TechPowerUp GPU-Z v2.12.0 released today with useful new features and several stability updates. We worked extensively on the ability of GPU-Z to detect fake NVIDIA graphics cards (i.e cards not really having the GPU advertised on the box). GPU-Z now prepends "[FAKE]" to the Graphics Card name field, and lights up with a caution triangle. This capability is forward compatible for the supported GPUs (listed in the changelog), so for example, it will be able to detect a fake RTX 2060, which in reality uses a GK106 GPU. The second big feature is the ability to extract and upload graphics card BIOS of NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2000 graphics cards. Graphics cards with multiple independent fans (each with its own speed control) are gaining popularity, and we've added the ability to read and log fan-speeds of individual fans on NVIDIA "Turing" graphics cards that support the feature, in addition to fan speed percentage monitoring.

Our feature-rich "Advanced" tab now also shows information on HDMI and DisplayPort connectors of your graphics cards. Power-draw on NVIDIA graphics cards is now reported both as a percentage of TDP and as an absolute value in Watts. Among the bugs fixed are a system hang due to Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) kicking in when GPU-Z is running in the background; memory bandwidth reading on RTX 2080 & RTX 2080 Ti with GDDR6 memory, AMD Radeon RX 400-series GPU utilization monitoring, and improved texts for system memory usage sensors.DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z v2.12.0

The change-log follows.

TechPowerUp and Lian Li brought you a golden opportunity (well, three), to bring home one of five LANCOOL ONE GOLD limited edition cases ever made, three of which were up for grabs on TechPowerUp alone! The gilded LANCOOL ONE is a super-rare case for a super-rare build to match its black-and-gold color scheme, featuring gold finished front panels, accented by matte white main body panels, white interiors, and contrasting tinted black tempered glass panels. Without further ado, the Winners:

• Yeung from Hong Kong SAR, China
• Michael from Victoria, Australia
• Nathan from Southampton, United Kingdom

A Huge Congratulations to the Winners, who will receive a piece of Lian Li history!

With the latest release of NVIDIA's NVFlash, version 5.513.0, users can now read and write the BIOS on Turing based graphics cards. This includes the RTX 2080 Ti, 2080, and 2070. While this may seem mundane at first, due to the different power limits between graphics cards, there is some hope that cross flashing of the BIOS could result in tangible performance gains.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA NVFlash v5.513.0

Lian Li made only five LANCOOL One Champagne Gold limited edition cases, ever. Three of these are up for grabs on TechPowerUp alone! The TechPowerUp Lian Li LANCOOL One Gold Giveaway presents you with a unique opportunity to win a rare Lian Li creation that combines sexy gold bling with legendary build quality and utility. These super-rare cases feature gold finished front panels, accented by matte white main body panels, white interiors, and contrasting tinted black tempered glass panels.

To win one of three cases we are giving away, simply fill up a form that lets us get back to you if you've won. You can add a chance by sharing the contest page on popular social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Google+, or even classic e-mail. Each platform gives you an extra chance, so you can have up to four extra chances. To get extra chances, you not only have to click on the share buttons, on the giveaway page, but also follow through on the appropriate platform (we can tell). The Giveaway is open Worldwide (wherever legal), from today (25th September) till 6th October. Good Luck!

For more information, and to participate, visit this page.

TechPowerUp and Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) brought you a unique opportunity to bring home a LIVA Z2 mini PC over the month. After sifting through hundreds of entries, we have a winner, who receives a LIVA Z2, which is primed to be an ideal, super-compact HTPC, or a space-saving desktop that you can tuck away behind your monitor! Some entries were disqualified for being additional ticket entries without following through with social-media sharing. Without further ado, the winner!

• Mark from Michigan, USA

A huge Congratulations to you, Mark! TechPowerUp and ECS will return with more such interesting Giveaways!

TechPowerUp today released the latest version of ThrottleStop by Kevin Glynn, a utility that gives you control over your processor's internal power-management features, including OEM-preset throttling. Version 8.70 comes with a refreshed user-interface that's designed to minimize information-overload. Under the hood, improvements are made to Windows ring-0 security and memory access; thanks to contributions by Sam Haskins.

