Intel has officially started shipping the "0x129" microcode update for its 13th and 14th generation "Raptor Lake" and "Raptor Lake Refresh" processors. This critical update is currently being pushed to all OEM/ODM partners to address the stability issues that Intel's processors have been facing. According to Intel, this microcode update fixes "incorrect voltage requests to the processor that are causing elevated operating voltage." Intel's analysis shows that the root cause of stability problems is caused by too high voltage during operation of the processor. These increases to voltage cause degradation that increases the minimum voltage required for stable operation. Intel calls this "Vmin"—it's a theoretical construct, not an actual voltage, think "speed for an airplane required to fly". The latest 0x129 microcode patch will limit the processor's voltage to no higher than 1.55 V, which should avoid further degradation. Overclocking is still supported, enthusiasts will have to disable the eTVB setting in their BIOS to push the processor beyond the 1.55 V threshold. The company's internal testing shows that the new default settings with limited voltages with standard run-to-run variations show minimal performance impact, with only a single game (Hitman 3: Dartmoor) showing degradation. For a full statement from Intel, see the quote below.

Whether looking for new adventures, epic storylines or games to play with a friend, GeForce NOW members are covered. Start off with the much-anticipated sequel to the Men of War franchise or cozy up with some adorable pals in Palworld, both part of five games GeForce NOW is bringing to the cloud this week.

No Guts, No Glory
Get transported to the battlefields of World War II with historical accuracy and attention to detail in Men of War II, the newest entry in the real-time strategy series from Fulqrum Publishing. The game features an extensive roster of units, including tanks, airplanes and infantry. With advanced enemy AI and diverse gameplay modes, Men of War II promises an immersive experience for both history enthusiasts and casual gamers. Gear up, strategize and prepare to rewrite history. Get an extra fighting chance with a GeForce NOW Ultimate membership, which streams at up to 4K resolution and provides longer gaming sessions and faster access to games over a free membership.

Gear up, Trailblazers - Honkai: Star Rail lands on GeForce NOW this week, along with an in-game reward for members to celebrate the title's launch in the cloud. Stream it today, along with five new games joining the GeForce NOW library of more than 1,900 titles this week.

Five Stars
Take a galactic journey in the cloud with Honkai: Star Rail, a new Cosmic Adventure Strategy role-playing game from HoYoverse, the company behind Genshin Impact. The title seamlessly blends intricate storytelling with immersive gameplay mechanics for an epic journey through the cosmos. Meet a cast of unique characters and explore diverse planets, each with its own mysteries to uncover. Assemble formidable teams, strategically deploying skills and resources to overcome mighty adversaries and unravel the mysteries of the Honkai phenomenon. Encounter new civilizations and face off against threats that endanger the Astral Express, overcome the struggles caused by Stellaron together, powerful artifacts that hold the keys to the universe's fate. Begin the trailblazing journey without needing to wait for downloads or game updates with GeForce NOW. Members who've opted into GeForce NOW's Rewards program will receive an email with a code for a Honkai: Star Rail starter kit, containing 30,000 credits, three Refined Aethers and three Traveler's Guides. All aboard the Astral Express for adventures and thrills!

Grab your dueling pistols and dust off those adventurin' boots, because Lara Croft is back, baby! Get ready to embark on a journey down memory lane as the iconic Lara Croft makes her triumphant return in this lovingly remastered collection of the first three classic Tomb Raider games. The launch of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered brings these adventures to a new generation of gamers, featuring enhanced visuals, polished gameplay, previously exclusive expansions, and a surge of nostalgia to boot.

This time around, you'll be able to share your globetrotting adventures with your friends thanks to the new "Photo Mode" feature. Classic exploration meets modern creativity and every snapshot gives you a chance to tell YOUR story through daring escapades and unparalleled adventure. While you embark on legendary expeditions with Lara, capture your own moments of discovery and triumph.

It's been almost 30 years since Lara Croft took her first snowy steps in the mountains of Peru. In about 30 days, console and PC players will get to re-experience Lara's first three globe-trotting adventures, with a fresh look and feel in Tomb Raider I-III Remastered on PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Windows PC. How did we get here? That story takes us to Austin, TX in 1998.

