Cheers to James our server guru for spotting this one. Remember the Matrox TripleHead 2 Go we recently tested ?

SoftTH - Software Triplehead is a tool that allows allows using three monitor "triplehead" with Direct3D 8 and 9 games without special hardware. You need three monitors attached to PCI Express video cards. Only one card does all the rendering work, so secondary card can be a low end card, only Direct3D support is required. SoftTH works by rendering the whole scene on one display adapter, which then gets split into three parts to be displayed on each monitor. While it is technically possible to use it on a AGP/PCI card, only PCI Express has the required bandwidth to get good framerates.

For download & info: click here

 

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Massive Entertainment released a new theatrical trailer of World In Conflict: Soviet Assault.

World in Conflict: Soviet Assault will feature a brand new campaign, new units (chronoplane), as well as the option to call the reinforcements or new units to the battlefiled by using the context menu or voice communication via the headset, same as in Tom Clancy's EndWar. World in Conflict: Soviet Assault for consoles is in the works at Swordfish Studios with Massive Entertainment supplying only new content.

This expansion pack will be released in Q4 2008.

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CPU-Z is probably the best ever diagnostic tool that provides information on your CPU, including: processor name and vendor, core stepping and process, processor package, internal and external clocks, clock multiplier, partial overclock detection, processor features, supported instructions sets, L1 and L2 cache information, location, size, speed, and technology.

CPU-Z is a freeware that gathers information on some of the main devices of your system.

CPU

* Name and number.
* Core stepping and process.
* Package.
* Core voltage.
* Internal and external clocks, clock multiplier.
* Supported instructions sets.
* Cache information.
 

Mainboard

* Vendor, model and revision.
* BIOS model and date.
* Chipset (northbridge and southbridge) and sensor.
* Graphic interface.

Memory

* Frequency and timings.
* Module(s) specification using SPD (Serial Presence Detect) : vendor, serial number, timings table.

System

* Windows and DirectX version.

News and corrections:

• Intel Atom Z500/Z510/Z520/Z530/Z540 processors.
• Intel Core 2 Duo E7x00 processor.
• AMD 45 nm Phenom (Dened & Shanghai) processors.
• Intel P45 chipset.

Download - click here.

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We posted earlier on in this article that Bioware claimed that the PC versions of both Mass Effect and Spore will make use of copy protection that will require online validation every ten days to continue working. They got a little freaked about the response and probably saw their cash-book being vaporized. Bioware has now confirmed they won't be going along with the ten day checking system.

There has been a lot of discussion in the past few days on how the security requirements for Mass Effect for PC will work. BioWare, a division of EA, wants to let fans know that Mass Effect will not require 10- day periodic re-authentication.

BioWare has always listened very closely to its fans and we made this decision to ensure we are delivering the best possible experience to them. To all the fans including our many friends in the armed services and internationally who expressed concerns that they would not be able re-authenticate as often as required, EA and BioWare want you to know that your feedback is important to us.

The solution being implemented for Mass Effect for the PC changes copy protection from being key disc based, which requires authentication every time you play the game by requiring a disc in the drive, to a one time online authentication.

This system has an added benefit of allowing players to seamlessly play the game without needing the DVD in the drive.

Key points---

• This solution allows gamers to authenticate their game on three different computers with the purchase of one disc. EA Customer Service is on hand to supply any additional authorizations that are warranted. This will be done on a case-by-case basis by contacting customer support.
• Games are authorized to the machine when the player installs and launches the software for the first time.
• We
  

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A lot of gaming news today. Yesterday however some really intersting news surfaced on the web. See if there is one game with a perfect cinematic feel and storyline for a movie, it has to be BioShock. And as it seems, Universal Pictures are apparently teaming up to bring BioShock to the big screen. The game publisher announced today that it has inked a deal to make a film based on the underwater shooter. What's more, Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski is attached to direct, and Oscar-winning writer John Logan (Gladiator, The Aviator) is in talks to pen the screenplay.
Sez the boss of Take 2:

"We are excited that 2K Games' vision for BioShock will be carried forward in a new medium," said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two. "BioShock has been hailed as one of the most highly cinematic and richly plotted titles in interactive entertainment, making it extremely well-suited to film. In partnering with Universal and Gore Verbinski, we have assembled a team that respects the uniqueness of BioShock and will translate it into a powerful movie experience."