With this version, the ability to disable and lock memory-mapped Turbo power limits, and IccMax domain adjustments, are being introduced. Also fixed are the correct voltage domain names for "Skylake" (and later) CPUs. Also improved are system-tray icon behavior, including regular updates in Stop Data mode, single-click spawning of the main window, and the new Logo Min option. Grab the feature-packed new ThrottleStop from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp ThrottleStop 8.70

TechPowerUp and Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) bring you an opportunity to grab an ECS LIVA Z2 mini PC. The LIVA Z2 can be a great addition to your living room as an HTPC, as its HDMI 2.0-equipped graphics solution is capable of 4K UHD video playback, complete with 10 bpc HEVC hardware-accelerated decoding. We reviewed it recently. Its 802.11ac WLAN serves up sufficient bandwidth for 4K @60 fps video streaming, while Bluetooth 4.1 enables wireless keyboards, mice, and headphones to work in tandem. Its Intel Pentium Silver SoC also makes it sufficiently fast for basic productivity, and its VESA wall-mount lets you mount it behind your monitor and save space on your desk. Here's your chance to get one - simply fill up a form to help us get back to you, if you're the randomly selected winner, at the end of the giveaway on 13th September. Good Luck!

To participate, visit this page.

Viper Gaming and TechPowerUp brought you a unique opportunity to win one of three sets of gaming keyboards, mice, and headsets, to revamp your battlestation. When it closed on the 19th of August, we sifted through hundreds of entries to randomly pick three lucky winners! Without further ado, the winners:

• Robert from New York City, NY: Wins Viper V770 Keyboard + Viper V570 Mouse + Viper V370 Headset
• Matthew from Saint Johnsbury, VT: Wins Viper V760 Keyboard + Viper V560 + Viper V361 Headset
• Aaron from Saint Paul, MN: Wins Viper V730 Keyboard + Viper V530 Mouse + Viper V330 Headset

A Huge Congratulations to you three!

TechPowerUp will return with more such interesting giveaways.

TechPowerUp and Viper Gaming, the gaming peripherals brand of Patriot Memory, bring you a chance to grab some of the finest pieces of gaming peripherals there are. Open for residents of US and Canada, up for grabs are three Viper Gaming care packages, each including a keyboard, a mouse, and a headset (3 winners in all). The 1st winner gets a package with a Viper Gaming V770 mechanical gaming keyboard, a V570 gaming mouse, and a V370 headset (all top grade stuff). The 2nd winner gets a V760 gaming keyboard, a V560 mouse, and a V361 headset. The 3rd winner gets a V730 keyboard, a V530 mouse, and a V330 headset. These prizes pretty much cover all of Viper Gaming's lean yet differentiated lineup of gaming hardware at attractive price-points.

The Giveaway is open from today (09-Aug) to 19th August, 23:59 UTC. You can increase your chances of winning by sharing the Giveaway on social media. For more information and to participate, visit this page.

TechPowerUp today released a major update to GPU-Z, our graphics sub-system information, monitoring, and diagnostic utility that no PC enthusiast can leave home without. Version 2.10.0 introduces a slew of changes. To begin with, we have added CPU temperature monitoring, supported on all Intel processors 2nd generation Core and newer; and AMD Ryzen. The graph drawing code for the "Sensors" tab has been improved for faster rendering and reduced CPU usage. The "Reset" button in this tab can be used to clear all graphs with a click. Various under the hood improvements work to avoid error messages with Query External. GPU-Z now reports Override limits on the ATI/AMD BIOS Advanced view page.

Support has been added for the GDDR6 memory type. Among the new GPUs supported are AMD Vega M GH, Vega M GL, WX 4130, WX 4150, WX 8100, Radeon Pro Vega 56, Pro SSG; AMD Vega Graphics in Ryzen 3 2200U, Ryzen 3 2300U, Ryzen 3 Pro 2200GE, Ryzen 5 2400GE, Ryzen 7 2400U; Intel UHD 605, UHD 610, UHD 630, P580; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB, GTX 1050 3 GB, GTX 1050 2 GB (GP106), GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, MX110, MX130, GTX 750 Ti (GM107B); Quadro GV100, P600 Mobile, P620, P2000, P3200, P4200, Grid M3-3020; and Tesla V100, V100-PCIE-32GB, M4, P106-090, P5200, P6, P40, P100 SXM2, P100 PCIe 12 GB.DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 2.10.0

The change-log follows.

