Here some of the first pictures of an NVIDIA add-in card (AIC) partner branded SLI-HB (high-bandwidth) bridge. This kind of bridge is recommended for use with GeForce "Pascal" graphics cards, at high resolutions, such as 4K @ 60 Hz with HDR, 4K @ 120 Hz, 5K, and above. Pictured here is a 2-way SLI HB bridge with 2U spacing (1-slot gap between the two cards). The bridge appears to have a red LED of its own, lighting up the MSI Gaming dragon logo. At this point it's not clear whether the bridge comes included with the cards, or if it needs to be purchased separately. The cards being bridged in these pictures are the MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Gaming Z, a notch above the GTX 1080 Gaming X the company debuted its custom GTX 1080 lineup with.

NVIDIA released its GeForce 368.22 WHQL drivers. These drivers are Game Ready for "Overwatch," "World of Tanks," and "War Thunder." This includes performance optimization, SLI support (for games that support multi-GPU), and GeForce Experience optimal settings. These drivers also address a stuttering issue noticed with "Tom Clancy's The Division," after 20-30 minutes of gameplay, on SLI machines. Grab the drivers from the links below.DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 368.22 WHQL for Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 10 32-bit | Windows 8.1/7/Vista 64-bit | Windows 8.1/7/Vista 32-bit

EVGA welcomes you to the next generation of ground-breaking performance: the X99 FTW K! The X99 platform redefines high-performance with the introduction of the first ever quad-channel DDR4 architecture fueled by Intel's Haswell-E/Broadwell-E CPU family for up to 128GBs of RAM running at a maximum memory speed of up to 3200MHz+ (OC), all made possible due to the 4-layer memory T-Routing design.

The X99 FTW-K is built with an 8-layer Hybrid Black PCB, featuring a CPU socket with 150% higher Gold content powered by an Advanced 8-phase Digital VRM (IR3563B+IR3350), providing industry-leading stability for all your applications. This board also features a Killer NIC E2400 Ethernet which helps to prioritize and reduce network latency to keep you at the top of your game.

NVIDIA released its latest GeForce "Game Ready" drivers. Version 365.19 WHQL comes with optimization for "Doom" (2016), "Homefront: The Revolution," and "Master of Orion." This includes optimization, SLI profiles (if the game engine supports it), and GeForce Experience optimal settings. This is perhaps the last driver release before NVIDIA GeForce 10 Series. Grab them from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 365.19 WHQL for Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 10 32-bit | Windows 8/7/Vista 64-bit | Windows 8/7/Vista 32-bit

At its GeForce GTX 1080 launch event, NVIDIA is said to have told the press that with its GeForce "Pascal" series, the company will focus on 2-way SLI "for maximum performance," implying an uncertain future for 3-way and 4-way SLI. The company's new SLI HB bridge introduced with the GTX 1080, enables higher bandwidth between two graphics cards in SLI, letting them more reliably render games at high resolutions. On the downside, this new bridge occupies both SLI contact points on each card, in 2-way SLI.

It might still be possible to do 3-way and 4-way SLI using a classic 3-way or 4-way bridge included with your motherboard. You'd be at the mercy of applications somehow being able to take advantage of 3-4 GPUs, NVIDIA on its part, will likely only optimize its drivers for 2-way SLI. The knight in shining armour here is DirectX 12 native multi-GPU, which doesn't care how many GPUs you're using, or if they're even the same kind (as long as the GPUs and the app support Direct3D 12).

Microsoft added two new features to its Universal Windows Platform (UWP), the company's non-Win32 application environment built around the Windows Store and modern UI. With the latest update to Windows 10, Microsoft updated UWP to support adaptive-sync technologies such as NVIDIA G-SYNC and AMD FreeSync; and removed frame-rate limits. Games built on UWP (such as "Quantum Break") suffered from frame-rate caps.

UWP continues to be criticized for taking a "walled-garden" approach to third-party apps, restricting them to Microsoft APIs such as DirectX. The platform continues to suffer from several limitations for games, such as support for APIs such as OpenGL and Vulkan; and proprietary multi-GPU technologies such as SLI and CrossFire; or support for game-mods.

