AMD may have been the first to be out with drivers for its Radeon GPUs that are optimized for Windows 8 (WDDM 1.2), but NVIDIA went a step ahead of "special-releases" for its GeForce drivers, and added Windows 8 to its update stack, meaning that Windows 8 will feature in the list of operating systems to pick from, to download drivers. NVIDIA will constantly update these drivers along with mainline releases for Windows 7/Vista and XP. The latest such driver is 296.17. This driver supports GeForce and Quadro GPUs, and according to NVIDIA, is a quick-update over 295.73 WHQL, with the addition of performance optimization for Blacklight: Retribution.

Santa Clara-based NVIDIA Corp. has today made available a couple of new graphics drivers, the WHQL-certified GeForce 296.10 for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7, and the GeForce 296.17 preview driver specifically made for Windows 8. Both drivers feature support for GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 series desktop cards.

GeForce 296.10 WHQL - Windows Vista/7 (32-bit) | Windows Vista/7 (64-bit) | Windows XP (32-bit) | Windows XP (64-bit)
GeForce 296.17 - Windows 8 (32-bit) | Windows 8 (64-bit)

Courtesy of ChipHell we now have a couple of fresh pictures of NVIDIA's first Kepler-powered graphics card, the GeForce (or should we write' GeFORCE') GTX 680. Shot both from above and the back, the incoming card has a black PCB, a dual-slot/single-fan cooler, two (stacked) 6-pin PCIe power plugs, a couple of SLI connectors, and four display outputs - dual DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort.

The GTX 680 is equipped with one GK104 28 nm GPU, and reportedly boasts 1536 CUDA Cores, a 256-bit memory interface, 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM (4 GB models should also be in the works), PCI-Express 3.0, and a TDP of around 190 W. The GeForce GTX 680 is expected to be launched next week, on March 22nd. Its rumored price tag is $549.

In addition to bringing the UX21A and UX31A, the upcoming Zenbook series update is set to see the arrival of two more ultrabooks, the UX32A and UX32Vd. Set to cost between $800 and $1,100, these 'budget-minded' ultrabooks are 18.3 mm thick, they weight 1.45 kg, and feature a 13.3-inch (HD or optionally, Full HD IPS), display, 2/4 GB of RAM, a 500 GB hard drive backed by a 24 GB SSD (for some caching fun), and a low-voltage Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge (1.8 GHz Core i3-3217U, 2.4 GHz Core i5-3317U or 2.8 GHz Core i7-3517U) processor.

The UX32A comes with integrated graphics, while the UX32Vd will come equipped with a GeForce GT620M 1 GB card. Both models will have WiFi, Bluetooth, optional WiDi, and offer up to seven hours of battery life.

Here is a brief compilation of all the new images of the upcoming NVIDIA GeForce Kepler high-performance product, which our forum members posted through the day. The pictures reinforce the 3QTR picture that surfaced this Thursday, and full-length picture of the PCB that surfaced earlier this month. The first picture below, reveals what is essentially the card that was pictured yesterday, with its cooler shroud taken out. You will find a conventional air-channel cooler design. A lateral-flow fan, which looks similar to the one used in GeForce GTX 580/570), directs air through a dense aluminum channel array, which draws heat from key components such as the GPU, memory, and VRM, using a vapor-chamber plate (again, similar to the one used on high-end GeForce GTX 500 series). Towards the rear portion, you'll spot the piggy-backed 6+6-pin PCIe power connector cluster. You will also find the black rugged metal base-plate flowing along the full length of the PCB, structurally reinforcing it, and performing some cooling functions.

Moving on, the second picture reveals the same VRM area we saw earlier, on the green-colored PCB engineering sample, with its five NVVDD phases. The third picture is the first, of the reverse side of the PCB. Revealing most of the solder points, and electrical circuitry. The driver ICs of each of the NVVDD phases can be seen here. These two pictures confirm that the retail version of the GK104 product will feature a black PCB (the brown tinge is natural, due to the dense network of traces and ground layers, made of copper). The fourth picture reveals what looks like NVIDIA's Media Kit. Reputed reviewers get a NVIDIA-branded "media kit", which contains the graphics card sample to review, and other relevant documentation in printed form, along with a driver CD, and other accessories. These cards are not branded by any AIC partner, and are 100% compliant to NVIDIA's reference design and clock speeds.Many Thanks to our community members JaredPace and CrapDaddy.

