForce Kepler graphics cards, and high-precision voltage-tuning without needing a MacGyver hardware cable solution that connects your graphics card to the software over any other hardware interface. iTurbo also allows you to preserve your "lucky" settings in profiles, and allows you to switch between it and other profiles that hold settings you're toying with.DOWNLOAD: HIS iTurbo

MAINGEAR, an award-winning PC system builder offering custom desktops, notebooks, workstations and media centers has updated their high performance 17" desktop replacement, the Titan 17, with the all new GeForce GTX 675M, and built-in 3D option powered by Nvidia 3D Vision 2.

MAINGEAR's Titan 17 is the most powerful desktop replacement with the latest technology available on the market. The Titan 17 is powered by Intel Core i7 3960X Extreme Edition desktop processor clocking in at up to 3.90 GHz, and the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M in SLI that offers the ultimate graphics for any task. The GTX 675M is 60% faster than the previous 660M GPU and can also be configured in SLI offering up to twice the performance scaling on today's hottest games and entertainment applications.

FinalWire today released the latest version of AIDA64, version 2.30. This release is set around enhancing the desktop gadget, improving the UPS and smart-battery monitoring capabilities, and adding support for newly-released hardware, such as the latest GPUs from AMD and NVIDIA; and the latest Intel SSDs. AIDA64 is proprietary software, and is available through FinalWire's online store.DOWNLOAD: FinalWire AIDA64 2.30 EXE (installer), ZIP Package

The condensed change-log follows.

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.

The Arctic team has now confirmed that a new Accelero Xtreme VGA cooler is in the works and will reach stores in late May. Known as Accelero Xtreme III, the incoming product has a cooling capacity up to 300 Watts, it measures 288 (L) x 103 (W) x 50 (H) mm, and has 84 aluminum fins, five 6 mm copper heatpipes, three 92 mm (Fluid Dynamic Bearing) fans working at 900 to 2000 RPM, and a copper base with pre-applied MX-4 thermal compound.

NVIDIA stunned reporters at its GeForce Kepler press-event, by smoothly-running running Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 "Samaritan" tech-demo on a single GeForce Kepler GPU, when the demo needed up to three previous-generation GPUs. However, Samaritan isn't Kepler's official tech-demo. It is reportedly called "New Dawn", and is a retake on the "Dawn" tech-demo, which baffled the industry, nearly a decade ago. "Dawn" displayed its central character, a fairy by its name, in stunning detail (at the time).

While Dawn was incredibly detailed, its environment was pretty-much just a textured sky-box. "New Dawn" could bring Dawn back into action, focusing on environmental elements such as realistic physics simulation, improved hair animation, and greater detail. NVIDIA has a wealth of new elements to play with, such as a level of tessellation that could be impossible to render smoothly on the competitor's GPU (even if one could run it). NVIDIA could distribute this demo on its websites (NVIDIA.com, GeForce.com), soon. NVIDIA, and rival AMD, release tech-demos with each new GPU architecture, which demonstrate the capabilities of their new flagship GPUs. Pictured below is a frame from the 2003 demo.A "sneak-peek" video of the demo follows.

Eurocom is supporting the new line of high performance GeForce GPUs from NVIDIA including the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M, 670M and 660 in single and SLI configurations in select models. Eurocom will also be supporting the NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M in select Optimus models.

The addition of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX and GT series GPU offers users new levels of high performance GPUs for computing in single and SLI (dual) configurations in new Eurocom notebooks based on next generation Intel technology. The new NVIDIA 600 series GPUs will complement the NVIDIA Quadro GPUs, already offered by Eurocom to its professional clients. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M comes with 2 GB of DDR5 memory, 384 CUDA cores with the GPU running at 620 Mhz for the utmost in graphics performance. Eurocom will be utilizing NVIDIA 3D technology in single and SLI configurations to improve overall graphics and 3D professional capability with enhanced performance. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M comes with 1.5 GB DDR5 memory, 336 CUDA cores with the GPU running at 598 MHz. NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 660M comes with 1.5 GB DDR5 memory, 384 CUDA cores, with the GPU running at 835 MHz.

MSI's upcoming G-Series notebooks will be based on the latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M for the GT60 and GT70 and the GeForce GT 650M discrete mobile graphics chips for the GE60 and GE70 and will also include the powerful 3rd Generation Intel Core processors. Combined with all other features, like MSI's exclusive GPU Boost powered by NVIDIA Optimus, Dynaudio speakers and the SteelSeries keyboard, these notebooks are ready for all current and upcoming games and are simply the perfect choice for gamers.

The GeForce GTX 680 may be today's highlight release but it's not the only Kepler-based offering unveiled by NVIDIA. Besides announcing its new flagship desktop card, NVIDIA today also introduced multiple GeForce 600M Series mobile cards, four of which are powered by the 28 nm GK107 chip.

