The world-leading graphics card and mainboard manufacturer, MSI, today announces all-in-one graphics card tweak utility "Afterburner". All MSI graphics card users can download it for free on Afterburner website today. The powerful overclocking, tweaking, and monitoring features of Afterburner are incomparable among competitors. The MSI graphics card users can immediately enjoy the overclocking performance and tweaking pleasure brought by Afterburner now.

Afterburner fully supports the GPU/Shader/Memory clock adjustment of NVIDIA and ATI graphics cards. Beside general overclocking features, Afterburner has the exclusive over-voltage technology, which supports NVIDIA and ATI high-end product-line and MSI award-winning Lightning series. With these graphics cards, the extra over-voltage function will be activated, and can highly boost the graphics card overclocking capability and make the games runs more smoothly. According to the internal test result, MSI N275GTX Lightning core clock can be overclocked to the awesome 1175MHz and reached the unprecedented 85% overclocking capability.

NEC Display Solutions of America, a leading stand-alone provider of commercial LCD displays and projectors, today announced the 43-inch NEC CRV43 ultra-widescreen specialty desktop display, designed for use in applications such as professional graphics, higher education, government, financial, command & control and home office.

The NEC CRV43 curved display can be seen at InfoComm 09 (Peerless Booth No. 5441) on June 17-19 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

AMD announced the ATI Radeon E4690 graphics processor unit (GPU) designed to enable a whole level of new reality for embedded graphics applications with more than triple the 3D graphics performance of prior AMD embedded products. Arcade system manufacturers will appreciate the long term support and lower cost of placing the GPU chip directly on the motherboard instead of a separate add-in graphics card. This product will enable digital signage manufacturers to decode and play multiple high-definition videos in hardware, offloading all the decoding from the CPU. Casino system manufacturers will be amazed by triple the graphics performance to help attract players while increasing overall entertainment value with incredibly realistic 3D graphics, plus two-monitor support.

Graphics card major and NVIDIA partner Galaxy has come up with a new graphics card cooler design it calls "fan-card". The cooler may feature in some of the high-end graphics accelerators the company is working on. The cooler's design revolves around mounting three powerful fans onto a graphics card without straining its PCB (preventing gradual bending) caused due to the fans' weight and vibration, while also providing greater control.

The card's main heatsink remains fixed on to its PCB, while this card is installed right under it (or over, depending on which way the motherboard is oriented in a case (BTX-style)). The fan card holds three 80 mm LED-lit fans that push greater volumes of air than dual-slot cooling solutions with three fans the company has designed cards with do. The fan-card has openings behind the card that directs its air-flow onto the graphics card's exposed heatsink. The fan-card draws its power from a 4-pin Molex input, and also has a speed controller knob available to the user from the back of the case.

In related news, Galaxy published a picture of its upcoming single-PCB GeForce GTX 295 dual-GPU accelerator, while confirming a few specifications. The card is 267 mm (10.5 inches) long, and features two G200b GPUs with 240 shader processors each. A total of 1792 MB of GDDR3 memory is available. The board TDP is rated at 289W, and carries the reference NVIDIA clock speeds of 576/1242/2016 MHz (core/shader/memory).

AMD announced a new operating model that centers the organization on four equally critical functions: products, technology, marketing and customers. The new structure is designed to better optimize AMD's operations to drive industry-leading performance graphics and microprocessors and further integrate the company's x86 processor and graphics technologies.

"We are tightening our focus on delivering the winning products and platforms our customers want based on AMD's industry-leading microprocessor and graphics technologies," said Dirk Meyer, AMD president and CEO. "The next generation of innovation in the computing industry will be grounded in the fusion of microprocessor and graphics technologies. With these changes, we are putting the right organization in place to help enable the future of computing."

There is a new X58 "SuperComputer" motherboard, this time not from ASRock, but from ASUS. The company is ready with a new LGA-1366 single-socket workstation motherboard that concentrates quite heavily on its PCI-Express expansion slots. THe motherboard packs seven full-length PCI-Express slots. To support these, ASUS used a clever design: two 16-lane PCI-Express channels from the X58 northbridge provide connectivity to an NVIDIA nForce 200 (BR-03) chip each. Each of these chips in turn broadcast the connection to two PCI-E 2.0 x16 slots (blue slots). The blue slots with a neighbouring black slot further have PCI-E switching logic that can divert 8 lanes to the black PCI-E x16 slots, when populated. As a result, it has seven slots worked out in all. The board supports ATI CrossFireX and NVIDIA SLI.