Aspyr & Lara go way back
A burgeoning video game company, Aspyr, launches Tomb Raider II on Macintosh computers. Aspyr continued with the Tomb Raider franchise until 2003, launching Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider III, Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, Tomb Raider: Chronicles, and Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness. We've always wanted to revisit these titles, but we always debated the right approach. For years, we worked through the right balance of preservation and modernization. And once we felt we nailed it, we got in touch with our friends at Crystal Dynamics.

AMD has released the AMD Software Adrenalin Edition Preview Driver which add support for AMD Fluid Motion Frames (AFMF) technical preview which is available in several games and only works on AMD Radeon RX 7000 series graphics cards. AMD Fluid Motion Frames (AFMF) will be available as a part of FidelityFX Super Resolution 3.0 (FSR3), which is expected to launch tomorrow and supported in Forspoken and Immortals of Aveum games.

With the new AMD Software Adrenalin Edition Preview Driver, AMD enables Frame Generation on a driver level as "Fluid Motion Frame" option, which can be enabled via HYPR-X, or individually for each game by using the Global Graphics Settings page. AMD has an extensive list of over 20 titles, including Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Starfield, Hogwarts Legacy, The Last of Us Part 1, Far Cry 6, Shadow Of The Tomb Raider, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and others. AMD also notes that AFMF can also be manually for any title such as Cyberpunk 2077 using the per-app settings within AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition Preview Driver for AMD Fluid Motion Frames

Benchmarks of NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce RTX 4080 (formerly known as the RTX 4080 16 GB) are already out as the leaky taps in the Asian tech forumscape know no bounds. Someone with access to an RTX 4080 sample and drivers on ChipHell forums, put it through a battery of synthetic and gaming tests. The $1,200 MSRP graphics card was tested on 3DMark Time Spy, Port Royal, and games that include Forza Horizon 5, Call of Duty Modern Warfare II, Cyberpunk 2077, Borderlands 3, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

The big picture: the RTX 4080 is found to be halfway between the RTX 3090 Ti and the RTX 4090. At stock settings, and in 3DMark Time Spy Extreme (4K), it has 71% the performance of an RTX 4090, whereas the RTX 3090 Ti is 55% that of the RTX 4090. With its "power limit" slider maxed out, the RTX 4080 inches 2 percentage-points closer to the RTX 4090 (73% that of the RTX 4090), and with a bit of manual OC, it adds another 4 percentage-points. Things change slightly with 3DMark Port Royal, where the RTX 4080 is 69% the performance of the RTX 4090 in a test where the RTX 3090 Ti does 58% that of the RTX 4090.

Intel's ambitious XeSS (Xe Super Sampling) performance enhancement formally launched, with the latest "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" patch dated September 27. The patch release notes describes this feature addition as "Added XeSS graphics support for DX12-compatible systems." This means that XeSS not only works in its native XMX code-path for Arc "Alchemist" GPUs, but also the agnostic DP4a code. CapFrameX confirmed that XeSS works with Radeon RX 6000 RDNA2 GPUs, which means the DP4a fallback has been implemented. The XeSS feature-addition to SoTR comes just in time as reviews of the Arc A770 are expected to go live early next month, with availability slated for October 12. You can learn more about XeSS in our older article.

If you owned an Apocalypse 3d/3dx or Matrox m3D, you would've been one of many gamers that had bought a PowerVR Series 1 based 3D graphics accelerator and was both excited and underwhelmed at the same time. Released originally in 1996 and the PCX1 manufactured a 500 nm and a core clock speed of whopping 60 MHz, it was the only direct competitor of 3dfx's original Voodoo graphics card, which was technically slower at 50 MHz, but delivered a lot better in terms of 3D quality. Here we are in 2022 and Imagination Technologies, the company behind the PCX1 and the die shrunk PCX2 that was launched a year later, is releasing the drivers for both 3D accelerators as open source. Outside of a big nostalgia trip for those that might still have their card knocking around, there's questionable value in these drivers.

The second generation of PowerVR GPU's ended up powering the Sega Dreamcast with the third generation ending up in PC GPUs that were competitive with the NVIDIA GeForce 256, at least until NVIDIA changed from SDR to DDR memory. The most unique part of the PowerVR Series 1 was that the 3D accelerator could use the main 2D display cards memory as a framebuffer over the PCI bus. Sadly most games didn't support the PowerSGL API at the time and weren't able to take full advantage of the hardware when DirectX 3.0 was used. The open source drivers are provided as is and it seems like some libraries are missing for the Tomb Raider port for the PoverVR Series 1 3D accelerators, but beyond that, there should be no limitations.