An "attack on journalism" exclaims German tech publication Heise.de, on NVIDIA's latest non-disclosure agreement (NDA), a document tech journalists and reviewers have to sign in order to receive graphics card samples and information from NVIDIA. The language of this NDA, released verbatim to the web by Heise, provides a glimpse of what terms reviewers agree to, in order to write launch-day reviews of new products. NDAs are sort of like the EULA you agree to before installing software. There are NDAs for even little things like new thermal pastes, and reviewers end up signing dozens of them each year. Over time, it becomes second nature for reviewers to not publish before a date prescribed by the manufacturer, NDA or not.

The spirit of an NDA is: "we are giving you information/a sample in good faith, don't post your review before date/time/timezone." Such an NDA casts no aspersions on the credibility of the review since it doesn't dictate how the review should be, or what it should say. It doesn't say "don't post your review before we approve what you wrote." NVIDIA samples usually ship with a PDF titled "reviewer's guide," which only politely suggests to reviewers something along the lines of "here's our cool new graphics card that's capable of playing this game at that resolution with these settings, just don't test it on something like Linux with Nouveau drivers, because that either won't work or won't show what our card is truly capable of." Heise's close inspection of the latest NDA by NVIDIA suggests to them that NVIDIA is mandating positive reviews now. We disagree.

TechPowerUp today released GPU-Z v2.9.0, the latest version of the graphics sub-system information, diagnostic, and monitoring utility no enthusiast can leave home without. Version 2.9.0 fixes some of the bugs encountered with Windows 10 April 2018 Update, with support for new WDDM 2.4 drivers. Support is also added for NVIDIA Tesla V100, and NVIDIA GPUs in TCC mode (eg: Tesla and Quadro families). Also added is support for "Haswell" GT1 variant (found on certain Celeron SKUs), and more AMD "Bristol Ridge" APU graphics variants.

At AMD's request, we disabled "Vega" SoC clock and hot-spot sensors by default. You can manually enable them any time in the settings. For enthusiasts who have GPU-Z launched at start-up (as a Scheduled Task), Windows will no longer nag with the "this file was downloaded from the Internet" dialog every time. PerfCap reason for Tesla GPUs in TCC mode has been fixed to "none." Detection of various AMD "Carrizo," "Bristol Ridge" and "Stoney Ridge" GPUs were fixed. The overall drawing code for the sensor graphs is improved. Grab GPU-Z from the link below.DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 2.9.0

The Change-log follows.

TechPowerUp and Be Quiet! brought you a chance to pick up either a Dark Base 700 case, or Straight Power 11 750W PSU, or both. Our Giveaway has ended, and we've picked three lucky winners from hundreds of entries. Dark Base 700 is among the quietest mid-towers in the market, and our review has shown that its acoustic dampening can significantly quieten the many noisy components your high-end build may have. The Straight Power 11 750W is its perfect match, with a design focus on low noise, without compromising on safe and clean power for your build. Without further ado, the winners:

• Srdjan from Madison, USA - wins both a Be Quiet! Dark Base 700 case and a Straight Power 11 750W PSU
• Mylous from Las Vegas, USA - wins a Be Quiet! Dark Base 700 case
• Christopher from Highland, USA - wins a Be Quiet! Straight Power 11 750W PSU

A huge congrats to you three! TechPowerUp and Be Quiet! will return with more such interesting giveaways.

Yesterday, we had a very productive phone call with CTS-Labs, the firm behind the "AMD Flaws" critical security vulnerabilities exposé of the "Zen" microarchitecture. Our questions focus on the practicality of exploiting these vulnerabilities, and should provide more insight to the skepticism centered on needing admin privileges, flashing BIOS ROMs, and other localized hacks that would render any machine, not just "Zen" powered, vulnerable. Feel free to follow up with questions in the comments section, if we can help explain something.