A large heatsink cools the lower cluster of chips that include the board's ICH10R southbridge, and the two nForce 200 chips. Heatpipes distribute heat to an elaborate array of heatsinks over the northbridge and the board's VRM areas. The board features six DDR3 memory slots for supporting up to 24 GB of memory. Storage is care of the southbridge and an additional controller to provide extra internal SATA ports along with the eSATA connectivity. 8-channel audio, and two gigabit Ethernet controllers, and an ASUS-exclusive system diagnostics card make for the rest of the equation. The P6T7 SuperComputer is yet to hit stores.

NVIDIA, the inventor of the GPU, today introduced NVIDIA SLI Multi-OS, a ground-breaking technology that allows users and visualization applications, for the first time, to take full advantage of multiple NVIDIA Quadro GPUs from a single graphics workstation in a virtualized environment.

This new technology delivers a faster, more efficient workflow to maximize productivity and lower the total cost of ownership for professionals in markets such as: digital content creation, sciences, manufacturing, and oil and gas.

"In today's economy, organizations are turning to virtualization to increase productivity and maximize cost savings," says Jeff Brown, general manager of professional solutions at NVIDIA. "Now professionals working with visualization applications can benefit from virtualization."

Here's an interesting story with emphasis on graphics cards failure rates. It was interesting for me to see the results, and I hope it will be interesting for you too. The original story comes from Hardware France and is based upon results from a major un-named French retailer. The data of faulty graphics cards was collected in the period of seven months from August 2008 to March of this year. To build the statistics, an ideal sample amount of at least 500 units was used. The statistics provide reliability information on a 'per brand' and 'per GPU model' basis. You're welcome to comment on the results. Read the English version at GPU Cafe here, or the original French version here at Hardware.fr.

AMD announced that the 50 millionth ATI 'Hollywood' graphics processor for the Wii game console from Nintendo shipped today. With 50 million units delivered, the ATI graphics processor code-named 'Hollywood' becomes the most successful AMD game console chip to date in terms of unit sales.

"Nintendo values its ongoing relationship with AMD. AMD's graphics technology expertise as displayed in the ATI 'Hollywood' chip is a great part of the momentum of Wii. Our combined efforts help deliver entertaining experiences to create many smiling faces in living rooms around the world," said Genyo Takeda, general manager of Integrated Research and Development, Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Caustic Graphics, a new 3D computer graphics company, launches today with a fundamental breakthrough in raytracing acceleration that is set to define a new era in professional 3D production and interactive consumer graphics. Raytracing, the gold-standard for creating 3D imagery, duplicates the natural physics of light, creating stunning images by meticulously tracing the path of light to and throughout any given scene.
Caustic's first-generation technology will deliver an average 20X increase in the speed used to create stunning, realistic 3D imagery for film and video, game development, as well as automotive and consumer product design. The second generation of Caustic's technology, due early next year, is expected to gain an additional order of magnitude in performance, offering 200X speed over today's state-of-the-art graphics products. This massive speed jump is due to Caustic's patent-pending raytracing algorithms implemented in a semiconductor design.

A new rainstorm may be coming on Apple's head if the following scenario becomes as real as the previous one. Numerous owners of brand new 17-inch MacBook Pro are complaining that their video cards or perhaps notebooks are failing. The new $2,799 MacBook, which was debuted in January at Macworld, features both GeForce 9600M and GeForce 9400M mobile graphics cards from NVIDIA, that switch during operation depending on the graphics load. Owners are now reporting that their laptops have started to show random green lines and artifacts on the display - a certain symptom for failing video card. Users also believe that the issue occurs only when the second card - the GeForce 9600M - turns on. Both NVIDIA and Apple had very serious problems over faulty GPUs last year. A second NVIDIA fiasco over faulty mobile graphics, won't be good at all for the company. Hopefully, this time an update from Apple will fix the issue. If not, prepare for more lawsuits on our news page. A discussion in the Apple forums was also posted, direct link here.

Today ASUS is all over the place, promoting all kinds of products. Now is the time for the Formula video cards line-up, inspired by Formula 1 race cars. ASUS is already showcasing a few products from the line-up at CeBIT 2009 (where else if not there). The part that brings the cards' name is actually the heatsink. From above it resembles the shape of a F1 car. Despite that, the heatsink is nothing so revolutionary. It is combination of anti-oxidizing aluminum fins, five copper heat-pipes and a dust-proof fan. The whole cooling occupies two PCI slots. ASUS forgot to mention if the cards will be supercharged, sorry I mean overclocked. Pricing and availability information is also missing, neither we know if the cards will be with NVIDIA or ATI GPUs.

Jon Peddie Research (JPR), the industry's research and consulting firm for graphics and multimedia, today announced a new study that indicates the end of the market for the popular integrated graphics processor chipset, known as the IGP.

After fifteen years of stellar growth the IGP, will cease to exist, replaced by graphics embedded in the processor. Integrated graphics are used in desktop and net top PCs, notebooks, and netbooks, and various embedded systems such as point of sale, set-top boxes, and signage systems.

