Resident Evil 3 - 27 Graphics Cards Compared - [gaming]
01:43 PM EDT - Mar,31 2020 - post a comment 
Resident Evil 3 by Capcom is a remake of the 1999 PlayStation smash hit "Resident Evil 3: Nemesis" survivor horror third-person action RPG. The game will simultaneously release on April 3rd on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Events of the game are re-told with a completely rebuilt production design. Instead of fixed-perspective prerendered rooms in which the player moves, Resident Evil 3 is now fully interactive 3Das expected for 2020. Resident Evil 3 uses Capcom's in-house RE Engine (which also powers other Capcom titles, such as Resident Evil 2 Remake and Devil May Cry 5). On the PC platform, RE Engine is able to leverage both DirectX 11 and DirectX 12. Compared to previous versions of the engine, we're now getting more eye candy and support for AMD FidelityFX. In this mini-review, TechPowerUp have tested Resident Evil 3 across a wide selection of graphics cards from all price segments; they tested both the DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 modes and present comparisons between both.
Performance is excellent across the board. For 1080p 60 FPS even a GTX 1060 3 GB or RX 570 4 GB will be sufficientat the highest setting. The settings screen claims that this setting requires 12 GB VRAM, which is not even close since we measured 5.5 GB and the game still ran fine on cards with less VRAM. For 1440p at 60 FPS, a GTX 1660 or RX 580 does the trick, and even the demanding 4K resolution is perfectly playable on a lot of cards. Here, you need a RTX 2070 Super or Radeon VII. We tested with Game Ready drivers from both companies, NVIDIA 445.75 is already public and AMD's Radeon 20.4.1 (which AMD provided for our testing) will come out in a few days, well ahead of the game's release.
Resident Evil 3 supports both the DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 API. Just like in previous RE Engine games the DirectX 12 render path is actually a little bit slower than DirectX 11. Even on older cards, like NVIDIA Pascal and AMD Polaris. The only difference is the GTX 1060 3 GB, which seems to take a smaller performance hit on DX12 when it runs out of VRAM at 1440p and 4Kstill not the right card for those resolutions. In a reversal of that result, the Radeon RX 5500 XT with its 4 GB VRAM and PCIe x8 interface does a lot worse in DX12 than DX11 when it runs out of memory. My recommendation is to switch to DirectX 11 for your playthrough and never look back.
|
Microsoft Azure Traffic Surges 775% Amid COVID-19 Outbreak - [briefly]
12:26 PM EDT - Mar,31 2020 - post a comment Microsoft Azure, a cloud computing service, has seen a huge uplift in traffic/usage in the past few days amid the COVID-19 outbreak. In the places where the outbreak happened and people are enforcing social distancing, Microsoft reports that there has been a 775% traffic uplift compared to the previous situation. As everyone capable of working from home needs a communication tool, Microsoft Teams is a popular choice, and it has seen some amazing usage as well. The users of Teams service have generated over 900 million meetings and calling minutes on Teams daily in a single week, resulting in high server usage. The demand for Windows Virtual Desktops has tripled as well. |
Intel Core i9-10980HK Detailed - [hardware]
12:21 PM EDT - Mar,31 2020 - post a comment In no mood to cede mobile performance leadership to AMD and its Ryzen 9 4900HS processor, Intel is readying its new flagship mobile part, the Core i9-10980HK. Based on the 14 nm "Comet Lake-H" silicon, this chip packs an 8-core/16-thread CPU with a maximum boost speed (aka "Thermal Velocity Boost") of 5.30 GHz, while maintaining an aggressive power target of 45 W TDP. This should put the chip's performance somewhere between the desktop Core i7-9700K and the Core i9-9900K, both of which have TDP rated at 95 W, although the chip could perform very close to the latter at gaming, thanks to its 300 MHz higher boost frequency. Intel is expected to launch the 10th generation Core i9 H-series processors on April 2nd, around the same time when NVIDIA launches its mobile GeForce RTX 20 Super series. |
Steam Sees Record-High Number of Online Players - [gaming]
12:20 PM EDT - Mar,31 2020 - post a comment Steam, an online platform for gaming, has seen some incredible numbers in terms of usage last night. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that many people are in quarantine/self-isolation mode, the number of concurrent users of the platform has skyrocketed. Beating all the previous records of 18 million and 20 million concurrent users, Steam saw as much as 23 million concurrent users last night. Precisely 23,572,311 of users online, setting a new record-high number. The most played games were Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. For more statistics, please see here. |
Samsung to End LCD Manufacturing by Late-2020,Focus on AMOLED/QLED - [hardware]
12:18 PM EDT - Mar,31 2020 - post a comment Samsung Display, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics that develops and manufactures display panels, is reportedly ending the manufacturing of all its LCD panel products by the end of 2020. These include TN-film, various kinds of VA, and IPS. This would see an end to even LED-backlit LCD panels that make up a bulk of the company's low-cost PC monitors and TVs. The company will focus on more advanced panel technologies, such as AMOLED and QLED. Samsung manufactures LCD panels at plants in South Korea and China. With LCD being phased out, the production lines will be re-tooled to manufacture quantum-dot LED (QLED) panels. The company will spend the rest of 2020 shipping out pending orders of LCD panels. |
Spring Break vs. COVID19: The Real Impact of Ignoring Social Distancin - [off-topic]
05:28 PM EDT - Mar,28 2020 - post a comment Tectonix GEO ran an analysis using data from Xmode Social to see the travel paths of anonymized mobile devices that were active at Spring Break at one single Ft. Lauderdale beach. The results are frightening (and not just the potential viral spread - seeing this granular cell phone movement tracking is... troubling).
