Greetings, Flameborn! Our first update for Enshrouded is finally here! Just a few weeks ago we were releasing our first roadmap, and now we're already ticking a bunch of these boxes… As a team, it feels good! Our goal for each update is to include new content, new features, improvements to existing features, as well as the usual fixes and polish.

The biggest part of the update is undoubtedly the Hollow Halls. You can read more on them below, but a word of advice before you proceed: the encounters will test your mettle and we strongly recommend preparing well and bringing your best food items, as well as campfires to rest during your exploration. It is possible to run these as a solo player, but it might be a very challenging experience, and we recommend bringing some friends along. If you team up with strangers, remember that you can create a backup of your save files. Of course since we're in Early Access, we are very eager to hear your thoughts on the Hollow Halls. Do let us know what you think once you've given them a try! And without further ado…

Japan's PC_Focus social media account has shared some slightly damning insider information regarding the performance of Dragon's Dogma 2 on current generation consoles. Capcom's much anticipated action role player is scheduled for a March 22 multiplatform launch—encompassing versions for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S. The upcoming sequel leverages the company's proprietary RE Engine (Reach for the Moon Engine)—contrary to widespread misinformation, "RE" does not stand for Resident Evil. A "Japanese insider" familiar with pre-release builds has relayed information to PC_Focus about Dragon's Dogma 2 running at "30 FPS on consoles." An IGN Japan weekend report is also cited—the publication confirms that the game "features only 1 save slot," with "auto and manual sharing the same slot."

Dragon's Dogma 2 Steam profile provides system requirements for PC platforms in "Minimum" and "Recommended" categories—as noted by Wccftech, both sheets list estimated performance for 30 FPS: "(for) minimum specs, the Steam page lists an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU, which on paper, is roughly equivalent to the CPU inside the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series." Capcom has not divulged any official details regarding Dragon's Dogma 2's visual modes for games consoles—be it "Quality" or "Performance." We hope to see some clarification pop up in pre-release material leading up to the game's late March launch.

Moore Threads latest driver update, 230.40.0.1, is a noteworthy advancement, bringing many improvements and new features, most significantly introducing OpenGL 3.3 support. This inclusion is crucial, as this API was previously incompatible with MTT S70 and S80 GPUs, highlighting MTT's commitment to broadening user experience across various platforms and games. Moreover, the update offers substantial performance enhancements, with notable increases in frame rates in popular games. Valorant supposedly gets a 40% FPS improvement at 1080p, while Project CARS brings a 10% increase. Game engines such as CryEngine v5.7 also receive a 40% performance uplift. However, the release of only percentage improvements without specific framerate values calls for measured optimism, as the tangible impact on playability is yet to be assessed.

Equally important in this update is the emphasis on stability, with many popular titles seeing enhancements for a smoother and more reliable gaming experience. This focus underscores MTT's dedication to maintaining a robust and stable gaming environment on the Windows 10 operating system. Integrating 20 fixes and ongoing resolutions to existing issues mark this update as crucial for users aiming for a refined and seamless experience in graphics-intensive applications and games. The amalgamation of enhanced compatibility, heightened performance, and bolstered stability in this update is pivotal for users looking to maximize graphic and gaming capabilities.

First, an enormous thank you to all of you playing Starfield and your support. We are absolutely blown away by the response and all you love about the game. We're also reading all your great feedback on what you'd like to see improved or added to the game. This is a game we'll be supporting for years and years to come, so please keep all the feedback coming! Even if we don't get to your requests immediately, we'd love to do it in the future, like city maps. Our priority initially is making sure any top blocker bugs or stability issues are addressed, and adding quality-of-life features that many are asking for.

This first update is a small hotfix targeted at the few top issues were are seeing. After that, expect a regular interval of updates that have top community requested features including:

• Brightness and Contrast controls
• HDR Calibration Menu
• FOV Slider
• Nvidia DLSS Support (PC)
• 32:9 Ultrawide Monitor Support (PC)
• Eat button for food!

Today, Far Cry 5 is getting a 60 FPS patch on Xbox Series X|S and PS5 as part of its fifth anniversary celebrations. Take down Joseph Seed and his Heralds at twice the framerate as you explore the different regions in Hope County and liberate its citizens. The 60 FPS patch applies to all of Far Cry 5's game modes, as well as its three DLCs; Hours of Darkness, Lost on Mars, and Dead Living Zombies, making now the perfect time to dive into the backstories of Wendell Redler, Nick Rye, and Guy Marvel, respectively.

In addition to a smoother visual experience, Xbox Series X|S players will receive enhanced resolution for Far Cry 5. Xbox Series X will be able to run the game with a 3840x2160 and 4K resolution, while Xbox Series S will run it at a 1920x1080. PS5 players will still be able to take out the Seed family at 2880x1620 resolution.

Cooler Master launches the availability of the all-new GM Series Curved Monitor lineup for work and play. The ultra-fast GM27-CFX with a 240 Hz refresh rate is available starting today May 26 2022 while the ultra-wide GM34-CWQ ARGB hits shelves on May 30 2022.