In 2008 67% of the graphics chips shipped were IGPs. In 2011 it will drop to 20%, and by 2013 it will be less than one percent.

A few days ago, we covered the release of an NVIDIA graphics update from Apple, which was intended to address issues when using the Apple Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adapter on MacBook Air, MacBook and MacBook Pro and improve cursor movement and playback of HD videos running on systems with NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT or GeForce 9600M graphics. Within just two days of the update being posted, the page and downloads were removed from Apple's site, for initially unknown reasons. It seems that not long after the update was released, the Apple discussion forums started filling up with people having either the same, or in some cases, worse problems following the graphics update. According to CNET, "This issue only affects those with the MacBooks, MacBook Airs or MacBook Pros redesigned in October, and it seems to only be a problem when running the integrated graphics on those machines."

Graphics maker NVIDIA has issued a brief statement today, informing us that its revenue for the forth quarter of 2008 which ends on January 29, 2009 has significantly dropped. Back in November of last year Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, said in a conference call that he expected Q4 revenues to be down around five percent, but those digits won't look right when the official report appears, because the real decline is far greater at 40 to 50 percent. NVIDIA's response of the situation:

as a result of further weakness in end-user demand and inventory reductions by NVIDIA's channel partners in the global PC supply chain.

NVIDIA added that there would be no further comment until the Q4 earnings announcement on 10th February.

UK based HEXUS.net has learned that XFX, one of NVIDIA's main AIB partners, is about to start producing AMD/ATI based video cards in the very near future. HEXUS has learned that a formal announcement, detailing the exact relationship between XFX and AMD/ATI, is expected next Tuesday. The AMD/ATI deal won't reflect on XFX's NVIDIA series cards, the company will continue to sell them as it is doing now. Expect more information, when available.

If you're still one of the few owners of an old AGP video card made by BFG Tech, here's what. As of today, BFG Tech is offering those AGP owners to trade in their current working AGP BFG graphics card for a BFG PCI Express graphics card. BFG only requires your BFG AGP card to come in good, working condition, and they'll send the PCI-E equivalent at no cost to you. If you want to upgrade to an even better performing card, add $50 and you have it. Please note, that the offer is for U.S. customers only. The chart below shows BFG AGP cards and their closest PCI Express equivalent. Find more information here.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) today announced volume production of the first semiconductor foundry 40nm logic manufacturing process with the successful ramp of its 40 nanometer (nm) General Purpose (G) and Low Power (LP) versions. Nanometers measure the width of metal lines in semiconductors. Forty nanometers is less than one-thousandth the width of a human hair.
The 40nm process is one of the semiconductor industry's most advanced available for production manufacturing process and is expected to play a key role in the development of next generation products in global consumer electronics, mobile, and computer end markets.

ASUS has decided to run around and release a new MATRIX card, the EAH4850 MATRIX/HTDI/512M. The particular card is powered by a 55nm RV770 GPU with 800 Stream Processors, has 512MB of GDDR3 memory and the proprietary dual-slot Hybrid Cooler. While the EAH4850 MATRIX might sound like it's going to be an overclocked card thanks to its bigger cooler, it's not. It carries the stock 625MHz core and 1986MHz DDR memory clock. Instead the card comes with an integrated hardware and software set of controls that makes adjustments to the GPU and memory voltages depending on the card load and mode. ASUS software is also monitoring the card's GPU, memory, Power IC, and ambient temperatures. The MATRIX Radeon HD 4850 is expected to hit the stores in November.

World economy may be at risk, but industry experts report that the graphics chip market is literally on fire. According to Jon Peddie Research (JPR), AMD's newly released credible video cards in both its desktop and laptop segments, led to the biggest increase in third-quarter shipments in six years. In the third quarter of 2008, more than 111 million GPUs were shipped, the market researcher said. During the same quarter last year, 91 million GPUs shipped, and 94 million units shipped in the previous quarter. That's an annual increase of 22.5 percent and a quarter-to-quarter increase of almost 18 percent, according to JPR. In the overall market AMD saw a good year-to-year growth of 22.8%, while NVIDIA lost 6.4% year-to-year. For desktop GPUs, AMD/ATI is also on the bright side claiming to 20.3%, while NVIDIA slipped to 32.6%, the other 43.9% of the portion are for Intel. On the laptop front, Intel GPU shipments dropped one point to 56.2 percent, while NVIDIA GPU shipments declined to 21.8 percent, and AMD jumped to 20.9 percent, JPR reported. It was about time and AMD desperately needed this good results, congratulations. ATI's graphics cards are temperately rising their share in the fight with rival NVIDIA.