|
Honor MagicBook 14 Unboxing and first impressions - [hardware]
12:04 PM EDT - Mar,28 2020 - post a comment I received the MagicBook 14, and it's powered by AMD's Ryzen 5 3500U processor, coupled with the built-in Radeon Vega 8 graphics card. That's not AMD's latest and greatest, as the company recently announced the Ryzen 4000 series of mobile processors, but it should still be a solid mid-range chip. It's based on the Zen+ architecture and built on AMD's 12nm process, and not the more recent 7nm. The laptop also has 8GB of RAM and 256GB of NVMe SSD storage, so it seems to fit right into the mid-range. It has some nice features, too, like a fingerprint reader built into the power button and a large trackpad with Precision drivers.
It will be available on April 7 in the UK for £549, and it will cost €599 in the rest of Europe.
It also has a fingerprint sensor built into the power button, a large trackpad with Precision drivers, and a nice design with blue chamfered edges on the lid. |
FIJI Tiger Shark Attack 2019 angle 3 - [briefly]
06:47 AM EDT - Mar,26 2020 - post a comment Insane Footage Of A Tiger Shark Latching Onto A Diver's Head - Before Being Fought Off By Other Divers. The diver went to the hospital for a 8-centimeter laceration, but was otherwise okay - though likely now possessing a healthy fear of tiger sharks.
|
Samsung Bringing S20 Camera Features to S10 and Note10 - [mobile]
06:45 AM EDT - Mar,26 2020 - post a comment Samsung has started rolling out a significant software update for last year's Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note10 series phone, which adds major new features first introduced on the company's latest S20 phones. In the Camera app, new features include manual mode for video). In the Gallery app, Clean View uses AI to group similar photos together. The update also brings Quick Share and Music Share to the S10 and Note10. The update will be available "through an upcoming software update starting from March". |
How This Guy Balances Impossible Rock Structure - [off-topic]
06:33 PM EDT - Mar,24 2020 - post a comment Michael Grab's mind-bending rock formations aren't held together by glue or steel rods. Shockingly, his rock piles are stacked using only the laws of gravity. Michael's rock formations have taken the internet by storm, and brought an even greater attention to rock balancing. Find out just how Michael makes the seemingly impossible, possible.
|
Samsung Discounts Galaxy S20 5G, S20 Plus by $200 - [mobile]
05:44 PM EDT - Mar,24 2020 - post a comment Samsung has slashed the price of its flagship Galaxy S20 5G and Galaxy S20+ phones by $200 at retailers like Amazon and Best Buy, bringing the base configuration of the unlocked phones down to $800 and $1,000, respectively. The top-end Galaxy S20 Ultra is not currently being discounted. The S20 series of phones were just released on March 6th. The unlocked versions now being discounted are compatible with the 4G and 5G networks of major US carriers. The smaller S20 only supports sub-6 GHz 5G, but the larger S20+ supports both sub-6 5G and faster mmWave 5G networks.
|
Verizon Adds 15GB of Data for All Consumers, Small Businesses - [internet]
05:44 PM EDT - Mar,24 2020 - post a comment Verizon is adding 15 GB of high-speed data to the plans of all wireless consumer and small business customers. Also, for low-income customers participating in the Lifeline program, the company is fully waiving the next two months of internet and voice service charges. The changes are automatic and require no action in the part of customers. These actions by Verizon are designed to help customers stay connected as they operate from home during the current COVID-19 pandemic. |
Apple App Store Now Supports Single Purchase for Both iOS & macOS Apps - [briefly]
05:43 PM EDT - Mar,24 2020 - post a comment Apple has now fully launched Universal Purchase, a new feature of its App Store that lets customers make a single app purchase to gain access to that app across all of Apple's OS platforms, including macOS and iOS. For example, buying an app on your iPhone would automatically give you access to not only the iOS version, but also the macOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS versions of that same app, if they exist. Developers need to update their apps and App Store listings to support Universal Purchase. |
Instagram Launches "Co-Watching" Via Video Chat - [internet]
05:42 PM EDT - Mar,24 2020 - post a comment Instagram has just launched Co-Watching, a new feature that "allows you to view Instagram posts together with your friends over video chat. You can start a video chat by tapping the video chat icon in the Direct inbox or in an existing Direct thread, then view saved, liked and suggested photos/videos by tapping the photo icon in the bottom left corner in an ongoing video chat." The new feature is designed to help people stay connected while staying at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
YouTube videos will default to standard definition - [internet]
02:13 PM EDT - Mar,24 2020 - post a comment YouTube starting today will stream videos at standard definition (480p) quality by default for users worldwide in an effort to ease Internet traffic according to a report from Bloomberg.