NVIDIA has been using its current GeForce logo since GeForce 8800 GTX, probably with a bit of polishing now and then. Pictured below, is the newest NVIDIA GeForce GTX logo. "GeForce GTX" is going to be NVIDIA's new way of denoting graphics cards for serious gamers, graphics cards starting at ~$150, going all the way up to whatever NVIDIA prices its high-end graphics card at. The new GeForce brand name has all its letters capitalized, as "GEFORCE". The font used has swanky sharp edges. A section of the NVIDIA "eye" is sticking out from the bottom-right. The non-GTX logo could look similar, minus the "GTX", of course.

ASUS Zenbook is perhaps the closest the Ultrabook has gone to Apple's MacBook Air in terms of features and aesthetics. Its makers are saving its successor for the Computex spotlight. It is reported that the second-generation Zenbook will be driven by Intel "Ivy Bridge" Core processor, its compatible 7-series platform, and NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M discrete graphics. It will feature NVIDIA Optimus technology that marshals graphics loads between the discrete GPU and Intel HD 4000 graphics, to minimize power draw when on light graphics loads.

A report by 3DCenter.org, which takes into account the specifications of NVIDIA's GK104 GPU, based on clock-speed and specs. leak estimated its shader compute power to be 17% higher than that of AMD's Tahiti in its Radeon HD 7970 avatar (4.46 TFLOPs single-precision floating point). Based on the said specifications, the report also hypothesized things such as memory bandwidth, ROP performance, and texture performance; and compared it to those of the Radeon HD 7970 and Radeon HD 7950.

Acer has unveiled the V3 Series, a range of notebooks optimized for today's digital needs, available in 14-, 15.6- and 17.3-inch models. With excellent performance, entertainment enhancements, communication tools and a classy design, these notebooks are intended for tech-savvy users who want daily high-definition audio and visual experiences.

The latest generation Intel Core family processors, plus NVIDA GeForce GT Series graphics ensure excellent performance for multitasking with lots of apps, music, Internet video, movies, games and more.

GIGABYTE today introduced an extraordinary lineup of computers that are redefining mobility and powerful performance. The U2442V is a sleek and stunning 14" Ultrabook that provides fantastic performance with a 3rd generation Intel Core i5/i7 ULV processor, while the U2442N features the same incredible form factor, but has a powerful 3rd generation Intel Core i5/i7 standard voltage processor. Both models feature an excellent NVIDIA GeForce GPU, which provides remarkable graphics performance for multimedia and games.

Other models to be introduced include the P2542G, which is a 15.6" powerful gaming notebook with an exciting race car design; and the Q2542N, an excellent 15.6" mainstream notebook that delivers terrific versatility. Also to be showcased at CeBIT 2012 is the S1081, a 10.1" powerful business slate; the Booktop T1132N, an 11.6" revolutionary 3-in-1 notebook, tablet and desktop; the Booktop M2432, a sleek 14" notebook that provides desktop graphics performance through its unique docking station; and the AC21, an all-in-one PC that simplifies the desktop experience.

Here is the first x-ray drawing of NVIDIA's GeForce Kepler 104 (GK104) reference board, outlining the VRM area. The GPU and memory areas are blanked out for some very obvious reasons. Nevertheless, there's plenty of fascinating stuff going on in these pictures. To begin with, the picture confirms that the board will have 5 NVVDD phases, and up to three miscellaneous power domains. The PCB has provisions for two 6-pin and one 8-pin connector.

The funny part here is a strange new plug that has two 6-pin (or 8-pin+6-pin) stacked, while one of the two 6-pin connector leads are blanked. Some of our sources also report having seen a similar connector with 8-pin and 6-pin on samples of this card (refer to the last picture below). It's not just this, that makes the card incapable of single-slot operation, the DVI connectors over at the display IO also are stacked like on previous-generation AMD Radeon cards. Other connectors on the card are HDMI and DisplayPort. There are two SLI bridge connectors, giving it 3-way and 4-way SLI support.