In order to cater to users who require excellent graphical performance boosts and exceptional cooling from their graphic cards, ASUS, world-leading producer of top quality graphic solutions, has today introduced a range of self-designed version graphics cards comprising the latest EAH4870 DK and EN9800GTX+ DK Series. These ASUS designed graphics cards will come equipped with the Dark Knight Fansink that delivers extreme cooling and low noise-levels-greatly enhancing gaming enjoyment. The inclusion of the EMI Shield, DIP Spring Chokes, LF PAK MOS, and Japan-made Solid Capacitors will allow users extreme performance and peace of mind at the same time; and furthermore, users will enjoy up to 9% performance improvements for gaming experiences with the ASUS EAH4870 DK TOP and EN9800GTX+ DK TOP.

Graphics card manufacturer Point of View is jumping the Arctic Cooling band wagon just like many other manufacturers did, by introducing the brand new POV GeForce 9800 GTX+ with 512MB of GDDR3 memory (R-VGA150900H+). The 55nm built GeForce 9800GTX+ is one of the great cards currently on the market, performing very well with the latest games and also offering an acceptable price tag. To get even more performance out of the graphics card Point of View has decided to team up with Arctic Cooling and start offering their cards with AC coolers that will help lower temperatures and even more. The Arctic cooled POV GeForce 9800 GTX+ comes clocked at 738MHz core, 1836MHz shader clock and 2200MHz memory clock. At the same time the card is up to 20% cooler and also makes less noise than the standard NVIDIA cooling system. The actual model used is Arctic Cooling Accelero TWIN TURBO with two ultra quiet 80mm fans, 4 heatpipes and 30 fins that together form a dual-slot cooling monster able to transfer up to 120W of heat. To make their card even better all-rounder, POV has decided to equip it with a dual-link DVI port, a HDMI port and a VGA port. For additional information, please click here.

AMD today announced the introduction of the ATI Radeon HD 4550 and ATI Radeon HD 4350 graphics cards, the latest additions to the award-winning ATI Radeon HD 4000 series graphics line up. These feature-rich graphics cards deliver exceptional gaming and HD multimedia performance at value prices. Both cards are based on the same technology found in the celebrated ATI Radeon HD 4800 series, including support for the latest DirectX 10.1 games and superior HD multimedia capabilities. Delivering mainstream-class performance at a value price, the ATI Radeon HD 4550 graphics card plays demanding game titles previously unplayable by cards in this price segment, and for less than USD $59 for a 512MB memory configuration. An even more incredible value, the ATI Radeon HD 4350 graphics card is the ideal introduction to the ATI Radeon HD 4000 series, priced for less than USD $39 for a 256 MB memory configuration, giving gamers and multimedia enthusiasts more features than products available from the competition today.

Graphics card manufacturer NVIDIA is being sued for withholding information over defect GPUs and thus causing investors to lose money. NVIDIA shareholder Lisa Miller has filed the suit in the US district, seeking for legal action against NVIDIA. The lawsuit alleges that the company knew of the problem last year, but didn't disclose the issue to shareholders. Earlier this summer NVIDIA by its own admitted that it had a problem with faulty GPUs indeed. In July NVIDIA confirmed that there's a thermal problem with its GPUs. The problem is in the thermal stress caused when the chip powers up and then powers down. The difference in temperature caused the solder attaching the chips to crack and fail. After the issue was made public it led to an immediate stock reaction. The company's share price fell 31% from $18.78 USD to $12.98 for one night, effectively wiping $3 billion off the company's and shareholders' pockets in less than 24 hours. If NVIDIA tries to cover the cost of repairs and returns for the faulty GPUs, it would cost up to $200 million. Because of the obvious losses, the shareholders now want some compensation that needs to be paid by NVIDIA. "The truth is that, at least as early as November 2007, NVIDIA and the other defendants have known about these unprecedented failure rates as well as their 'root causes'," the lawsuit claims. "Nevertheless, for at least eight months, defendants concealed from NVIDIA investors these defects and their obvious impact on the company's financial condition and future business prospects," it adds. Till the moment of this release, there is still no official response from NVIDIA. You can find the full lawsuit in .pdf format here.

AMD today announced the ATI Radeon HD 4600 series, mainstream graphics offerings that deliver exceptional gaming and HD multimedia performance while consuming less power than a standard light bulb. Comprising the ATI Radeon HD 4670 and the ATI Radeon HD 4650 graphics cards, the ATI Radeon HD 4600 series leverages the leading technology found in the award-winning ATI Radeon HD 4800 series, including support for the latest DirectX 10.1 games, superior HD multimedia capabilities and industry leading performance-per-watt, all delivered at affordable prices for the mainstream graphics segment. The combined features and technologies and incredible prices makes the ATI Radeon HD 4600 series a superb all-around performer, ideal for playing the latest games or driving a high quality home theatre entertainment experience.