NVIDIA's Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology has been one of the main selling points of GeForce RTX graphics cards. With the broad adoption of the technology amongst many popular game titles, the gaming community has enjoyed the AI-powered upscaling technology that boosts frame-rate output and delivers better overall performance. Today, the company announced that DLSS arrived in 10 additional game titles, and those include today's release of Back 4 Blood, Baldur's Gate 3, Chivalry 2, Crysis Remastered Trilogy, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Sword and Fairy 7, and Swords of Legends Online.

With so many titles receiving the DLSS update, NVIDIA advertises using the latest GeForce driver to achieve the best possible performance in the listed games. If you are wondering just how much DLSS adds to the performance, in the newest Back 4 Blood title, RTX GPUs see a 46% boost in FPS. Similar performance gains translate to other labels that received the DLSS patch. You can expect to achieve more than double the number of frames in older titles like Alan Wake Remastered, Tomb Raider saga, and FIST.For more information about performance at 4K resolution, please see the slides supplied by NVIDIA below.

NVIDIA today reported record revenue for the second quarter ended July 26, 2020, of $3.87 billion, up 50 percent from $2.58 billion a year earlier, and up 26 percent from $3.08 billion in the previous quarter.

GAAP earnings per diluted share for the quarter were $0.99, up 10 percent from $0.90 a year ago, and down 33 percent from $1.47 in the previous quarter. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $2.18, up 76 percent from $1.24 a year earlier, and up 21 percent from $1.80 in the previous quarter. NVIDIA closed its acquisition of Mellanox Technologies Ltd. on April 27, 2020. "Adoption of NVIDIA computing is accelerating, driving record revenue and exceptional growth," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. "Growth in GeForce gaming accelerated as gamers increasingly immerse themselves in realistic virtual worlds created by NVIDIA RTX ray tracing and AI.

A new rumor suggests that Square Enix is preparing to release a Tomb Raider game bundle, the supposed leak claims that the bundle won't just include the modern games but also classics from the 90s. The package is supposedly set for release on Steam, Stadia, Xbox One, Playstation 4, and Nintendo Switch, the promotional image also carries an August 27th release date so if these rumors are true an announcement from Square Enix can be expected in the coming weeks. The rumor is backed up by a recent extension to the "T.R.U.E. TOMB RAIDER ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE" trademark filed by Square Enix in 2018.

If true this bundle could contain over 15 Tomb Raider games released during the last 24 years from various consoles. What do you think of the leak and trademark extension, a sign of imminent release, or just hopeful thinking and some Photoshop skills?

"Shadow of the Tomb Raider" received support for AMD FidelityFX through a patch. The latest Patch 18 update adds the FidelityFX toggle, letting you improve frame-rates by slightly reducing resolution-scale, resulting in higher frame-rates, and compensating for the image quality loss with the image-sharpening feature. NVIDIA GeForce users still have the option to use the Image Sharpening toggle in NVIDIA Control Panel introduced with GeForce R440 drivers. The patch also removes the restriction on character outfits when exploring the Hidden City location in game.

NVIDIA today announced that it is extending DXR (DirectX Raytracing) support to several GeForce GTX graphics models beyond its GeForce RTX series. These include the GTX 1660 Ti, GTX 1660, GTX 1080 Ti, GTX 1080, GTX 1070 Ti, GTX 1070, and GTX 1060 6 GB. The GTX 1060 3 GB and lower "Pascal" models don't support DXR, nor do older generations of NVIDIA GPUs. NVIDIA has implemented real-time raytracing on GPUs without specialized components such as RT cores or tensor cores, by essentially implementing the rendering path through shaders, in this case, CUDA cores. DXR support will be added through a new GeForce graphics driver later today.

The GPU's CUDA cores now have to calculate BVR, intersection, reflection, and refraction. The GTX 16-series chips have an edge over "Pascal" despite lacking RT cores, as the "Turing" CUDA cores support concurrent INT and FP execution, allowing more work to be done per clock. NVIDIA in a detailed presentation listed out the kinds of real-time ray-tracing effects available by the DXR API, namely reflections, shadows, advanced reflections and shadows, ambient occlusion, global illumination (unbaked), and combinations of these. The company put out detailed performance numbers for a selection of GTX 10-series and GTX 16-series GPUs, and compared them to RTX 20-series SKUs that have specialized hardware for DXR.Update: Article updated with additional test data from NVIDIA.