Big news. But I still have to wonder if this BioShock flick will ever actually get made. Due to the problems with Halo and other big videogame properties, I'm sure not going to hold my breath. Although I am at least cautiously optimistic, given that this project has a director attached.

Check Take 2's website for more information.

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Gosh did I like and still like Call of Duty 4. Anyway, During its fiscal Q4 2008 earnings call Activision shared some information about Call of Duty 5. The game will be available before April 2009 on the PC, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and DS.

' For Call of Duty, we

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What if you could control everything in your home with a little handheld gadget? That's what this universal remote by David Chacon got us thinking about, with its roomy screen

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Wooohooo ! Finally a new F1 game on the horizon. Codemasters has announced that it has secured a license to create Formula One racing games, after Sony recently opted not to renew its deal. With the new license, Codemasters plans to develop a new F1 game franchise for multiple platforms including PC, with the first title expected in 2009.

"FORMULA 1 is ambitious in expanding its reach with more circuits planned beyond recent additions in the Middle East and China," said Rod Cousens, chief executive officer, Codemasters. "It is also ambitious in expanding its reach via technology. The digital communities that computer and video gaming creates will play a key role in further growing the FORMULA 1 audience and connecting them globally. As a world-leading creator of driving games, this alliance with FORMULA 1 is the jewel in Codemasters' racing crown and creates an undisputed segment champion. FORMULA 1 has gone with the best, the segment leader. It has gone to the home of the EGO Engine for quality; it has gone to the company that can host FORMULA 1 Online, to the company that is streaking away from the pack."

"Codemasters' success and recent innovations in the racing game space makes the company more than appropriately tuned for the challenge," said Chris Deering, chairman, Codemasters. "The combination of FORMULA 1's new momentum of expansion and Codemasters' contemporary technology and past experience is the breaking of a new dawn for the sport, on the track and on the HD game screen."

The FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP games will be developed using the evolution of the award-winning EGO Game Technology Engine, Codemasters' highly versatile cross-platform middleware technology. Its advanced graphics and physics technology brings an unmatched cinematic quality and realism to interactive entertainment.

The first title will be released next year for the PC and consoles. Let's hope they throw some real-time physics effects in it :)

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Sweey news from Criterion Games as today they have announced that the award-winning Burnout Paradise is being rebuilt specifically for the PC. The game will be the first Burnout title ever made for the PC, offering expanded multiplayer, enhanced online features and community driven content.

Burnout Paradise features an open-world environment built for intense speed, excitement and exploration and offers seamless transition from single-player to online multiplayer gameplay.

The PC version promises to combine all the elements from the home console versions with new gameplay made for the PC. More information will be revealed during a live webcast at criteriongames.com at 8:00 AM PST today.

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Plextor released two new models for their the next generation of NAS drives. The two new models

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Cooler Master's Hyper Z600 product page is now online, we've already shown you this cooler at our CeBIT 2008 report. A review sample is inbound, yet delivery was delayed.  I hope to have a review on a couple of coolers within the next two weeks.

This massive processor cooler was shown off at CeBIT a couple of weeks ago. It supports the latest Intel and AMD sockets and has a copper base, six heatpipes and aluminum fins. It measures 127.28mm x 127.28mm x 160mm and weighs 1045g.

Overclockers are also kept in mind when designing the Z600, as up to two 120mm fans can be added to opposing sides of the heat-sink in a push-pull configuration. With one 120mm fan, the Z600 transforms into a first class cooler for CPUs running beyond 89W. With two fans, the Z600 becomes cooling solution for the serious overclocker. The Hyper Z600 is compatible with all existing CPU sockets.

Features:

1. The interlaced fins maximizes the dissipation surface to provide superior cooling performance 2. Unique

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Intel, Samsung and TSMC have reached an agreement on the need for industry-wide collaboration to target a transition to larger, 450mm-sized wafers starting in 2012.