The move is an expansion of measures taken in Europe last week for the same reason.
YouTube told the publication that users will still be able to watch content at a higher quality setting but they'll have to manually choose to do so as clips will start out in SD quality by default. To change the quality of a YouTube video, simply click the gear icon then select quality to choose from whichever options are available for the particular clip you are viewing. According to a report last summer from networking equipment company Sandvine, Google was the top consumer of bandwidth on the Internet with 12 percent of all traffic volume. Netflix finished second at 11.44 percent followed by Facebook at 7.79 percent. YouTube told Bloomberg that it will continue to work closely with governments and network operators around the world to do their part to minimize stress on the system during this unprecedented period.
YouTube is the only major streaming provider to implement such measures in the US although now that a precedent has been set, it is almost a guarantee that others will follow suit in the coming days. |
New GeForce 445.75 Game Ready Drivers - [gaming]
01:32 PM EDT - Mar,23 2020 - post a comment NVIDIA today announced its new Deep Learning Supersampling 2.0 (DLSS 2.0) performance enhancement feature, being distributed through the new GeForce 445.75 Game Ready drivers. DLSS 2.0 is NVIDIA's second attempt at a holy grail of performance boost at acceptable levels of quality loss (think what MP3 did to WAV). It works by rendering the 3D scene at a lower resolution than what your display is capable of, and upscaling it with deep-learning reconstructing details using a pre-trained neural network. Perhaps the two biggest differences between DLSS 2.0 and the original DLSS that made its debut with GeForce RTX 20-series in 2018, is the lack of a need for game-specific content for training the DLSS neural net; and implementation of a rendering technique called temporal feedback. In addition to DLSS 2.0, GeForce 445.75 drivers come game-ready for "Half Life: Alyx."
Game Ready- Half-Life: Alyx
- Resident Evil 3
- Ghost Recon Breakpoint's Ghost Experience update
- Addition of NVIDIA DLSS 2.0 to Control and MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries.
Added or updated the following SLI profiles (Turing only)- ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN
- Blacksad: Under the Skin
- Blair Witch
- Close to the Sun
- Hell Let Loose
- Journey To The Savage Planet
- Monster Energy Supercross 3
- MotoGP 19
- MXGP 2019 - The Official Motocross Videogame
- eFootball PES 2020
- World War 3
Added or updated the following SLI profiles (all supported NVIDIA GPUs)- Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest
- Phoenix Point
- Tamarin
- Will To Live Online
- Yakuza Kiwami 2
Windows 7 Issues- [Notebook][H-Clone]: With the integrated graphics processor as the clone source, display settings cannot be changed from the NVIDIA Control Panel. [200594188]
- [Doom Eternal]: Flickering occurs in the ShadowPlay on-screen settings when in-game VSync is OFF. [200593899]
- [Call of Duty - Warzone]: ShadowPlay and Screenshot capture does not work with Windows 7 (200593494)
- [World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth][DirectX 12]: The game crashes when switched from DirectX 11 to DirectX 12 mode. [200574934]
Windows 10 Issues- [Notebook][H-Clone]: With the integrated graphics processor as the clone source, display settings cannot be changed from the NVIDIA Control Panel. [200594188]
- [SLI][Red Dead Redemption 2]: With SLI, G-SYNC, and V-Sync enabled, increased flickering occurs in the game. [2858046]
- To work around, disable V-Sync.
- [Strange Brigade (DirectX 12)]: Green color corruption appears in the game when the output color format is set to YCbCr 420 or 12bpc. [200588227]
- To work around, use a different color space such as 422 or 444.
- [Resident Evil 3 Remake]: The bundled GeForce Experience doesn't support freestyle for the game. [2897138]
- [SLI][Doom Eternal]: Corruption occurs in the game upon opening the Steam overlay.[200593967]
- [DOOM Eternal]: Error occurs in the game while capturing Super Resolution (AI Upres) Image with Ansel.[200597765]
- [Doom Eternal]: The game frame rate drops when using the Steam in-game FPS counter. [200593988]
- This issue also occurs with non-NVIDIA graphics hardware.
- [DOOM Eternal][HDR]: The game flickers when OS HDR is set to OFF and in-game HDR is set to ON.[2874172]
- To work around, enable "Play HDR games and apps" from the Windows HD Color Settings menu.