After launching its shockingly fast (claimed) GeForce GTX 1080 and GTX 1070 graphics cards, NVIDIA posted specifications of the former. The two are based on NVIDIA's swanky new 16 nm "GP104" silicon, derived from its "Pascal" GPU architecture. The architecture is detailed in our older article, here. The GeForce GTX 1080 leads the pack, featuring four graphics processing clusters, holding 2,560 CUDA cores. The core runs at a scorching 1607 MHz, with a GPU Boost frequency of 1733 MHz. In one of its demos, NVIDIA overclocked this chip to over 2100 MHz, on its reference air cooling, and the GPU barely scraped 67 °C under stress. The GTX 1080 features a 256-bit wide GDDR5X memory interface, holding 8 GB of memory. The memory is clocked at 2500 MHz (10 GHz effective), working out to a memory bandwidth of 320 GB/s.

API support includes DirectX 12 (feature-level 12_1), OpenGL 4.5, and Vulkan. Display outputs include three DisplayPort 1.4 connectors, one HDMI 2.0b, and one dual-link DVI. The reference-design card is 10.5-inch long, and double-slot. It draws power from a single 8-pin PCIe power connector, and its typical board power is rated at 180W. With the GeForce "Pascal" family, instead of caving in to DirectX 12 native multi-GPU, NVIDIA developed its SLI technology further, with the new SLI HB (high-bandwidth) bridge standard. It's essentially a 2-way bridge in which both SLI fingers of the card are used. This doubles bandwidth between the two cards, allowing higher display resolutions, and multi-display setups between high-resolution monitors. The GeForce GTX 1080 will be available from May 27, 2016, starting at US $599. The $379 GTX 1070 specifications will be revealed closer to its June 10, 2016 market availability.

MSI launched what could be the first custom NVIDIA SLI bridge cables that do more than look fancy - help ventilate your tightly stacked up graphics cards. The company announced a pair of new 3-way and 4-way SLI bridge kits, which combine a hardened bridge PCB shroud with a 120 mm fan mount. A silent 120 mm spinner is bundled, which is oriented to push air into the gaps between your graphics cards, but one that you can orient to pull air, too. The bridge shroud is styled along MSI Gaming red+black design language, and under it is a hard fiberglass PCB, with reinforced bridge connector slots. Thumb-screws and washers hold the fan mount in place between your graphics cards. MSI didn't reveal pricing.

GIGABYTE announced its third G1.Gaming series socket AM3+ motherboard, the 990X-Gaming SLI. This board closely follows recent launches by the company based on the AMD 970 and AMD 990FX chipsets. As its name suggests, this board is based on the AMD 990X chipset, and features NVIDIA SLI support. In addition to out-of-the-box support for the latest FX-8370 processor, the board also supports 220W TDP chips from the FX-9000 series. Based on the ATX form-factor, the board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors, and conditions it for the CPU with a 11-phase VRM.

The board supports up to 32 GB of dual-channel DDR3-2400 memory. Expansion slots include two each of PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots (x8/x8 when both are populated), PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and legacy PCI. Storage connectivity includes a 20 Gb/s M.2 slot, and six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Among its modern connectivity features are two USB 3.1 ports (both type-A) and four USB 3.0 ports (two on the rear panel, two by headers). Networking is care of an Intel I-218V gigabit Ethernet. The onboard 10-channel audio solution combines a 115 dBA SNR CODEC with ground-layer isolation and electrolytic capacitors. The board is driven by UEFI BIOS, with NVMe boot device support. Expect this to be priced just over $100.

NVIDIA released the latest version of its GeForce software. Version 362.00 WHQL comes game-ready for the hardware-intensive "Far Cry Primal," and "Gears of War Ultimate Edition." This includes performance optimizations, SLI profiles (if supported), and GeForce Experience optimal settings for the two games. The drivers are also optimized for the latest update of "Dying Light." Grab them from the links below.DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 362.00 WHQL for Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 8.1/7/Vista 64-bit

Following a month without any driver releases (the last one being dated December 21), NVIDIA released its latest GeForce drivers. Version 361.75 WHQL drivers are "Game Ready" for Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Tom Clancy's The Division (beta). This includes performance optimization, SLI profiles, and GeForce Experience optimal settings. The drivers also come with early (beta) support for GeForce GTX GPUs installed in external graphics solutions over the Thunderbolt 3 (40 Gb/s) interface. Grab them from the links below.DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 361.75 WHQL for Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 10 32-bit | Windows 8.1/7 64-bit | Windows 8.1/7 32-bit

MSI unveiled its latest desktop under its coveted MSI Gaming logo - the Vortex. This compact gaming desktop features a design that's heavily inspired by the Mac Pro - a cylindrical case with three planes, and key components arranged along those planes, with a common air channel running through the bore of the cylinder. Much like the Mac Pro, the MSI Vortex packs a wallop.