Expreview cited sources in the AIC (add-in card) vendors in pinning the launch of GeForce Kepler 104 (GK104) based products to March 23. The products launched are expected to be NVIDIA's first in its next-generation. Some label the top part based on GK104 as "GeForce GTX 670 Ti", while others call it "GeForce GTX 680". A March 23 launch explains reports of hectic activity in the green camp starting this week. NVIDIA typically enters NDAs with its partners over a wide time range, probably this one extends to April (since the launch is now reported to be towards late-March), which led some to believe Kepler was "delayed" to April. NVIDIA recently posted on its Facebook wall that people will be rewarded for their patience with an "unbeatable" product.

The tiresome wait for NVIDIA's next-generation GPU is drawing to a close. Or so suggests a Facebook wall post by NVIDIA Italy, which reads (in Italian, of course):

Aspettando Kepler... pazienza, pazienza, pazienza che il momento giusto arriverà, e allora... non ce ne sarà più per nessuno! :-)

That can be translated as "Waiting for Kepler ... patience, patience, patience, the right time will come, and then ... it will be unbeatable (sic)." From various sources we're hearing that there will be hectic activity surrounding the launch of NVIDIA's next-gen GPU in the weeks to come.

NVIDIA Corp. has now made available the first WHQL driver of the R295 family, the GeForce 295.73. This release comes with support for GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 Series cards, and for ION GPUs, it's bundled with the PhysX System Software v9.12.0209, and features the following highlights:

- Game-changing performance boost of up to 45% in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, "the fastest selling title in Steam's history"
- Up to 2x performance Mass Effect 3 with SLI technology.
- GeForce-exclusive quality enhancements with ambient occlusion support for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Diablo III, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
- New 3D Vision and SLI profiles for over 50 titles.
- New PhysX software for the best experience in top PhysX titles like Alice: Madness Returns and Batman: Arkham City.

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

NVIDIA seems to be playing the blame game according to a article over at Xbit. This is what they had to say, "Chief executive officer of NVIDIA Corp. said that besides continuously increasing capital expenditures that the company ran into in the recent months will be accompanied by lower than expected gross margins in the forthcoming quarter. The company blames low yields of the next-generation code-named Kepler graphics chips that are made at TSMC's 28nm node. "Decline [of gross margin] in Q1 is expected to be due to the hard disk drive shortage continuing, as well as a shortage of 28nm wafers. We are ramping our Kepler generation very hard, and we could use more wafers. The gross margin decline is contributed almost entirely to the yields of 28nm being lower than expected. That is, I guess, unsurprising at this point," said Jen-Hsun Huang, chief executive officer of NVIDIA, during a conference call with financial analysts.

NVIDIA's operating expenses have been increasing for about a year now: from $329.6 million in Q1 FY2012 to $367.7 million in Q4 FY2012 and expects OpEx to be around $383 million in the ongoing Q1 FY2013. At the same time, the company expects its gross margins in Q1 FY2013 to decline below 50% for the first time in many quarters to 49.2%. Nvidia has very high expectations for its Kepler generation of graphics processing units (GPUs). The company claims that it had signed contracts to supply mobile versions of GeForce "Kepler" chips with every single PC OEM in the world. In fact, NVIDIA says Kepler is the best graphics processor ever designed by the company. [With Kepler, we] won design wins at virtually every single PC OEM in the world. So, this is probably the best GPU we have ever built and the performance and power efficiency is surely the best that we have ever created," said Mr. Huang.

AMD's Radeon HD 7800 series performance GPUs that target cost-benefit sweet-spots will be launched in the first half of March. The launch will include Radeon HD 7870 and Radeon HD 7850. The two SKUs are based on a new 28 nm ASIC codenamed "Pitcairn". Little is known about its specifications at this point, from reliable sources at least.