- [Call of Duty: Modern Warfare]: Game may display white flashes when player approaches a wall. [2887940]
- [Call of Duty - Warzone]: Freestyle does not work. (200593020)
- [Forza Motorsport 7]: The curb may display a black strip during a race on certain tracks. [2781776]
- [Zombie Army: Dead War 4][Ansel/Freestyle]: The Ansel & Freestyle tabs are unselectable. [2810884]
- [Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege][Vulkan][G-SYNC]: When playing the game in Vulkan mode with G-SYNC enabled, flickering occurs after switching the game between full-screen and windowed mode.[200578641]
- To work around, either disable G-SYNC or play using an API other than Vulkan.
|
DOOM Eternal - 26 Graphics Cards Compared - [gaming]
06:52 AM EDT - Mar,22 2020 - post a comment 
DOOM Eternal is the long-awaited sequel to the epic DOOM series. There's even more carnage, and gameplay is super fast-paced. Built upon the id Tech 7 engine, visuals are excellent, and graphics performance is outstanding. The chaps over at TechPowerUp have tested the game on all modern graphics cards at Full HD, 1440p and 4K Ultra HD. Here's an excerpt:
DOOM Eternal is powered by id Tech 7, which is id Software's latest iteration of their famous graphics engine. The new version completely removes all OpenGL support and is Vulkan exclusive. This greatly simplifies development as code complexity has gone down and they no longer have to validate every feature for two platforms. DOOM Eternal features proper HDR support, and global illumination capabilities have been enhanced. The engine is now better equipped to handle open-world scenarios, possibly due to the removal of the MegaTexture pipeline. While that tech has given us super-crisp environment details in earlier titles, it was a huge disk space and memory hog.
Graphical fidelity of DOOM at the highest "Ultra Nightmare" setting is "good", maybe even "very good", but I'm not seeing anything that looks "next-gen". Many textures are blurry and some models definitely lack geometry. While the structural level design is amazing, I'd definitely have wished for more love when it comes to floor geometry and textures. It also puzzles me why they gave us six graphics presets yet built them in such a way that high-end hardware will be dishing out super high FPS (which could be traded for better graphics quality). Guess the good thing is that the performance hit from RTX Raytracing will not result in too low FPS. RTX support will be added in a later patch, one of the reasons being that Vulkan Raytracing support has just been released this week and NVIDIA only has had beta drivers out for a few days.
The level of customization for graphics and input settings is certainly high. This yields a lot of granularity in letting you fine-tune the game to your system. You may also adjust field of view and turn off post-processing effects like motion blur and sharpening. Both AMD and NVIDIA have released Game Ready drivers yesterday, which we used for all our testing-good to see that GPU companies got the gamers covered. We also used the public version of DOOM Eternal which includes a day 1 patch.
Hardware requirements are very modest overall-even at the highest setting. For fluid 1080p gaming even a RX 570 or GTX 1060 is sufficient. To achieve 60 FPS at 1440p, a GTX 1660 or RX 580 is enough! Some might say "good optimization"; I'm not denying it, but why not give gamers with the proper hardware the option to crank up the details? Even at 4K requirements are mild; a Radeon RX 5700 or RTX 2060 Super will be able to drive 60 FPS here. DOOM Eternal seems to be a posterchild to show off the improved capabilities of AMD's RDNA architecture, as the Radeon RX 5700 XT beats the Vega-based Radeon VII by quite a big margin at lower resolution. For 1440p and 4K, VRAM requirements are fine. We measured around 7-8 GB, which is something most graphics cards in this segment can handle just fine. At lower resolution, the Ultra Nightmare profile does require 7 GB VRAM, which means cards with 3 GB or 4 GB VRAM will be challenged. The good thing is that our results show no major loss of performance (due to VRAM) for GTX 1060 3 GB and RTX 570 4 GB. What's surprising is that the RX 5500 XT 4 GB is doing much worse than expected. My best guess is that AMD's VRAM management for Navi isn't as refined yet as that for Polaris. What could be a reason is that RX 5500 XT is only physically x8 PCI-Express lanes, which limits the bandwidth between CPU and GPU, whereas the GTX 1060 and RX 570 are x16 lane cards. At least the game doesn't crash when VRAM is exceeded, and continues to run just fine.
|
Visualization of air spread when coughing - [briefly]
06:49 AM EDT - Mar,22 2020 - post a comment This video demonstrate how differently the air spreads when coughing. This visualizes the high importance of the World Health Organization's behavioral recommendations for protection against the coronavirus, which we should absolutely follow.
|
Reducing Hole for the Cat. When will he stop? - [off-topic]
06:28 PM EDT - Mar,19 2020 - post a comment With each new passing of the cat through the hole, we make it smaller and smaller in diameter until the cat can pass it by himself because of his physical abilities. At what stage will this happen and will it happen at all?