In its base configuration, the MSI Vortex comes with an Intel Core i5 "Skylake" desktop quad-core processor, and two GeForce GTX 960 (desktop) graphics cards in SLI. The top variant gives you a Core i7-6700K quad-core chip, and two GeForce GTX 980 (desktop) cards in SLI, making it capable of 4K Ultra HD gaming. Sharp edges aside, the Vortex comes with RGB LED lighting. Not just design, MSI appears to have taken cues from Apple on even pricing - the base model is expected to be priced around US $2,000.

Batman Arkham Knight gamers' woes on the PC platform continue, as a patch that lets the game take advantage of multi-GPU technologies like SLI and CrossFire remains elusive. Responding to a distraught multi-GPU user on Steam Community forums, a developer stated that implementing multi-GPU support presented a too high risk of creating new issues for the gamers, to be "practical." The PC release of Batman Arkham Knight has been riddled with bugs, which caused its publisher to pull the Unreal Engine 3 based game off the shelves to fix those bugs, and a less than successful re-launch that ended up in distribution platform Steam taking refund requests until late-December. The developer, who goes by the username "wb.elder.pliny" stated:

We've been working with our development and graphics driver partners over the last few months to investigate utilizing multi-GPU support within Batman: Arkham Knight. The result was that even the best case estimates for performance improvements turned out to be relatively small given the high risk of creating new issues for all players. As a result we've had to make the difficult decision to stop work on further multi-GPU support. We are disappointed that this was not practical and apologize to those who have been waiting for this feature.

NVIDIA released its second "Game Ready" GeForce drivers in a span of a week, with version 358.91 WHQL. These drivers are "game-ready" for Fallout 4, Star Wars: Battlefront, and StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. This means game optimizations, SLI profiles, and GeForce Experience optimal settings for the three games. This closely follows last week's GeForce 358.87 WHQL release, which was game-ready for Call of Duty: Black Ops III.DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 358.91 Game Ready Drivers Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 8.1/7/Vista 64-bit

In the wake of Microsoft Windows 10 launch, NVIDIA released its latest GeForce driver targeted at the new OS, GeForce 353.62 WHQL. This driver offers full support for WDDM 2.0, and DirectX 12 (feature level 12_0) support for NVIDIA GPUs based on the "Maxwell" and "Kepler" architectures. NVIDIA plans to enable DirectX 12 support for older "Fermi" (GTX 400, GTX 500 series) GPUs later this year. The driver also adds SLI profiles for a handful new games such as Batman: Arkham Knight (which was previously removed), Killing Floor 2, and Total War: Arena.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 353.62 WHQL for Windows 10

As game developers continue to push the boundaries of epic in-game graphics, the popularity of 4K gaming is also on the rise. To fully enjoy this spectacular gaming experience, hardware requirements are also pushed higher than ever. Gamers running multiple powerful graphics cards in SLI are enjoying ever more benefits. As the leading brand in Gaming, MSI is excited to unveil a brand new premium GAMING SLI bridge which forms the perfect link for any MSI GAMING SLI setup.

The bridge features a premium LED illuminated GAMING logo that can be controlled by the exclusive MSI Gaming App and is forged out of high quality materials. It supports 2-Way SLI for NVIDIA GTX 900 series graphics cards. The carefully engineered metal shroud on the SLI connectors gives the new GAMING SLI Bridge a solid look & feel while also enabling higher conductivity. Optimized for 4K+ resolutions and 144Hz+ refresh rates, the MSI GAMING SLI bridge is ready for next generation gaming.