CTS Labs, the Israel-based IT security research company behind Tuesday's explosive AMD Ryzen security vulnerabilities report, responded to questions posed by TechPowerUp. One of the biggest of these, which is also on the minds of skeptics, is the ominous lack of proof-of-concept code or binaries being part of their initial public report (in contrast to the Meltdown/Spectre reports that went into technical details about the exploit). CTS Labs stated to TechPowerUp that it has sent AMD, along with other big tech companies a "complete research package," which includes "full technical write-ups about the vulnerabilities," "functional proof-of-concept exploit code," and "instructions on how to reproduce each vulnerability." It stated that besides AMD, the research package was sent to Microsoft, HP, Dell, Symantec, FireEye, and Cisco Systems, to help them develop patches and mitigation.

An unwritten yet generally accepted practice in the IT security industry upon discovery of such vulnerabilities, is for researchers to give companies in question at least 90 days to design a software patch, harden infrastructure, or implement other mitigation. 90 days is in stark contrast to the 24 hours AMD got from CTS Labs. CTS Labs confirmed to TechPowerUp that it indeed shared its research package with AMD (and the other companies) just 24 hours prior to making its report public, but urged those disgruntled with this decision to look at the situation objectively. "If you look at the situation in the following way: right now the public knows about the vulnerabilities and their implications, AMD is fully informed and developing patches, and major security companies are also informed and working on mitigation."

Be Quiet! and TechPowerUp have come together for a chance for PC enthusiasts from the United States and Canada, to build a quieter PC. The company, which has a design focus on low-noise across its entire product lineup, is giving away two of its quietest products - the first lucky winner stands to win both a Be Quiet! Dark Base 700 case and a Be Quiet! Straight Power 11 750W power-supply; the second lucky winner stands to win a Dark Base 700 case, while the third lucky winner gets a Straight Power 11 750W power-supply (three winners in all). The giveaway is open from today, till 26th, 2018 23:59 UTC. Good hunting!

For more information, and to participate, visit this page.

TechPowerUp today released GPU-Z v2.8.0, with important stability and feature updates. To begin with, we've addressed driver-crash issues seen on AMD "Raven Ridge" APU iGPU enabled systems, when using GPU-Z. The new DXVA 2.0 Features page in the "Advanced" tab is a ready-reckoner for all the video formats your GPUs provide hardware-acceleration for. We've made improvements to the accuracy of video memory usage readings on AMD Radeon GPUs, rendering performance of NVIDIA PerfCap sensor; and AMD power-limit readings in the "Advanced" tab.

Among the new GPUs supported are Radeon RX 460 Mobile, RX 560 Mobile, RX 570 Mobile, RX 580 Mobile, RX 550 based on Baffin LE. Minor bug-fixes include NVIDIA PerfCap sensor drawing outside its area; accuracy of temperature reading on AMD "Vega," a "BIOS reading not supported" error popping up on certain motherboards, and the driver digital signature reading getting truncated on high-DPI displays. Grab GPU-Z v2.8.0 from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z v2.8.0The change-log follows.

AMD today has released the WHQL version of its Radeon Software Adrenalin 18.2.1 Beta drivers, which the company had introduced just five days ago. There's no apparent difference between this driver version and the previously released one, other than the WHQL certification - this might mean some additional stability in the new driver release compared to its Beta version, though mileage may vary.

Just as a friendly reminder, the Radeon Software Adrenalin 18.2.1 drivers add support for Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age, while fixing a number of bugs with FreeSync and the Vulkan API, among others. As always, you can download these drivers right here on TechPowerUp!, just by following the link below.DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 18.2.1 WHQL

TechPowerUp today released the latest version of GPU-Z, the popular graphics subsystem information and diagnostic utility. Version 2.7.0 comes with a handful of important bug fixes and updates to its internal modules. To begin with, we've updated the NVFlash module that lets GPU-Z extract video BIOS from graphics cards, the newer NVFlash supports BIOS extraction from some of the newer NVIDIA graphics cards such as the GTX 1070 Ti. We've also fixed incorrect video memory amount reading on AMD Radeon RX Vega graphics cards. TMU and ROP counts, and OpenCL status on AMD "Polaris 21" GPUs is fixed, as is incorrect labeling of a memory clock sensor on NVIDIA GPUs. GPU-Z will no longer prevent system shutdowns and reboots on Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 2.7.0

The change-log follows.