We knew this was coming, especially after Google's teaser from earlier this month. Project Stream was a proof-of-concept in collaboration with Ubisoft, to see whether AAA gaming was possible over the internet. Things were smooth most of the time in our own experience, but there remained questions over how the concept would translate over to a finished product, especially with infrastructure challenges on the client side of things. Google's keynote at GDC just wrapped up, and the main focus was Stadia- the now named cloud gaming service borne out of Project Stream.

Stadia is built with instant access in mind. An example demo came in the form of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Odyssey, which was used in the public test before. It is integrated with partner YouTube channels such that a trailer for a supported game would have an option to play said game, which would then launch immediately. Stadia is built with support from a wide partner network including AMD, Unity, id Software, and more, with details seen past the break.

A new patch has become available for Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which updated the game to the latest graphical technologies in the form of RTX and DLSS. The PC port of the game has been handed by developer Nixxes, which partnered with NVIDIA to work on adding ray-tracing enabled shadows to the game (there's a thematic coherence there if I've ever seen one).

NVIDIA had their customary GTC keynote ending mere minutes ago, and it was one of the longer keynotes clocking in at nearly three hours in length. There were some fascinating demos and features shown off, especially in the realm of robotics and machine learning, as well as new hardware as it pertains to AI and cars with the all-new Jetson Nano. It would be fair to say, however, that the vast majority of the keynote was targeting developers and researchers, as usually is the case at GTC. However, something came up in between which caught us by surprise, and no doubt is a pleasant update to most of us here on TechPowerUp.

Following AMD's claims on software-based real-time ray tracing in games, and Crytek's Neon Noir real-time ray tracing demo for both AMD and NVIDIA GPUs, it makes sense in hindsight that NVIDIA would allow rudimentary DXR ray tracing support to older hardware that do not support RT cores. In particular, an upcoming drivers update next month will allow DXR support for 10-series Pascal-microarchitecture graphics cards (GTX 1060 6 GB and higher), as well as the newly announced GTX 16-series Turing-microarchitecture GPUs (GTX 1660, GTX 1660 Ti). The announcement comes with a caveat letting people know to not expect RTX support (think lower number of ray traces, and possibly no secondary/tertiary effects), and this DXR mode will only be supported in Unity and Unreal game engines for now. More to come, with details past the break.

As Thanksgiving nears, Steam's Autumn Sale has officially started. Offering multiple deals to be thankful for, such as, Assassin's Creed Odyssey (33% off), NeiR: Automata (50% off), Monster Hunter World (34% off), Shadow of The Tomb Raider (50% off) and Civilization VI Gold Edition (69% off) just to name a few. Even virtual reality titles like Doom VFR, Skyrim VR, and Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality are now on sale for (50% off). That said, PC gamers can breathe a sigh of relief as the latest Steam sale will run from November 21st until November 27th at 10:00 AM Pacific. Meaning you have plenty of time to spend all your hard earned money, so open up your wallets and let the shopping spree begin.

AMD today released Radeon Software Adrenalin 18.9.1 beta. The drivers introduce optimization of "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" and "Star Control: Origins." A number of issues are also addressed with this release. To begin with, a bug that prevented FreeSync from enabling in "Monster Hunter: World" has been fixed. Radeon Link not connecting to devices running Android 9 Pie has been fixed. Radeon ReLive not properly recording DirectX 12 games on R9 290 and R9 390 series GPUs has been fixed. A cursor lag noticed on multi-display systems with one of the monitors turned off has been fixed. The Radeon Settings context-menu item not appearing after driver installation has been fixed. Grab the drivers from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 18.9.1The change-log follows.

NVIDIA today released GeForce 399.24 WHQL "Game Ready" drivers. These drivers come with optimization for the month's biggest AAA game launch: "Shadow of the Tomb Raider," in addition to "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" - open beta, and "Assetto Corsa Competizione" - early access. There aren't too many issues fixed with this release. Apparently it addresses a performance drop when using NVIDIA cards on a 32-core/64-thread processor, like the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX. It also addresses drivers not correctly installing on machines with ye olde Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors.DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 399.24 WHQL

Square Enix's upcoming game title, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, is due for public release on September 14, less than 11 days from the time of this news post, and has grabbed attention already thanks to that being the first game to be out that also promises support for NVIDIA's RTX real-time ray tracing. Based on preliminary tests, this appears to have even the upcoming GeForce RTX 2080 Ti struggle to maintain a solid 60 FPS even at 1080p so time will tell how the rest of the game fares on hardware both old and new.