The transition to larger wafers will enable continued growth of the semiconductor industry and helps maintain a reasonable cost structure for future integrated circuit manufacturing and applications. The companies will cooperate with the semiconductor industry to help ensure that all of the required components, infrastructure and capability are developed and tested for a pilot line by this target date.

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I have a pretty cool video for you today. 1UP takes an (quick/small) inside look at the studio's headquarters. Have a peek:


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Diamond Viper Radeon HD 3850 Ruby edition 512MB review

Today Guru3D peeks at the Diamond Viper Radeon HD 3850 512Mb Ruby edition, a fun product. It's a Radeon HD 3850 colored with a red PCB, a custom cooler slapped on top of it and they pre-overclocked it to get closer the Radeon HD 3870 performance level, all that for roughly 140 EUR / 179 USD. Not bad. Let's have a look at the technology empowering this graphics card and then startup the in-depth review.

Full URL:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-3850-review-diamond-viper-ruby-edition-512-mb/

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I was a Pioneer audio freak once. Right now Onkyo has my two thumbs up up the best audio quality. But the design of this new Elite series from Pioneer are truly impressive. Pioneer introduced four new A/V receivers to its Elite line. The SC-07, SC-05, VSX-03TXH and VSX-01TXH feature 7.1-channel surround sound connections and support DTS HD Master Audio, DTS-HD High Resolution, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus lossless audio formats. The SC-07 and SC-05 benefit from the same Direct Energy HD amplifier with ICEpower analog class D technology Pioneer uses in its flagship SC-09TX receiver.
Both SC models sport Pioneer's Home Media Gallery IP networking that allows personal digital music and JPEG photo files to be accessed from a PC hard drive or USB. The feature supports DLNA, Windows Vista or Windows Media Connect, and Microsoft playsforsure DRM technology. The two are also equipped with Precision Quart Locking System that synchronizes data via an HDMI connection with the company's new Blu-ray Disc players and the receivers for ultra precise CD playback. Rounding out SC-exclusive attributes is Pioneer's DSP with Full Band Phase Control to eliminate group delay of each speaker.

The SC-07 is the heavyweight of the four, with a Burr Brown Sampling Rate Converter capable of upscaling audio to 192kHZ, 24-bit resolution, as well as two 1.3a HDMI outputs for multiple room support.

Common features to all include room-tuning software, a new symmetric equalization (EQ) and anti-jitter technologies. Each receiver integrates design cues that make them ready for custom home theater installations in multi-zone and multi-source set-ups.

The VSX-01TXH and VSX-03TXH will be available in June for a suggested price of $750 and $1,000, respectively, while the SC-05 and SC-07 ship in August for $1,800 and $2,200, respectively.

Pioneer Elite SC-07

Pioneer SC-09

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NVIDIA officially introduced it's Hybrid technology. Witht the GF8200A we tested earlier this week, the drivers wheren't even ready but still. These new platforms are the foundation for a new breed of PCs that deliver a richer visual experience while reducing energy consumption and costs, fan noise, and even heat. The new technology is available immediately with new NVIDIA nForce 780a SLI and GeForce 8 Series based motherboards.

The visual capabilities of typical PCs are driven by either integrated graphics on the motherboard or by higher performance, discrete graphics cards. Unfortunately, the most common integrated graphics chips lack the performance and features needed by many popular modern 3D applications, games, and movies. Discrete graphics cards deliver a far superior visual experience, but consume more energy.

According to the press release, Hybrid SLI-enabled motherboards eliminate this problem by putting a GeForce GPU directly on the motherboard. This GeForce GPU has better DirectX compatibility and HD movie playback capability than the most common integrated graphics chips found in today's PCs, but consumes less energy than a discrete graphics card.

Designed for PC enthusiasts and hard-core gamers, the HybridPower feature completely powers down the discrete graphics cards and switches graphics processing to the motherboard GPU in applications where major 3D horsepower is not required, such as e-mail and Web surfing. Users will appreciate the lower energy consumption, quieter PC operation, and less heat. When additional 3D horsepower is needed, it can be manually transitioned back to discrete graphics cards using HybridPower technology, which are then powered up and ready to rock the 3D world. Hybrid SLI technology allows to save on energy costs over the life of the PC for high-end, enthusiast-class PCs, and deliver additional graphics performance for more mainstream desktops via these two features.