|
What Coronavirus Symptoms Look Like, Day By Day - [briefly]
05:48 PM EDT - Mar,19 2020 - post a comment After being exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19, it can take as few as two and as many as 14 days for symptoms to develop. Cases range from mild to critical. The average timeline from the first symptom to recovery is about 17 days, but some cases are fatal. Here's what it looks like to develop COVID-19, day by day.
|
T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T Temporarily Closing Stores - [briefly]
05:42 PM EDT - Mar,19 2020 - post a comment T-Mobile is closing 80% of its stores until at least March 31st, including all indoor mall locations, to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Sprint will close 71% of its stores, including all indoor mall locations. Both closures take effect today. Verizon is also "reducing the number of Verizon stores that remain open", although it was not more specific. T-Mobile will leave at least one store open within a 30-minute drive of most customers in each market. Sprint is leaving open "its most highly critical retail stores". T-Mobile and Sprint are also reducing the hours their remaining stores are open. Most T-Mobile stores will now be open 10am - 6pm. Sprint's new temporary store hours are 11am - 6pm Mon-Sat, and 12pm - 5pm on Sundays.
Following T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon in temporarily closing many retail locations, AT&T today announced that it will close 40% of its company-owned stores, as well as AT&T Authorized Retail stores in indoor malls and " high traffic areas". The company is also adjusting its store hours to be closed on Sundays, and 11am - 7pm the rest of the week. These measures are in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, where most people in the US are currently advised to stay home, and avoid congregating near others in public when possible. |
Satellite in Orbit Transmits Directly to a Standard Mobile Phone on G - [technology]
05:41 PM EDT - Mar,19 2020 - post a comment Virginia startup Lynk Global has successfully demonstrated new technology that allows satellites in low-earth orbit to communicate directly with standard, unmodified mobile phones on the ground. In multiple verified tests starting February 24th, Lynk was able to broadcast an emergency alert containing a text message from one of its test platforms orbiting in space, using standard GSM technology, which was successfully received by an off-the-shelf Android phone in the Falkland Islands. While satellite phones and GPS were designed for space-ground communication, common mobile phone standards such as GSM and LTE were not. Phones are specifically designed to connect only to land-based towers that are within a certain distance and not moving faster than certain relative speeds. Therefore it was thought that such space-ground cellular communication was impossible. Lynk is one of several startups working on this technology; Texas-based AST & Science is working on a similar concept. Lynk does not plan to compete with land-based mobile carriers, but rather to provide service only where there is no service from land-based mobile networks. It aims to connect people in extremely remote areas. It also hopes its technology can assist in emergencies, delivering emergency alerts to people in remote areas that would otherwise miss them, and offering connectivity to first responders when natural disasters have damaged land-based networks. With an initial fleet of several dozen satellites, the company should be able offer service to every point on earth at least once per hour. The company hopes to eventually offer continuous global coverage with a fleet of thousands of satellites.
|
Nokia 5.3 Offers Quad Rear Cameras for $200 - [mobile]
05:40 PM EDT - Mar,19 2020 - post a comment Nokia today announced the Nokia 5.3, a new mid-range Android phone. It has a 6.5-inch HD display with a small notch, 4,000 mAh battery, and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 chip. It has four rear cameras: a 13-megapixel main camera with f/1.8 aperture, plus a 5-megapixel wide camera, 2-megapixel macro camera, and a depth camera for portrait effects. The 5.3 also comes with 3-6 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage, a memory card slot, USB-C, fingerprint reader, dedicated Google Assistant button, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The version for the Americas will support Cat. 4 LTE in bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12/17, 13, 28, 38 and 66. Color choices are Cyan, Sand, and Charcoal. It will ship globally in April for 189 Euros (approx. 200 USD). |
Nokia Unveils its First 5G Phone, Supporting 12 5G Bands - [mobile]
05:40 PM EDT - Mar,19 2020 - post a comment HMD Global today announced the Nokia 8.3 5G, the company's first 5G phone. HMD claims it supports more 5G networks than any other 5G phone to date, supporting sub-6 GHz 5G networks in 12 different frequency bands, including ones used in the US, such as bands 2, 5, 41, 66, and 71. The 8.3 5G supports both today's NSA (non-stand-alone) 5G networks, as well as forthcoming SA (stand-alone) 5G networks. It's powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset paired with 6 or 8 GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 64 or 128 GB of storage. It has a 6.8-inch full-HD display with a corner hole-punch for the front camera, and a 4,500 mAh battery. It rear camera array uses Zeiss lenses and includes a 64-megapixel main sensor, 12-megapixel wide camera, 2-megapixel macro camera, and a depth camera for portrait effects. The front camera is 24 megapixel. The Nokia 8.3 5G also has a side-mounted fingerprint reader, memory card slot, 3.5mm audio jack, USB-C, fast charging, and a dedicated Google Assistant button. It will ship globally this summer starting at 599 Euros (approx. 640 USD). |
NVIDIA Releases GeForce 442.74 Game Ready Drivers - [briefly]
12:09 PM EDT - Mar,19 2020 - post a comment NVIDIA today posted GeForce 442.74 WHQL Game Ready drivers. These come with optimization and bug fixes for the weekend's biggest release, "DOOM Eternal," which goes live in Asia and ANZ in a few minutes from now. Besides this, the 442.74 WHQL drivers address just one bug: an issue with "Red Dead Redemption 2," where task-switching with alt+Tab in the middle of the game may result in a black screen.