In the meantime, we look forward to seeing the third of the rebooted Lara Croft series that has been received positively in general- including for a good PC port, as tested by TechPowerUp before. Shadow of the Tomb Raider is slated to run on a system with a dual core CPU, a GeForce GTX 1050/Radeon HD 7770 equivalent and takes up 40 GB of system storage. As for recommended settings, Square Enix via developer Eidos-Montreal suggests a quad core CPU (Intel Haswell and newer, or AMD Ryzen R5 1600 and newer) paired with an NVIDIA GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 480. Interesting also to note here is the use of the 6 GB version of the GTX 1060, so it may be a case of the game needing a minimum of 4 GB VRAM at 1080p under their recommended settings. Let us know in the comments if you plan on picking up the game early, and also what system you are going to be running this with.

Perhaps a lot of driver optimization and game patches are due, but early performance numbers for real-time ray-tracing on NVIDIA's thousand-dollar GeForce RTX 2080 Ti don't look encouraging. German tech publication PCGH tested the enthusiast-segment graphics card on "Shadow of the Tomb Raider," one of the poster-boys of NVIDIA's upcoming ray-tracing acceleration, and found that with all its eye-candy cranked up, the card barely manages 30 to 60 frames per second at Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels).

NVIDIA and Eidos (developers of "Shadow of the Tomb Raider") were quick to respond to the PCGH story. They stated that the build of the game demoed at Gamescom is pre-release, and the studio is still optimizing it for NVIDIA GeForce RTX series; and that the GeForce RTX hardware is running on pre-launch beta drivers that are yet to pack "Game Ready" optimization for SOTR. Catch PCGH's video presentation in the source link below.

AMD announced the "Raise the Game" bundle. The company is giving away three AAA games with its Radeon RX Vega 64, RX Vega 56, RX 580, and RX 570 graphics cards (you get all three games when you purchase any of those graphics cards). Assassin's Creed Odyssey is the star attraction here. The latest addition to the Assassin's Creed franchise adds a straight $59.99 value to your graphics card purchase. You also get "Strange Brigade," a $39.99 upcoming co-op adventure shooter set in a Tomb Raider-esque setting. Lastly, there's Star Control: Origins, the upcoming space RTS by Stardock.

This is probably the first time that a GPU vendor is bundling only upcoming games, which at launch-prices add tremendous value to your graphics card, especially some of the cheaper RX 570 ones. Assassin's Creed Origins releases this October, while Strange Brigade lands late-August, and Star Control: Origins this September. The bundle is limited to participating retailers, and applicable to graphics cards sold between August 7, 2018 and ends November 3, 2018 (or until stocks last). You get a master coupon that must be redeemed on AMD website before 31st December, which puts out the UPlay and Steam keys for the games.

Square Enix, Eidos-Montréal, and Crystal Dynamics today revealed the full trailer for Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the latest entry in the critically acclaimed and award-winning Tomb Raider series. Created by a team of veteran Tomb Raider developers at Eidos-Montréal, in collaboration with Crystal Dynamics, the game will be available on September 14, 2018 for the Xbox One family of devices, including Xbox One X, PlayStation 4 system and Windows PC/Steam .

In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara must master a deadly jungle, overcome terrifying tombs, and persevere through her darkest hour. As she races to save the world from a Mayan apocalypse, Lara will be forged into the Tomb Raider she is destined to be. The star of the critically acclaimed 2013 Tomb Raider reboot and the award-winning Rise of the Tomb Raider , Camilla Luddington, makes her return as Lara Croft with yet another stunning performance in Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

Feral Interactive has released their free, open-source tool called GameMode to help Linux gamers squeeze every drop of gaming performance out of their systems. GameMode is basically a small daemon and library combo that instructs the processor to run in Performance Mode when a user is playing a game. GameMode along with the instructions for installation can be found at GitHub. Feral Interactive also took the opportunity to announce that Rise of the Tomb Raider, which lands on Linux later this month, will be the first Linux title to integrate GameMode. Future titles from the video game publisher will probably include GameMode as well.