GM27-CFX
Cooler Master's new FHD GM27-CFX 1500R Curved monitor delivers outstanding performance for "Work & Play" Setups with a 98% DCI-P3 color spectrum coverage. The GM27-FQX runs an ultra-fast 240 Hz framerate with 0.5 ms response time and features quantum dot picture quality enabling a 3001:1 contrast ratio for deep blacks and bright whites.

Back in 2012, ASUS released the world's first ever 144 Hz monitor, and we've been chasing high refresh rates ever since. From the first 240 Hz NVIDIA G-SYNC display we released in 2017 to the first 360 Hz display in 2020, ROG is committed to pushing competitive gaming to new heights at every opportunity. Now, we're ecstatic to announce that we've done it again: introducing the ROG Swift 500 Hz, a groundbreaking new gaming monitor that refreshes 500 times per second, for the most fluid, fast-paced motion you'll find in modern Esports.

In competitive, intense firefights, every single millisecond counts. The ROG Swift 500 Hz draws frames more than eight times faster than typical 60 Hz displays in a single second, which means you have that much more time to get a leg up on your opponent in esports titles like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Valorant, Overwatch, and Rainbow Six Siege. With super low response times and unprecedented improvements in input lag, the ROG Swift 500 Hz is the new benchmark in Esports, offering the same competitive advantage that made its 360 Hz predecessor the official display at last year's DOTA 2 The International championship. The ROG Swift 500 Hz features a 24.1-inch Full HD (1920x1080) panel, allowing your GPU to push as many frames as possible. ROG was able to push refresh rates to the limit by using new Esports TN (E-TN) technology, which offers 60% better response times than standard TN panels, allowing us to reach a new milestone in speed and clarity.

AMD is looking to further push the adoption of FreeSync with the release of FreeSync 2 HDR Technology. The primary goal of the new standard is to take what FreeSync already offered including wide variable refresh rates and low framerate compensation and to pair that with HDR for a truly immersive experience. To show off what FreeSync 2 can do while also pushing for broader adoption has resulted in AMD creating their new Oasis Demo. Following the familiar principle that seeing is believing, AMD will be looking to compare their FreeSync 2 monitors against their non-HDR counterparts with this new demo at retail locations. This will allow consumers to see the difference for themselves in a way static images and youtube videos cannot convey. The Demo itself has been built using Unreal Engine 4 and has full support for HDR10 and FreeSync 2 HDR transport protocols. When it comes to settings the demo packs numerous options including FPS limits with various presets or custom options, vertical sync on/off, FreeSync on/off, Content modes, etc. You can view AMD's overview of the Demo in the video below.

Several users have complained lately about performance issues on their SLI systems, and after some discussions in the NVIDIA subreddit and on NVIDIA's forums, the conclusion seems to be clear: performance drops when SLI and G-Sync are working together. The folks over at ExtremeTech have made a good job exploring the issues and they have confirmed that frame rate falls if both features are enabled on the PC. The problem seems related to timing according to their data, but there's no clear solution yet to that issue.

The problems are huge in titles such as Rising Storm 2 (206 vs 75 fps with SLI and G-Sync enabled) and not that important on others like Witcher 3 (113 vs 98 fps). The test setup included two GTX 1080 GPUs and an Acer XB280HK monitor that supports 4K but only at 60 Hz, a perfect choice to detect whether the problem was real or not. In their tests with several games they confirmed the problem, but didn't find a defined pattern: "Turning G-Sync on and using SLI is not guaranteed to tank your frame rate. [...] Different games showed three different performance models". In Deus Ex Mankind Divided the gap appeared only on DX11 mode. In Far Cry 5, the penalty size increases as the frame rate rises, and in Hitman the results were even more confusing.

Real time ray tracing won't be cheap. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20 Series graphics cards are quite expensive, but even with that resources the cost to take advantage of this rendering technique will be high. We didn't know for sure what this cost would be, but the developers at Remedy have shown some preliminary results on that front. This company is working on Control, one of the first games with RTX support, and although they have not provided framerate numbers, what we do know is that the activation of ray tracing imposes a clear impact.

It does at least in these preliminary tests with its Northlight Engine. In an experimental scene with a wet marble floor and a lot of detailed furniture they were able to evaluate the cost of enabling RTX. There is a 9.2 ms performance overhead per frame in total: 2.3 ms to compute shadows; 4.4 ms to compute reflexions; and 2.5 ms for the global denoising lighting. These are not good news for those who enjoy games at 1080p60.

In a continued effort to support the PC platform, BANDAI NAMCO previously announced they would be releasing Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown on PC. At the time, there was no mention of what the game's system requirements would be. However, thanks to an NVIDIA blog post, we now know not only the game's system requirements but an estimate on system performance as well- at least with their own graphics solutions.