Game Ready for DOOM Eternal- The new Game Ready Driver provides the latest performance optimizations, profiles, and bug fixes for DOOM Eternal.
Fixed Issues in this Release- [Red Dead Redemption 2]: The game shows a black screen after switching windows with [Alt+tab]. [200597531]
Windows 7 Issues identified- [Doom Eternal]: Flickering occurs in the ShadowPlay on-screen settings when in-game VSync is OFF. [200593899]
- [Call of Duty - Warzone]: ShadowPlay and Screenshot capture does not work with Windows 7 (200593494)
- [World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth][DirectX 12]: The game crashes when switched from DirectX 11 to DirectX 12 mode. [200574934]
Windows 10 Issues identified- [SLI][Doom Eternal]: Corruption occurs in the game upon opening the Steam overlay. [200593967]
- [DOOM Eternal]: Error occurs in the game while capturing Super Resolution (AI Upres) Image with Ansel.[200597765]
- [Doom Eternal]: The game frame rate drops when using the Steam in-game FPS counter. [200593988]
- This issue also occurs with non-NVIDIA graphics hardware.
- [DOOM Eternal][HDR]: The game flickers when OS HDR is set to OFF and in-game HDR is set to ON.[2874172]
- To work around, enable "Play HDR games and apps" from the Windows HD Color Settings menu.
- [Call of Duty: Modern Warfare]: Game may display white flashes when player approaches a wall. [2887940]
- [Call of Duty - Warzone]: Freestyle does not work. (200593020)
- [Forza Motorsport 7]: The curb may display a black strip during a race on certain tracks. [2781776]
- [Zombie Army: Dead War 4][Ansel/Freestyle]: The Ansel & Freestyle tabs are unselectable. [2810884]
- [Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege][Vulkan][G-SYNC]: When playing the game in Vulkan mode with G-SYNC enabled, flickering occurs after switching the game between full-screen and windowed mode.[200578641]
- To work around, either disable G-SYNC or play using an API other than Vulkan.
|
AMD Releases Radeon Software Adrenalin 20.3.1 Drivers - [briefly]
11:59 AM EDT - Mar,19 2020 - post a comment AMD released the Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition drivers just in time for Asia and ANZ regions to begin "razing hell" with DOOM Eternal. Version 20.3.1 adds day-one optimization for DOOM Eternal, including an up to 5 percent performance improvement with "Ultra Nightmare" graphics settings. Optimization is also added for "Half Life: Alyx" and the Vulkan API mode of "Ghost Recon: Breakpoint." The drivers also add a few Vulkan extensions: VK_EXT_post_depth_coverage (only supported on RDNA or later graphics architectures); VK_KHR_shader_non_semantic_info, VK_EXT_texel_buffer_alignment, and VK_EXT_pipeline_creation_cache_control.
Support For- DOOM Eternal
- Achieve up to 5% better performance playing Doom Eternal (Ultra Nightmare settings) at 1920x1080p on the Radeon RX 5700XT with Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.3.1, versus Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.2.2. RS-333
- Half-Life : Alyx
- Ghost Recon Breakpoint: Vulkan API
Added to Vulkan:- VK_EXT_post_depth_coverage: This extension indicates support for shader modules that use the SPV_KHR_post_depth_coverage extension. Fragment shaders using the SPV extension can control whether the SampleMask built-in input variable reflects the coverage after the depth and stencil tests are applied. This extension is only supported on AMD RDNA hardware.
- VK_KHR_shader_non_semantic_info: This extension indicates support for shader modules that use the SPV_KHR_non_semantic_info extension. Shader modules using the SPV extension can include non-semantic instructions that can be safely removed from the module.
- VK_EXT_texel_buffer_alignment: This extension provides a mechanism to query alignment requirements for uniform and storage texel buffers that cannot be well communicated via minTexelBufferOffsetAlignment.
- VK_EXT_pipeline_creation_cache_control: This extension provides flags that can be used by an application to inquire about potential high cost that could be incurred during pipeline creation. The information can be obtained prior to carrying out the create operation, which would allow the application to adjust its behavior accordingly.
Fixed Issues- Frame skipping or choppy audio may be experienced in videos captured using Radeon ReLive.
- Some games may experience stutter while using Instant Replay or third-party applications that stream or perform screen capture.
- Hotkeys may fail to apply to scenes in ReLive scene editor when the scene has a custom name.
