Archive for August, 2008

[Geeks3D-HowTo] Radeon GPU Temperature under Linux

Yes, it’s possible to read the GPU temperature under Linux (Ubuntu) with a simple command line. First start a shell box and then enter:

aticonfig --od-gettemperature

This command should display that:

Default Adapter - ATI Radeon 4870 X2
                  Sensor 0: Temperature - 72.00 C

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[source]

Galaxy GeForce 9400 GT with GDDR3

Galaxy will release a GeForce 9400 GT with 1.0ns GDDR3 graphics memory. The reference 9400 GT has DDR2 memory. And Galaxy’s GeForce 9400 GT is eye-catching!

Other news about GeForce 9400 GT: GeForce 9400 GT @ Geeks3D

Zotac GeForce 9400 GT Review

The new GeForce 9400 GT has been reviewed at PCGH. Here are the GeForce 9400 GT specifications:
- GPU: G96(b)
- Fabrication Process: 55nm
- Stream Processors: 16
- Texture Units: 8
- Memory: 512Mb DDR2 / 128-bit
- GPU clock: 550MHz
- Memory clock: 400MHz
- Shader clock: 1350MHz
- DirectX 10 and OpenGL 2.1

The GeForce 9400 GT is the NVIDIA’s new entry level graphics card so don’t except to much performance. The following chart shows OpenGL performance in Prey game:

Read the complete review here. Geforce 9400 GT reviewed @ PCGH

The Verdict:
The Geforce 9400 GT clearly accepts the inheritance of the Geforce 8 cards 8400 GS and 8500 GT. The result is a very interesting graphics card that is cheap in acquisition and sufficient for some gaming. CUDA compatibility, good HD video acceleration and passive cooling predestine this card for HTPCs.

Radeon HD 4870 in Crossfire Work Now with FurMark

The new Catalyst 8.8 seem to have fixed a Crossfire bug in OpenGL with Radeon HD 4000. A member of oZone3D.Net forums has reported that his two Radeon HD 4870 in Crossfire work now perfectly with FurMark.

If you have a SLI of GeForce 8/9 or GTX 200, please tell us how FurMark works?

Tokyoflash Rogue Watch Looks Amazing

I’m not a big fan of watches but this model is pretty cool:

The Rogue is available at Tokyoflash.com for $161, including free worldwide shipping.

More here: Tokyoflash Rogue
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Futuremark Will Use PhysX

Futuremark will use PhysX in its upcoming first-person shooter video game called Shattered Horizon. PhysX will be used to create a perfect zero-gravity experience to the gamer.

Read more here: Futuremark Using PhysX For Shattered Horizon’s ‘Real Space’ Setting

Heavy Rain Spectacular Screenshots

pcgameshardware.com has a set of impressive screenshots of Heavy Rain, a game developed by Quantic Dream, a French team (yes!).

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator Driver 15.11.0.1537

A new version of Intel Graphics Media Accelerator is out. This is a version for Windows Vista and it seems it adds the OpenGL 2.0 support. I wasn’t able to find the download on Intel website but fortunatly there are great download websites such as MajorGeeks help us!

You can download the driver here: Intel Graphics Accelerator Driver for Vista 15.11.
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Update (2008-08-27)

• Les drivers Intel GMA pour l’OpenGL 2.0 sont là

NVIDIA ForceWare 177.92 Graphics Drivers

A new set of ForceWare hits the street. This new version has the number 177.92 and is in BETA stage like almost all NVIDIA drivers It doesn’t matter, a new forceware is still good for the GeForce you have in your PC.

This new version includes the PhysX driver 8.08.18 and supports GeForce 6-series, 7-series, 8-series, 9-series, and 200-series GPUs, including the newly released GeForce 9800 GTX+, 9800 GT, 9500 GT, and 9400 GT GPUs.

NVIDIA PhysX acceleration is supported on all GeForce 8-series, 9-series and 200-series GPUs with a minimum of 256MB dedicated graphics memory

You can grab’em here:

• ForceWare 177.92 XP 32
• ForceWare 177.92 XP 64
• ForceWare 177.92 Vista 32
• ForceWare 177.92 Vista 64

Crysis Warhead needs Memory, lot of Memory

From the guys at pcgameshardware.com, Crysis Warhead is greedy and needs 4Gb of memory to deliver 30fps. As Fudzilla says, if Crysis Warhead needs more than 2Gb when it will be released, memory-makers will be happy!

Monster Hunter Frontier: DirectX 9 Graphics Benchmark

Monster Hunter Frontier is a DirectX 9 benchmark and is derived from the full game.

You can grab it here: Monster Hunter Benchmark DOWNLOAD

With a core2duo E8400 / 2Gb DDR3 1333 / Radeon HD 3870 Catalyst 8.8 WinXP 32, I get the score of 6425 points.

Free Python Programming E-Books

ATI Optimizes Catalyst 8.8 to be FurMark-Proof!

So if you have a Radeon HD 4850 or Radeon HD 4870, just rename FurMark.exe in something.exe and you will see the difference!

Expreview has done the test with Quake Wars: Emeny Territory and has renamed etqw.exe to FurMark.exe and saw performance drop from 141.3FPS to 93.7FPS!

I have not a Radeon HD 4000 series but I think that I’m going to buy a Radeon HD 4850 today!

It’s a pain to develop a benchmark to make it running properly on most graphics hardwares and now I have to include in FurMark a Catalyst anit-cheat???? Thanks AMD/ATI….

Why AMD doesn’t contact me directly to find out the problem???

Update

• Les Radeon efficaces dans FurMark au point dépasser les tolérences? @ TT-Hardware
• AMD ralentit le fonctionnement de ses cartes pour FurMark @ PC INpact
• Catalyst 8.8 – FurMark künstlich verlangsamt
• FurMark-testi tuottaa lämpöongelmia AMD:lle?
• AMD reduce supuestamente el rendimiento en FurMark

DirectX 11 Will not be a rival to PhysX

Roy Taylor, NVIDIA’s Vice President of Content Relations, said that the Compute Shader of DirectX 11 would not be a competitor to NVIDIA’s PhysX. His main argument is based on the fact that most current developments are multi-platform titles and only PhysX is ready for cross-platform programming. PhysX is available on Playstation 3, XBox 360, PC, Wii and Linux.

Zotac Nitro Overclocking Device

Zotac’s Nitro overclocking device is an external device that allows users to overclock the graphics card in real time without leaving the game or 3D application. The overclocking is done by simply pressing one of three keys located at the front of the device. The device will be able to overclock the GPU, memory and even the shader clock. Nitro device is connected to the PC via USB connection and allows overclocking of Zotac GeForce 7, 8, 9, and GTX 200 series cards.

Update (2008-09-15)

• Zotac now making gadget for computer geeks