Overall, the minimum and recommended requirements appear to be quite reasonable. BANDAI NAMCO even went so far as to make note that the recommended requirements are representative of what is needed to run the game at the 1920x1080 resolution with max settings. NVIDIA's own testing backs up those claims with the GeForce GTX 1060 offering a comfortable 100 FPS at 1920x1080, and 60 FPS at 2560x1440 resolutions. Meanwhile, those wanting to push the game at 4K will need a GeForce GTX 1080 Ti or better which should offer a steady 60+ FPS.

Over at Techspot, Steven Walton managed to get a hold of Intel's new six-core, 12-thread Core i7-7800X CPU, and chose to take it for a spin over a levy of gaming benchmarks. The results don't bode particularly well for Intel's new top i7 offering, though: it is soundly beat by its smaller, svelter brother in virtually all gaming tasks.

Out-of-the-box results are somewhat in line with what we would expect: the Core i7-7700K does bring about a base clock increased by 700 MHz compared to the i7-7800X (4.2 GHz vs 3.5 GHz), and has a higher boost clock to boot (4.5 GHz vs 4 GHz.) And as we've seen over and over again, including with Intel rival AMD's Ryzen offerings, frequency usually trumps core count when it comes to performance when applications are exposed more than four cores. And this leads to Walton's results: the Core i7 7700K is still king in pure FPS terms, coming in with a much more attractive proposition than the 7800X in both minimum and maximum FPS, as well as power consumption.

Yesterday, we covered how Ryzen's performance has seen a needed lift-up through an upcoming update to Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation. Performance improvements of up to 30% do wonders in bringing up the 8-core, 16-thread Ryzen 7 1800X's performance up to speed with its svelter gaming enemy, the 4-core, 8-thread i/ 7700K. And through a community update, AMD has now shed some light on the ongoing crusade for adapting an entire ecosystem to its Ryzen line of processors architecture features. Case in point: BIOS updates and game patches,

AMD is reportedly releasing a fix for frame-pacing issues for Radeon-based systems with Eyefinity setups in January, 2014, according to an AnandTech report. This September, AMD rolled out the first fix into the frame-pacing issues that affected Radeon GPUs based on the Graphics CoreNext architecture, in which raw-framerate didn't come with the right pacing between each frame, resulting in display output that isn't fluid, which even caused accusations to fly from some quarters about how honest AMD really is with performance numbers of its GPUs.

The Catalyst update that rolled out in September 2013 resolved the problem for a majority of users - with single displays connected to single GPUs, but left out cases in which people use Eyefinity (single display head spanning across multiple physical displays), on CrossFireX (multi-GPU) setups. It was originally expected that AMD would release the so-called "phase 2" Catalyst driver update looking into frame-pacing issues this November, but since the month has passed, AMD has obviously hit a delay. AnandTech reports that delay could last as long as two months, and one should expect "phase 2" to come out only towards the later half of January, since in the first half, AMD, along with the rest of the industry, will be busy with the 2014 International CES, where it will launch its next-generation A-Series APUs, codenamed "Kaveri."

AverMedia, specialists in video encoding and archival hardware, introduced the Live Gamer HD addon card. This product solves the problem of gameplay streaming/recording software introducing lag because the software syncs the framerate to match the framerate of the encoded video/stream, not to mention the additional burden on the CPU and hard drive. The addon card acts as an intermediate between the graphics/audio cards and the display/headset, encodes gameplay at resolutions up to full-HD, that's 1920 x 1080 @60 FPS, without affecting the framerate the gamer experiences (the display stream and the recording stream needn't be at sync). The card packs a hardware H.264 encoder, which then works with a software to either stream it online (via streaming services such as Livestream), or records it onto local storage (since it's writing a pre-encoded video, HDD activity will be much lower compared to screencapture programs that write heavy lossless video). AverMedia did not give out pricing information.A video presentation by AverMedia follows.

Welcome to the first TechPowerUp news post of 2012! Read on for a couple of impressive overclocking feats with the HD 7970 graphics card.

It looks like the new AMD Radeon HD 7970 could be a bit of a dark horse and a lot more potent than its stock specifications would suggest - excellent for creating a competitive graphics card market. The reviews at stock speeds show the flagship HD 7970 to be around 10-15% faster than NVIDIA's flagship GTX 580, which doesn't seem all that impressive since the GTX 580 has been on the market for over a year now. However, what the reviews haven't really shown, is what kind of an overclocking monster the HD 7970 is. It definitely looks like AMD could have easily beaten the GTX 580 by a much bigger margin than they did, had they wanted to and it makes one wonder why they didn't.

VR-Zone have spent the New Year weekend overclocking this beast, having reached a whopping 1.26 GHz core clock speed with their HD 7970 - and decent benchmark improvements to go with it. Also, with the fan at 100%, the card never got above a very comfortable 68 degrees centigrade while running Furmark, which is amazing considering how this test is specifically designed to heat a graphics card to the max - but please see the update at the bottom of the article. The stock cooler may be noisy, but it's certainly very effective: an excellent result which will prolong the working life of the card.