Following launches of its GeForce GTX 660 and GTX 650 graphics processors earlier this day, NVIDIA released the latest stable version of its GeForce driver suite. GeForce 306.23 WHQL was released for Windows 7/Vista and Windows XP. This is NVIDIA's first WHQL-signed driver launch after GeForce GTX 660 Ti was launched last month. Hence, it includes official support for GeForce GTX 660 Ti, GeForce GTX 660, and GeForce GTX 650. The company also notified that the next WHQL-signed drivers will remove support for legacy GeForce GPUs such as 6-series and 7-series.

GeForce 306.23 WHQL also adds GPU and game-specific performance improvements. Along with the latest patch by its developer, Total War: Shogun 2 will see up to 60% performance improvement with GeForce GTX 680. Performance is also significantly improved for games such as Batman: Arkham City, Dragon Age II, STALKER: Call of Pripyat, and Battlefield 3 (in SLI). SLI profiles were added or improved for a large number of games. The drivers provide early support for applications built with CUDA 5 Preview.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 306.23 WHQL for Windows 7/Vista 64-bit, Windows 7/Vista 32-bit, Windows XP 32-bit, Windows XP 64-bit

A list of changes follows.

NVIDIA released the GeForce 304.48 Beta software suite, which include game-specific performance improvements, and fixes for bugs related to recently launched hardware. To begin with, GeForce 304.48 Beta claims performance improvements as high as 18%. The improvements are tested on GeForce GTX 680 and GeForce GTX 560, and are specific to game titles such as Batman Arkham City, Dragon Age 2, Lost Planet 2, STALKER: Call of Pripyat; SLI profiles were improved for games such as Battlefield 3 and The Witcher 2. The exact performance improvement numbers claimed by NVIDIA are charted below.

In addition to performance improvements, NVIDIA released fixes for outstanding issues, such as micro-stutter noted by some GeForce GTX 600 "Kepler" users in games with v-sync enabled; under-clocking of factory-overclocked graphics cards by certain manufacturers; and a performance issue with Total War: Shogun 2, with its latest patch enabled. NVIDIA also added and improved SLI profiles for a large selection of games.DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 304.48 Beta

The complete change-log follows.

Capcom unveiled the third installment to the Lost Planet third-person shooter franchise. Lost Planet 3 is technically a prequel to the other two games, which sees the protagonist Jim arrive on the planet Edn III to explore T-ENG (thermal energy), an elusive energy resource, with hopes that it would get him some cash for his family back home. Lost Planet 3 is a return to the extreme environments found in the first installment. Capcom posted a cinematic trailer, and several in-game screenshots.Details of the game, and the cinematic trailer follow.

Very quietly Microsoft has released two new patches available for the Bulldozer platform. According to the AMD blog these patches seem to offer little more then a 10% boost but the do improve over all performance. This is what Adam Kozak a product marketing manager at AMD had to say,

"Some of you may remember that AMD FX processors use a unique dual-core module architecture codenamed "Bulldozer", which current versions of Windows 7 were not specifically architected to utilize. In essence, for those with an AMD FX-8150 Processor, for example, Windows 7 sees the eight available cores and randomly assigns threads to them.

In initial testing of the upcoming Windows 8 operating system, we've seen performance improvements of up to 10% in some applications, when compared to Windows 7. This is because the system correctly recognizes the AMD FX processor architecture and cores. Thanks to close collaboration between Microsoft and AMD, Microsoft recently completed back-porting some of the Windows 8 scheduler code for AMD FX processors into a hotfix for Windows 7."

AMD today released its latest official version of Catalyst, a software suite that provides drivers for AMD/ATI Radeon graphics processors, A-Series APUs, 7-series and 8-series integrated graphics, and related system software. Catalyst 11.10 WHQL launched today has essentially the same change log as the 11.10 Preview 3 driver, except that it's WHQL-signed. Catalyst 11.10 WHQL is the driver to have when playing some of the latest titles such as Battlefield 3 and Rage.