In April, AMD's rival NVIDIA will get its GeForce Kepler family of GPUs, all guns blazing. In April alone, NVIDIA is expected to launch a high-end part, the GeForce GTX 690, a performance part, the GeForce GTX 660, and mainstream part GeForce GTX 640. The three will be based on three new ASICs built on the 28 nm process, the GK110, GK104, and GK106, respectively.

April will be the most interesting month for PC enthusiasts as Intel will launch its third-generation Core processor family, codename "Ivy Bridge". Little is known about AMD's high-end Radeon HD 7990 "New Zealand".

Still not officially announced by Dell, the Alienware-branded M18x R2 gaming laptop is rumored to come with some fresh and powerful graphics options from both NVIDIA and AMD. The Santa Clara team (NVIDIA) is said to be supplying two cards for the M18x R2 - the GeForce GTX 660M and GTX 675M (the latter will be available in a SLI configuration), while the Sunnyvale squad (AMD) will deliver the Radeon HD 7970M, in a CrossFireX setup.

Beside the GPU goodies mentioned, the M18x R2 (18.4-inch) laptop is expected to feature an Intel Ivy Bridge CPU, black and red color choices, an optional Wireless HD card, and more. Stay tuned (and save up?).

Japanese build-to-order PC specialists Lesance launched the BTO GSN721GW TYPE-GX reference 17-inch performance notebook featuring NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M graphics. At 17-inches size, the Type-GX serves as a portable desktop-replacement. Its screen packs full-HD resolution (1920 x 1080), the GeForce GT 630 driving it is backed by 1 GB of DDR3 memory. It packs 144 CUDA cores.

Other parts of the Type-GX include Intel Core i7-2670QM quad-core processor clocked at 2.20 GHz with 6 MB L3 cache, 8 GB (4 GB x2, DDR3-1333 SO-DIMM) memory, Intel 510 Series 120 GB SSD, Blu-ray ROM, wireless b/g/n and gigabit Ethernet connections, and USB 3.0 ports. The notebook measures 416 x 270 x 22 ~ 35 mm (WxDxH), weighing 2.99 kg. Windows 7 Home Premium x64 is the OS of choice. This reference configuration costs 101,980 JPY (US $1320).

According to dell-lab.posterous.com (a site known for accurate tips on future Dell products), a trio of updated Alienware laptops are currently in plan, the M14x R2 (14-inch), M17x R4 (17.3-inch) and M18x R2 (18.4-inch).

There's not much info on the M18x R2 except for the fact that it will be available in both red and black, while the M14x R2 is said to come with the same colors and have 1 GB and 2 GB graphics options.

The M17x R4 is claimed to feature at least three new GPU choices, including the yet-unannounced AMD Radeon HD 7970M, Nvidia GeForce GTX 660M and GTX 675M. All three laptops should also adopt Intel's upcoming 22 nm processors (Ivy Bridge). No word on when they'll be released.

TechPowerUp today released the latest version of GPU-Z, our popular video subsystem information and diagnostic utility that provides you with accurate information about the graphics hardware installed, and lets you monitor their clock speeds, fan speeds, voltages, VRAM consumption, etc., in real-time. Version 0.5.8 introduces two new features. The first one is a render test that applies sufficient load (not stress) on the GPU to pull it out of PCI-Express link-state power-management, to ensure the Bus information is accurate. If you find the PCI-Express bus link speed or PCIe version displayed incorrectly, simply click on the "?" button next to the field to launch the load test.

The next new feature is ASIC quality, designed for NVIDIA Fermi (GF10x and GF11x GPUs) and AMD Southern Islands (HD 7800 series and above), aimed at advanced users, hardware manufacturers, and the likes. We've found the ways in which AMD and NVIDIA segregate their freshly-made GPU ASICs based on the electrical leakages the chips produce (to increase yield by allotting them in different SKUs and performance bins), and we've found ways in which ASIC quality can be quantified and displayed. Find this feature in the context menu of GPU-Z. We're working on implementing this feature on older AMD Radeon GPUs.DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 0.5.8, TechPowerUp GPU-Z 0.5.8 ASUS ROG Themed

The full change-log follows.