TechPowerUp and Reeven ended 2017 with a [silent] bang, our Year End Giveaway gave three lucky winners a chance to win some of Reeven's best cooling products, including a Reeven Hans CPU cooler, a pair of Reeven ColdWing14 fans, and a Reeven 4Eyes Touch fan-controller. With 2017 behind us (in all timezones), we picked the winners!

• Michael from the United States, wins a Reeven Hans CPU Cooler
• 睿璟 黃 from Taiwan, wins two Reeven ColdWing14 Fans
• Marco from Italy, wins a Reeven 4Eyes Touch Fan-controller

A Huge Congrats to you three! TechPowerUp strives to bring you more such interesting giveaways throughout 2018!

Update Jan 10: Michael never responded, so another winner for the Reeven Hans cooler was picked: Rhys from Australia.

TechPowerUp and nerdytec brought you a golden opportunity to win a nerdytec Couchmaster Cycon Black Edition lap-stand, along with a full set of gaming peripherals, including a Logitech G413 Carbon keyboard, a Logitech G703 gaming mouse, and a Logitech G533 Wireless gaming headset. Together with these, the Couchmaster Cycon converts your living room couch into a serious and ergonomic gaming station, loaded to the boot with pockets for your Cheetos and Monster drink. Winner takes all in this absolute cracker of a giveaway:

• David from Burton, United States

A huge Congratulations to you, David!

TechPowerUp wishes you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas, and a Prosperous New Year! We hope you have a great time today, and unwrap something from your loved ones that loves ones and zeroes! 2017 has been an epic year in the world of PC technology, and we will see it off with a special surprise for our fans, as we turn the page onto 2018 with the International CES, promising another mega extravaganza of new technology and things that we badly want.

We would like to thank you for all your love and support through 2017, and we promise to make 2018 an even better TechPowerUp for you!

Earlier this month, ADATA and TechPowerUp brought you the XPG EMIX Giveaway, a chance for three lucky winners to get an set of ADATA XPG EMIX H30 Headset and SOLOX F30 Amplifier, each. Together, the XPG EMIX H30 headset and SOLOX F30 amp make for a high-end, eSports tournament-grade audio solution for competitive gamers. The XPG EMIX H30 combines the highest grade acoustic-dampening with large drivers. The SOLOX F30 is a tailor-made amp for this headset, that puts out just the right impedance and range, along with a great degree of physical and software control. Without further ado, the winners:

• Joshua from the United States
• Manuel from Spain
• Kevin from Canada

A huge congrats to you three! TechPowerUp will return with more such interesting giveaways!

TechPowerUp and ADATA XPG present the EMIX e-Sports gaming headset giveaway, showcasing the EMIX series of amplified gaming headsets. Three lucky winners stand to win a set of XPG EMIX H30 Headset and SOLOX F30 Amplifier, each. The full-size EMIX H30 headsets deliver a wide sonic range with powerful bass thanks to their 53 mm drivers. The SOLOXX F30 amplifier + headset stand is an external audio card, putting out 7.1 channel virtual surround audio. Together, the EMIX H30 and the SOLOX F30 aim to take your gaming audio to e-Sports tournament levels. The contest is open world-wide, till the 17th of December, 2017.

For more information, and to participate, visit this page.

TechPowerUp and GeIL Thanksgiving Giveaway draws to a close on the heels of Thanksgiving Weekend. The Giveaway puts some of GeIL's best creations of the year, including EpicGear gaming peripherals, and SuperLuce series DDR4 memory kits, in the hands of three lucky winners from around the world. The fist winner gets an EpicGear peripherals set, which includes an EpicGear Gekkota gaming mouse, EpicGear GryphuZ Pro gaming mouse pad, and an EpicGear Melodiouz gaming headset. The second winner gets a Super LUCE RGB Sync 2x 8 GB DDR4-2400 memory kit. The third lucky winner gets a GeIL Super LUCE RGB Lite 2x 4 GB DDR4-2400 memory kit. Without further ado, the winners.

• Jonathan from the United States, wins EpicGear Gaming Peripherals Set
• Manuel from Spain, wins GeIL Super LUCE RGB Sync 2x 8GB DDR4-2400 Kit
• Łukasz from Poland, wins GeIL Super LUCE RGB Lite 2x 4 GB DDR4-2400 memory kit

A huge Congratulations to you three! TechPowerUp will return with more such interesting giveaways!