Catalyst 11.10 WHQL brings in a few new features, too, such as support for 5x1 Eyefinity, with maximum resolution increased to 16000 x 16000 pixels on Radeon HD 6000 series GPUs, and in DirectX 11 applications, and improved Vision Engine Control Center / Catalyst Control Center applications (VECC is installed for A-Series APUs and Chipset IGPs, CCC is installed for discrete Radeon GPUs).

DOWNLOAD: AMD Catalyst 11.10 WHQL for Windows 7 and Vista 64-bit | Windows 7 and Vista 32-bit

SPARKLE Computer Co., Ltd., the professional VGA card manufacturer and supplier, today announced the SPARKLE GeForce GT 520 1GB/2GB DDR3 Low Profile Graphics Card, bringing DX11 support and HD video experience to entry level users. Modern DX11 games and 3D applications demand more graphics performance than ever before and integrated graphics simply aren't good enough. With full DirectX 11 and full Shader Model 5 support, the SPARKLE GeForce GT 520 1GB/2GB DDR3 Low Profile Graphics Card packs 48 CUDA cores ! If you want to play popular DX11 games like Dirt2, Metro 2033, Lost Planet2, Battlefield: Bad Company2, etc, the SPARKLE GeForce GT 520 1GB/2GB DDR3 Low Profile Graphics Card is an essential addition to your entry level PC.

SPARKLE Computer Co., Ltd., the professional VGA card manufacturer and supplier, today proudly introduced the Calibre X570 graphics card , delivering intense cooling performance and the broadest set of features for gamers who demand the best. With the excellent cooling solution from Accelero Xtreme, the Calibre X570 Graphics Card brings ultimate DX11 performance with OC function. This offers opportunities for enthusiasts and anyone intent on more hardcore applications to tap their full, powerful potential. Compared to reference GeForce GTX 570 graphics cards on market, the the Calibre X570 Graphics Card is overclocked out of box, it boosts the core, shader and memory clocks significantly to 772MHz, 1544MHz and 4212MHz, bringing better performance in the latest DX11 games.

AMD would be releasing its desktop 45nm CPUs, starting with two models under the Phenom II X4 banner. At this point in time, there is a great deal of uncertainty about when AMD plans to stock retailers with the new CPUs. The company's own roadmaps pointed out to a Q1 2009 launch, with several sources reporting then, that an early January launch was likely, but now it seems unlikely according to sources, who suggest these processors to stock up in March or later.

Meanwhile, a slide showing what looks like the the company's performance projections for the Phenom II X4 940, made its way to Expreview. The Phenom II X4 940 quad-core processor (Black Edition variant) would serve as the company's flagship desktop processor in the months to come, until it gets a proper AM3 refresh, and taken over by Phenom II X4 945. In the slide, the Phenom II X4 940 is pitted against two seemingly mainstream quad-core processors by Intel: Core 2 Quad Q9300 and Core 2 Quad Q9400. A percentage comparison in the gaming performance across some games and 3DMark06 is shown.

CAPCOM is about to release a few updates for Lost Planet on August the 16th. Two of these updates have been known for a while, but now it seems that two more updates are also being added. One of them is called enhanced DX10 depth of field. Which will give you a better illusion of depth perception. The second update is a new default messages system that will be added for multiplayer, lobby, and after a match.

Finally, the first of its kind playable DirectX 10 demo PC title - Lost Planet: Extreme Condition is now available for download as promised. Click here and choose to download either the DX9 demo or the long aticipated DX10 Lost Planet PC demo(Windows Vista only). Please read the Capcom blog if you encounter any problems. I'll also use this news post to add link to Legit Reviews benchmark article: Benchmarking DirectX10 - Lost Planet Extreme Condition, where both NVIDIA's 8800GTX and ATI's latest creation HD 2900XT are being tested head to head in DX10 environment.
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SAN MATEO, Calif - May 10, 2007 - Capcom , a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, today announced plans to issue a downloadable playable demo of the PC version of Lost Planet : Extreme Condition, which will be available simultaneously worldwide on May 15. While the game has already shipped more than one million units worldwide on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, this PC version features PC-specific enhancements. Lost Planet for PC is rated T for Teen by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) and will be available in June for a suggested retail price of $39.95.