NVIDIA released its latest "Game Ready" driver that's become customary for the company ahead of a big AAA game launch; GeForce 353.30. These WHQL-signed drivers come "ready" for Batman: Arkham Knight, including SLI profiles, and GeForce Experience settings. The driver also adds an SLI profile for Lord of Vermilion Arena in its DirectX 9 mode. Batman Arkham Knight features NVIDIA's GameWorks varnish, and should feature a few effects and settings exclusive to NVIDIA. The game releases tomorrow (23/06/2015).DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 353.30 WHQL for Windows 8/7/Vista 64-bit | Windows 8/7/Vista 32-bit | Windows XP 32-bit | Windows XP 64-bit

Aorus showed off its first notebooks featuring NVIDIA G-Sync technology, the 17-inch X7 Pro-Sync, and the 15-inch X5. The X7 Pro-Sync features a 17.3-inch IPS LCD screen with Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) resolution and G-Sync support, wired to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M SLI graphics. You also get a Core i7-4870HQ quad-core processor, 8 GB of RAM a gaming-grade keyboard with scissor-type switches, and up to three 512 GB SSDs in a RAID configuration of your choice.

The new X5 is what Aorus is claiming to be the world's most powerful 15-inch class notebook. It offers a 15.6-inch WQHD+ display (2880 x 1620 pixels resolution), wired to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M SLI graphics, with 2x 4GB video memory; a Core i7-5700HQ "Broadwell" CPU, 8 GB of RAM, up to 512 GB of M.2 32 Gb/s SSD storage, with two additional 2.5-inch SATA SSDs; and Killer DoubleShot networking. The case is surprisingly compact for its chops - measuring 390 (W) x 272 (D) x 22.9 (H) mm.

In the wake of its new high-end GPU launch, the GeForce GTX 980 Ti, NVIDIA released new GeForce 353.06 WHQL drivers. In addition to support for the new GPU, version 353.06 WHQL is Game Ready for "Heroes of the Storm," including an SLI profile and one-click optimization in GeForce Experience.

The R353 drivers bring a few new features to the table, including G-Sync support for windowed applications (could be useful in 'windowed-maximized' display-modes in certain games), a new feature called ULMB (ultra-low motion-blur), which arbitrarily decreases motion-blur drawn by applications (could help with excessive ghosting on LCDs with high response-times), and Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR) for notebook GPUs. The drivers also add a comprehensive game-optimization suite for GPUs based on the "Kepler" architecture, which should increase frame-rates across the board for GeForce GTX 600 and GTX 700 series.DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 353.06 WHQL for Windows 8/7/Vista 64-bit | Windows 8/7/Vista 32-bit | Windows XP 32-bit | Windows XP 64-bit

NVIDIA announced the GeForce GTX 980 Ti, its latest high-end graphics processor. Positioned a notch below the GTX Titan X, and above the GTX 980, it is designed to offer playable frame-rates at 4K Ultra HD resolution, with high-levels of visual details. Based on the same 28 nm GM200 silicon as the GTX Titan X, the chip features 2,816 CUDA cores, carved out by disabling 2 of the 24 streaming multiprocessor units on the silicon; 176 TMUs, 96 ROPs, and a 384-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, holding 6 GB of memory.

The GeForce GTX 980 Ti features nearly identical clock speeds to the GTX Titan X, with 1000 MHz core, 1076 MHz GPU Boost, and 7012 MHz (GDDR5-effective) memory. The TDP is rated at 250W. The reference design card draws power from a combination of 6-pin and 8-pin PCIe power connectors. Display outputs include three DisplayPort 1.2, and one each of HDMI 2.0 and DVI connectors. The card is capable of 4-way SLI. NVIDIA board partners will launch custom-design variants of this card, with factory-overclocked speeds, and custom air- and liquid-cooled designs. It starts at US $649.99. With this launch, NVIDIA cut prices of the GeForce GTX 980 to $499.99.