The Kepler-flavored models in the 600M family are the Enthusiast-grade GeForce GTX 660M and the 'Performance class' GT 650M, GT 640M and GT 640M LE.

Since the GTX 680 will be launched later today, NVIDIA has decided to go ahead and publish the first (official) driver that supports its Kepler-powered card. Known as 301.10, this driver is WHQL certified, it only knows the GeForce GTX 680 (you'll need a modified inf file for 'expanded' support), and is bundled with the PhysX System Software v9.12.0213 (plus HD Audio v1.3.12.0).

GeForce 301.10 WHQL (Windows 7/Vista 32-bit) / GeForce 301.10 WHQL (Windows 7/Vista 64-bit)

Here is the first picture of EVGA GeForce GTX 680. The best-selling GeForce AIC partner in the US, EVGA, opted for a minimalist sticker design, while sticking to NVIDIA reference board and cooler designs. In fact, all GeForce GTX 680 launched in the first-wave, do. Speaking of first-wave, TechnoReviews managed to screengrab American Retailer Newegg.com listing out nearly all the GeForce GTX 680 models that will be available on launch of the SKU.

The listing confirms the US $499 (before taxes) pricing of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680, because that's how low these cards are available for; they will never price it below NVIDIA-recommended MSRP. Newegg.com applying a $10 margin is quite natural, they've done it with pretty much every major graphics card market-launch this year, including that of the Radeon HD 7900 series. Assuming the GeForce GTX 680 beats Radeon HD 7970, as NVIDIA claims, our educated guess is it still won't start a "price-war" as such. AMD might recalibrate prices of HD 7900 series down 5~10%, but AMD and NVIDIA won't be able to drive prices below a threshold, and that threshold is governed by TSMC, its ability to ship 28 nm chips in volumes big enough, and at prices low enough, to support a price-war between the two GPU giants.

Commodore USA, LLC announced today the historic re-unification of the legendary Commodore and AMIGA brands with the launch of the new Commodore AMIGA mini, as well as other new models such as the new C64x Supreme, the new VIC mini and a more powerful VIC-Slim keyboard computer (now with HDMI output). These new products are now in production and available for purchase at www.commodoreusa.net.

The new Commodore AMIGA mini is a trail blazing power-house featuring Intel's i7-2700k 3.5 GHz Quad-Core (3.9 GHz Turboboost) processor, 16 Gb RAM DDR3 1333 MHz and an NVIDIA GeForce GT 430 GPU with 1 GB DDR3. This machine is fully loaded with a 1 TB SATA drive (optional 300 GB or 600 GB SSD), two WiFi antennae and bluetooth. The new Commodore AMIGA mini case is ultra small and features a solid, all aluminum seamless housing,micro-sandblasted with an anodic oxidation finish. It also includes a slot load Blu-Ray drive and internal space for two 2.5" hard drives. It measures 7.5 inches square with a height of only 3 inches. The AMIGA mini's appearance is enhanced with the inclusion of the classic embedded AMIGA logo engraved in the front.

With Kepler architecture, NVIDIA has three new star technologies that will help it with this round: TXAA, a new anti-aliasing algorithm that offers image quality comparable to 16X MSAA, with the performance-penalty of 2X MSAA (if not less); Adaptive V-Sync which is sure to win gamers by the millions; and a redesigned display logic that supports up to four displays from a single GPU.

TXAA, which we talked about a little earlier, turns out to be a super-efficient temporal anti-aliasing algorithm. It has two levels: TXAA(1), and TXAA2. TXAA1 provides the image quality comparable to 16X MSAA, with the performance-penalty of 2X MSAA; while TXAA2 offers image quality higher than 16X MSAA (unlike anything you've seen), with the performance-penalty of 4X MSAA. Since few games natively support it, you will be able to enable it through the NVIDIA Control Panel, in the application profiles, provided you have a Kepler architecture GPU.More pictures follow.

Reliable sources indicate that NVIDIA could introduce a new anti-aliasing (AA) algorithm with its Kepler family of GPUs. There are already plenty of AA algorithms which have been introduced with recent generations of GPUs, including FXAA, which have enabled higher levels of image quality, while not being as taxing as MSAA. This leaves only one area in which a new AA algorithm can take shape: to raise the image quality bar higher, while lowering performance penalty.

In a screenshot, probably sourced from NVIDIA's GeForce Kepler press-deck, this new algorithm is compared to 8x MSAA, in which it appears to give superior image quality. We know that 8x MSAA can be taxing, the kind of image quality we're seeing with this mysterious AA algo 'looks' taxing with available technology, unless of course, NVIDIA developed a silver-bullet in its new algorithm, which provides stunning image quality while not being too taxing on the GPU's resources.