NVIDIA GeForce Kepler (GK104) will be NVIDIA's first high-performance GPU launched, based on its Kepler architecture. New reports suggest that this GPU, which will succeed GF114 (on which the likes of GeForce GTX 560 Ti are based), will continue to have a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface. An equally recent report suggests that NVIDIA could give the front-line product based on GK104 as much as 2 GB of memory. We are also getting to hear from the INPAI report that on this product based on the GK104, the GPU will have a TDP of 225W. What's more, NVIDIA is gunning for the performance crown from AMD Radeon HD 7900 series with this chip, so it suggests that NVIDIA is designing the GK104 to have a massive performance improvement over the GF114 that it's succeeding.

NVIDIA's next high-performance GPU that will attempt to restore NVIDIA's performance leadership in the consumer graphics segment, under the GeForce Kepler family, is slated for a March-April launch, according to a VR-Zone report. At CES 2012, NVIDIA focused on its Tegra product line, and demonstrated its applications in smartphones, tablets, and even automotives, but chose to avoid talking about its GeForce family.

According to the report, NVIDIA wants to avoid doing a paper-launch like AMD, which launched its Radeon HD 7970 on December 22, 2011, but its market availability was non-existent till after two weeks, on January 9, 2012. NVIDIA wants to ensure the GeForce product based on its new high-performance GPU will be available in the market on launch-day, which is pinned somewhere within late March and early April. On April 8, Intel will launch its third-generation Core processor family.

GIGABYTE today announced an outstanding lineup of ground breaking mobile computers at CES 2012. All products feature GIGABYTE's longstanding commitment to technological prowess in terms of quality, performance and design. Exciting products to be introduced at CES include the S1081, a 10.1" powerful slate for productivity; and the T1006M, an extraordinary 10.1" convertible tablet notebook. Other products to be presented are the Booktop T1132N, an 11.6" revolutionary 3-in-1 notebook, tablet and desktop; the P2532F, a 15.6" blazing fast Blu-ray gaming and multimedia notebook; and the Booktop M2432, a 14" notebook that delivers the perfect combination of style and performance.

Welcome to the TechPowerUp 2011 PC technology Christmas special. We hope that you will enjoy reading it while tucking into your turkey, Christmas presents and a little too much wine... In this article, we go through the technology of 2011 that has had the most significance, the most impact and was generally the most talked about. It's not necessarily the best tech of 2011 which is the most significant though, since lemons can be just as significant as the ground-breakers in how they fail to deliver - and the backlash that goes with it.

January: Intel Sandy Bridge i5 & i7

Released on January 9th, the new Intel Core i5 & i7 processors were based on Intel's second generation Core architecture built on a 32 nm production process (HEXUS review). They included an IGP (Integrated Graphics Processor) physically on the same piece of silicon along with HyperThreading. These new dual and quad core processors soundly beat all previous generations of Intel processors in terms of processing performance, heat, power use, features and left AMD in the dust. Therefore, Intel badly needed some competition from AMD and unless you have been living under a rock, you will know how that turned out in October with the launch of Bulldozer. Sandy Bridge was a sound win and is generally considered to be the only architecture worth considering at this point. The i5-2500K is currently at the sweet spot of price/performance. It comes at a stock speed of 3.3 GHz, but typically overclocks to an amazing 4.5 - 5 GHz with a decent air cooler and without too much difficulty in getting there. Models in the budget i3 range were released at various times later. See this Wikipedia article for details.

While AMD is gearing up to launch new hardware (the Radeon HD 7970), NVIDIA is keeping it light this week by only rolling out an updated driver for existing products. Bearing a beta tag, the 290.53 driver includes support for GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500-series desktop cards, and for ION desktop GPUs, and features the following:

Optimizations for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

- Increases performance by up to 25% in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim vs. 290.36 drivers (measured with GeForce GTX 560 at 19x10 Ultra - Indoor Scene)
- Updates the NVIDIA Control Panel ambient occlusion support for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to a higher performance profile.
- Added new 3D Vision laser sight /crosshair options to better match Skyrim crosshairs.