NVIDIA announced the first WHQL-signed driver for Windows 10. GeForce 352.84 WHQL offers full compliance to WDDM 2.0 specification, and offers support for DirectX 12 (feature level 12_0) on supported GPUs (all chips based on the "Kepler" and "Maxwell" architectures). There are no games that take advantage of DirectX 12 right now, but NVIDIA suggested a few tech-demos you can toy with, such as Forza DX12 renderer, Fable Legends DX12 Game Demo, Witch Chapter 0 DX12 SLI_support, King of Wushu DX12, and the Unreal Engine Race DX12 demo. DirectX 12 is highly anticipated among game developers, as it provides a leap in performance due to the way it handles multi-CPU. For the first time, 3D graphics rendering can take advantage of any number of CPU cores you throw at them, allowing game developers to increase eye-candy and detail. DirectX 12 will debut with Windows 10, which launches this July.DOWNLOAD: GeForce 352.84 WHQL for Windows 10 Desktop GPUs | Notebook GPUs

EVGA has amped up the bling with the EVGA PRO SLI BRIDGE V2. These redesigned bridges come with several improvements over the previous generation SLI bridges. Not only do these new bridges light up and look great on select graphics cards, they also have a high quality aluminum shroud and are optimized for the next generation display resolution and refresh rates, with a high pixel clock frequency design that gives best performance for 120Hz+ and 4K+ gaming.

MSI, world leading in motherboard technology, is proud to announce world's first USB 3.1 featured AMD motherboard, the classy black & white 970A SLI Krait Edition. Delivering blazing fast USB performance, up to 2 times faster than USB 3.0, the new 970A SLI Krait Edition motherboard offers two USB 3.1 ports, which are fully backwards compatible with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 devices. Copying files from your external hard disk or USB pen drive will be faster than ever. Offering reliable and fast Gigabit LAN together with Nvidia SLI and AMD CrossFire support for enthusiasts looking to pair up multiple graphics cards, the new classy black & white 970A SLI Krait Edition motherboard is a testament of quality. Military Class 4 provides all the stability you need through carefully selected and thoroughly tested components and materials.

"AMD and MSI strive to deliver innovation and great products that provide cutting edge features and capabilities for all users," said Darren Grasby, AMD Corporate VP, Global Channel Sales. "We are very excited to partner with MSI on the launch of the new USB 3.1 powered 970A SLI Krait Edition Motherboard - a highly optimized, feature-rich platform that unleashes the full potential of AMD processors in a powerful solution that also delivers great value and customer experience." The 970A SLI Krait Edition motherboard perfectly caters to those AMD fans who are looking for something different in terms of design and latest specification, but desire nothing but the best in terms of features and power.

GIGABYTE introduced its latest socket AM3+ motherboard, and its first in a long while, the 990XA-UD3 R5. Built in the standard ATX form-factor, the board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS connectors, and conditions it using a 10-phase CPU VRM. The board, however, does not support FX-9000 series chips. Based on AMD 990X chipset, featuring AMD SB950 southbridge, expansion slots of the board include two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (x8/x8 when both are populated), supporting NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossFireX, a third PCIe 2.0 x16 slot (electrical x4, wired to the southbridge), and two each of PCIe 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI slots.

Storage connectivity on the 990XA-UD3 R5 include six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. The board's onboard audio solution features a Realtek ALC1150 CODEC, offering 115 dBA SNR, audio-grade electrolytic capacitors on the audio circuit, a TI-made headphones amplifier with support for headphones impedance as high as 600Ω, and PCB ground-layer isolation. Also on offer are a gigabit Ethernet connection, driven by a Realtek-made controller, four USB 3.0 ports (two on the rear panel, two by headers), and PS/2 mouse/keyboard combo port. The board is driven by AMI UEFI BIOS, and supports Windows 8 SecureBoot and FastBoot. Expect this board to be priced around US $130.

Hot on the heels of its flagship GeForce GTX TITAN X graphics card, NVIDIA released its latest "Game Ready" GeForce driver. Version 347.88 WHQL comes with support for the GTX TITAN X, and comes with optimizations for "Battlefield: Hardline," the season's hot new online FPS, these include single-GPU optimizations for the game, an SLI profile that lets the game take advantage of SLI multi-GPU setups, and an update on how the game plays with 3D Vision Surround. The driver also adds SLI profiles for "Life is Strange," "Trine 3," "Medieval Engineers," and "Zombie Army Trilogy."DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 347.88 WHQL for Windows 8/7/Vista 64-bit | Windows 8/7/Vista 32-bit | Windows XP 32-bit | Windows XP 64-bit