- Webcam elements may fail to appear on screen when a custom location is set during ReLive recording.
- AMD A-Series/E-Series APU Processors will reflect older Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition Settings user interface.
- Zero RPM toggle may fail to reset or appear when disabling advanced fan tuning options in Performance Tuning.
- Radeon Software may automatically close when a live stream is started or stopped.
- Desktop cursor may intermittently remain visible after toggling Radeon Software's overlay in some games.
- Red Dead Redemption 2 may experience a blank screen when launched using the Vulkan API.
- Radeon Software may experience an application crash, or a system TDR may occur, when VRAM reaches 8GB or more with HBCC enabled on Radeon RX Vega series graphics products.
- DOOM may experience an intermittent system hang or application crash during gameplay.
- Space Engineers may experience an application or hang during gameplay when Grass Density is turned on.
- A system hang or black screen may occur when exiting SteamVR with multi display system configurations.
- Monster Hunter World : Iceborne may have lower than expected performance in some areas of the game on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products.
- Video playback may exhibit corruption on Interlaced content in Movies and TV on Ryzen 3000 with Radeon Graphics Processors.
- PassMark may experience an application hang on some Ryzen with Radeon Graphics Processors.
- On Radeon RX Vega and older discrete GPUs and on APUs, enabling integer display scaling could result in a reduction of frame rate.
- Integer display scaling may not show up as available in Radeon Software on some GCN-based GPUs.
Known Issues- Enhanced Sync may cause a black screen to occur when enabled on some games and system configurations. Any users who may be experiencing issues with Enhanced Sync enabled should disable it as a temporary workaround.
- Performance Metrics Overlay and Radeon WattMan incorrectly report higher than expected idle clock speeds on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products. Performance and power consumption are not impacted by this incorrect reporting.
- Radeon Software may open with an inconsistent window size or may not keep its previously set size when opened.
- Modifying the HDMI Scaling slider may cause FPS to become locked to 30.
- Some games may exhibit stutter intermittently during gameplay on Radeon RX 5000 series graphics products.
- Desktop or In-game corruption may occur intermittently when HDR is enabled.
- Radeon RX Vega series graphics products may experience a system crash or TDR when playing games with Instant Replay enabled. A workaround for users experiencing these issues is to disable Instant Replay.
- A system crash or hang may be experienced when using Edge browser to play Netflix content.
- Some users may still experience black screen or system hang issues during extended periods of gameplay. AMD will continue to monitor and investigate reports of these issues closely.
|
LG V60 Launches Friday Starting at $800 - [mobile]
06:54 PM EDT - Mar,17 2020 - post a comment US carriers have revealed launch plans for the new LG V60 ThinQ 5G flagship-class phone. T-Mobile will offer it starting March 20th for $800, or $900 in a bundle with LG's Dual Screen accessory. T-Mobile is also offering a buy-one-get-one (BOGO) deal where customers with two or more lines can get a second V60 for free, if both phones are purchased on a 24-month payment plan. AT&T will start taking online orders for the V60 on Friday, March 20th. The phone will cost $900, which includes a free Dual Screen accessory from LG. AT&T is also offering a BOGO deal, but it requires a new line of service. Verizon's version will be slightly pricier and ship later, reflecting that its unique variant supports mmWave 5G, which requires extra components and engineering. (Versions for other US carriers only support sub-6 5G, which is generally slower but offers broader coverage.) Verizon brands mmWave 5G as "Ultra Wideband", which is why its unique variant will be called the LG V60 ThinQ 5G UW. Verizon will sell the phone for $950, with pre-orders starting March 26th. Like AT&T, Verizon is offering a BOGO deal for customers adding a new line, and Verizon customers purchasing a V60 are eligible for a free Dual Screen from LG.
|
T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint Temporarily Closing Many Retail Locations - [briefly]
06:54 PM EDT - Mar,17 2020 - post a comment T-Mobile is closing 80% of its stores until at least March 31st, including all indoor mall locations, to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Sprint will close 71% of its stores, including all indoor mall locations. Both closures take effect today. Verizon is also "reducing the number of Verizon stores that remain open", although it was not more specific. T-Mobile will leave at least one store open within a 30-minute drive of most customers in each market. Sprint is leaving open "its most highly critical retail stores". T-Mobile and Sprint are also reducing the hours their remaining stores are open. Most T-Mobile stores will now be open 10am - 6pm. Sprint's new temporary store hours are 11am - 6pm Mon-Sat, and 12pm - 5pm on Sundays. |
Complete Hardware Specs Sheet of Xbox Series X - [gaming]
01:54 PM EDT - Mar,16 2020 - post a comment Microsoft just put out of the complete hardware specs-sheet of its next-generation Xbox Series X entertainment system. The list of hardware can go toe to toe with any modern gaming desktop, and even at its production scale, we're not sure if Microsoft can break-even at around $500, possibly counting on game and DLC sales to recover some of the costs and turn a profit. To begin with the semi-custom SoC at the heart of the beast, Microsoft partnered with AMD to deploy its current-generation "Zen 2" x86-64 CPU cores. Microsoft confirmed that the SoC will be built on the 7 nm "enhanced" process (very likely TSMC N7P). Its die-size is 360.45 mm2. The chip packs 8 "Zen 2" cores, with SMT enabling 16 logical processors, a humongous step up from the 8-core "Jaguar enhanced" CPU driving the Xbox One X. CPU clock speeds are somewhat vague. It points to 3.80 GHz nominal and 3.66 GHz with SMT enabled. Perhaps the console can toggle SMT somehow (possibly depending on whether a game requests it). There's no word on the CPU's cache sizes.