For mainstream users, a Hybrid SLI technology feature called GeForce Boost allows the user to add an additional graphics card for even more graphics horsepower. By combining the performance of the motherboard GPU and graphics card discrete GPUs, GeForce Boost increases overall graphics performance up to 50% for today

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Check this trailer out. Looks pretty good. This is the first ever gameplay footage of Mirror's Edge (PC PS3, Xbox 360), the upcoming first-person action-adventure game that is currently in development at Digital Illusions CE. Presented from a first-person perspective, the cinematic opened with Faith running, arms akimbo, before jumping on and climbing up a chain-link fence, sliding under a set of low steel pipes and performing a barrel roll as she landed.

It's not unlike trying to imagine Assassin's Creed from a totally different point of view. Along the way, she slid down pipes, ran sideways along building walls to bridge gaps, and used what looked like power cables as a makeshift zip line. 
 

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Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today launched a new line of MasterDrive solid state drives (SSDs) that are 100% interchangeable with hard disk drives (HDDs), but are faster, lighter, use less power and are far more rugged and reliable.

MasterDrive SSDs use NAND Flash rather than magnetic platters as the storage medium, giving them many advantages over HDDs. These drives have no moving parts, and therefore are completely silent, lighter weight and more reliable than HDDs. Moreover, they consume a fraction of the power of HDDs, meaning they produce less heat and offer longer battery life in mobile computing. MasterDrive SSDs use a SATA-II (3Gbps) interface to support high bandwidth and broad compatibility with motherboards, and have a standard 2.5-inch form factor. Proprietary wear-leveling algorithms extend the life of these SSDs.

MasterDrive MX	Description	MSRP
FTM20GK25H	120GB MLC 120/40 MB/sec	$699
FTM60GK25H	60GB MLC 120/40 MB/sec	$449
FTM30GK25H	30GB MLC 120/40 MB/sec	$299
MasterDrive DX	Description	MSRP
FTD60GK25H	60GB SLC 120/70 MB/sec	$1299
FTD30GK25H	30GB SLC 120/70 MB/sec	$699

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Creating a little hype surely brings in dough. Take-Two Interactive Software said today that Grand Theft Auto IV has surpassed all-time entertainment records for day one and week one sales by dollar value. Released on Tuesday, April 29th, Grand Theft Auto IV, the critically acclaimed video game, has sold through to consumers approximately 6 million units globally with an estimated retail value of more than $500 million in the first week. Grand Theft Auto IV sold approximately 3.6 million units on its opening day with a retail value of approximately $310 million globally.

"We knew Grand Theft Auto IV would break new ground in terms of the player's experience, with its compelling story line, extraordinary gameplay and action that ranges over a broad urban canvas. Now, it has broken sales and rating records as well. Grand Theft Auto IV's first week performance represents the largest launch in the history of interactive entertainment, and we believe these retail sales levels surpass any movie or music launch to date. We congratulate the entire Rockstar team on creating a must-have experience that takes the legendary Grand Theft Auto franchise to a new level," said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two.

"Rockstar's goal is to make each new title in the Grand Theft Auto franchise even better than those that preceded it, and Grand Theft Auto IV is a smashing success on that score. Grand Theft Auto IV makes full use of the power of next generation technology, and offers players an experience unique in the interactive entertainment medium. This game sets a new standard in the industry, with critics hailing it as both an artistic and technological masterpiece," said Ben Feder, Take-Two's Chief Executive Officer.

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As posted on the ID Software website. Production has begun on DOOM 4, the next journey into the legendary DOOM universe. We are expanding our internal team and are currently hiring to work on this highly anticipated title.

"DOOM is part of the id Software DNA and demands the greatest talent and brightest minds in the industry to bring the next installment of our flagship franchise to Earth," said Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software.  "It's critical for id Software to have the best creative minds in-house to develop games that meet the standards synonymous with our titles."

The DOOM franchise is one of the most recognizable and important in gaming history, having been named "one of the ten most influential games of the decade" by PC Gamer and "the #1 game of all time" by GameSpy.  DOOM 4 will join the award-winning series which has consistently topped sales charts throughout the world.

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