The graphics processor is another key component of the SoC given its lofty design goal of being able to game at 4K UHD with real-time ray-tracing. This GPU is based on AMD's upcoming RDNA2 graphics architecture, which is a step up from "Navi" (RDNA), in featuring real-time ray-tracing hardware optimized for DXR 1.1 and support for variable-rate shading (VRS). The GPU features 52 compute units (3,328 stream processors provided each CU has 64 stream processors in RDNA2). The GPU ticks at an engine clock speed of up to 1825 MHz, and has a peak compute throughput of 12 TFLOPs (not counting CPU). The display engine supports resolutions of up to 8K, even though the console's own performance targets at 4K at 60 frames per second, and up to 120 FPS. Variable refresh-rate is supported.
The memory subsystem is similar to what we reported earlier today - a 320-bit GDDR6 memory interface holding 16 GB of memory (mixed chip densities). It's becoming clear that Microsoft isn't implementing a hUMA common memory pool approach. 10 GB of the 16 GB runs at 560 GB/s bandwidth, while 6 GB of it runs at 336 GB/s. Storage is another area that's receiving big hardware uplifts: the Xbox Series X features a 1 TB NVMe SSD with 2400 MB/s peak sequential transfer rate, and an option for an additional 1 TB NVMe storage through an expansion module. External storage devices are supported, too, over 10 Gbps USB 3.2 gen 2. The console is confirmed to feature a Blu-ray drive that supports 4K UHD Blu-ray playback. All these hardware specs combine toward what Microsoft calls the "Xbox Velocity Architecture." Microsoft is also working toward improving the input latency of its game controllers.
If it is $600 or $650 it is still not bad. Consider how much money you would have to spend to get this on a PC? Just the graphics card would cost $1200. anyway time will tell :) |
Marvel Duel to launch closed beta test on March 19 - [gaming]
05:57 AM EDT - Mar,16 2020 - post a comment Following Marvel Super War's massive hit, NetEase's collaboration with entertainment giant Marvel will continue with the release of MARVEL Duel. The game will be merging all of the exciting elements of Marvel Universe into an epic duel experience. The game, Marvel Duel will launch its very first closed beta test for Android and iOS devices in Thailand and the Philippines from Mar 19th 12:00 to Mar 26th 23:59 (GMT+8).
MARVEL Duel features an advanced deck-building system that offers players countless strategies to explore. Players can play as one of the five legendary Super Heroes - Thor, Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, and Star-Lord, all featuring their own unique skills. Also, over 150 unique characters from the 80 years' worth of Marvel comics will gather in MARVEL Duel. Players can customize with different types of cards, characters, equipment, abilities, and traps, to complete a perfect deck! Players can apply different Hero costumes to deal with different situations. Furthermore, they can use a chain of trap cards, or even cast powerful ability upon the enemies to outmaneuver their enemies.
MARVEL Duel features not only exciting 3D multiplayer combat but also exquisite card design with 3D models. In addition, the game promises a platform for players of all skill levels to start their journey. A series of easy and fun tutorials with attention to more in-game hints will instruct each player. With each passing game, every player will keep honing their skills and developing strategies to be a better dueler. MARVEL Duel is now open for registration on both Android and iOS devices. |
Too Kyo Games announces original TV anime Akudama Drive - [briefly]
05:55 PM EDT - Mar,14 2020 - post a comment Too Kyo Games has announced Akudama Drive, an original TV anime written by Kazutaka Kodaka and animated by Studio Pierrot set to begin airing in July.
The curtain rises on the criminal action of the Akudama.
Long ago, there was a war between Kanto and Kansai, and the world was separated. Kansai became a vassal state of Kanto and developed independently. However, politics and the arm of the law decayed, and crime became prevalent. Those criminals are called 'Akudama.'
The setting of Akudama Drive is a highly developed, but warped society. How do the Akudama act as themselves in this society? The virtues of the Akudama gathered here will clash.
|
Zorin OS 15.2 Core Review - [briefly]
10:38 AM EDT - Mar,14 2020 - post a comment In this episode, we'll be looking at Zorin OS Core 15.2, an Ubuntu-based distribution released on March 5th, 2020.
|
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
)