AMD CPU hero Jim Keller leaving Tesla to join Intel

Anthony Garreffa | CPU, APU & Chipsets | Apr 26, 2018 12:42 AM CDT

Jim Keller is best known as the chip architect behind Athlon and the smash hit Ryzen CPUs for AMD, who joined Tesla to look over their Autopilot self-driving technology back in 2015. Well, he's leaving and he's joining Team Blue.

AMD CPU hero Jim Keller leaving Tesla to join Intel

According to my industry sources Keller will be announcing he's joining Intel in the morning, with Intel securing another important ex-AMD staffer that will work closely with Raja Koduri, who left AMD as the boss of Radeon Technologies Group. Tesla very quietly hired Keller from AMD in 2016 after he was finished with the Ryzen architecture.

Keller was the brains behind Athlon when theGHz race between AMD and Intel was in full swing, and then he came back again to develop Ryzen. So we have Keller making a processor that had a higher frequency than Intel to beat them, left to join AMD when they made Ryzen which hurt Intel in the multi-threaded race on the consumer side of things, and now back to Intel.

Continue reading: AMD CPU hero Jim Keller leaving Tesla to join Intel (full post)

NVIDIA GeForce 397.31 WHQL drivers enables RTX on Volta GPUs

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Apr 25, 2018 10:55 PM CDT

NVIDIA has just released their latest GeForce 397.31 drivers, with the new release GameReady for both BattleTech and Frostpunk, while enabling RTX support for Volta GPUs, full support for Vulkan 1.1, and more. You can get the new GeForce 397.31 WHQL drivers right here.

NVIDIA GeForce 397.31 WHQL drivers enables RTX on Volta GPUs

NVIDIA's new GeForce 397.31 WHQL drivers are the first to remove support for Fermi GPUs and 32-bit operating systems, but has full Game Ready support for Kepler, Maxwell, Pascal, and Volta-based graphics cards.

As for the two new games, BattleTech is from Harebrained Schemes, the studio that revived the Shadowrun franchise with several excellent RPGs, has now turned their hand to turn-based strategy with the release of BattleTech. Based on FASA's boardgame of old, BattleTech puts you in control of MechWarriors and their BattleMechs in an expansive campaign that requires you to outfit and upgrade your team of mercenaries before battling in strategic missions. Think X-COM, with big stompy mechs.

Continue reading: NVIDIA GeForce 397.31 WHQL drivers enables RTX on Volta GPUs (full post)

GeForce/Radeon GPUs shipments expected to drop by a huge 40%

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Apr 25, 2018 9:48 PM CDT

We knew it was coming, but the date was always a mystery... but now DigiTimes is reporting that Taiwan-based AIB partners of NVIDIA and AMD are expecting that the cryptocurrency mining demand will deflate, driving down demand for GeForce and Radeon graphics cards.

GeForce/Radeon GPUs shipments expected to drop by a huge 40%

Why? Well, Bitmain is releasing their Ethereum ASIC miner which kicks GPU mining's ass... with the Antminer E3 coming soon. DigiTimes reports that "Quite a few mining farm operators have even stopped purchasing graphic cards, as they are awaiting the rollout of Ethereum mining machines by China's Bitmain in the third quarter of 2018. They anticipate mining rewards to pick up gradually in the third quarter, as Bitcoin and Ethereum values may rebound following sharp declines seen in early 2018, the sources indicated".

This doesn't mean that NVIDIA and AMD are dropping the prices of their GPUs, it means that retailers won't be able to siphon as much profits from their cards in this mining boom that is deflating. Bitmain is handling that almost single handedly with their Ethereum ASIC miners impending release.

Continue reading: GeForce/Radeon GPUs shipments expected to drop by a huge 40% (full post)

Samsung's new 34-foot Onyx: portable 4K cinema screens

Anthony Garreffa | Displays & Projectors | Apr 25, 2018 7:41 PM CDT

Samsung has just announced its new range of 4K LED theatrical screens that it has branded Onyx, promising cinema goers, directors and studio bosses to enjoy pure blacks on-screen.

Samsung's new 34-foot Onyx: portable 4K cinema screens

The new Samsung Onyx comes in at a large 34-feet with full 4096 x 2160 resolution that provides a much higher-end image with improved colors than the normal 2K projection. Onyx can pump out 2K, 4K, 3D, and HDR with Samsung unveiling the first US locations for Onyx screens at Pacific Theatres Winnetka in Chatsworth, California, just north of Los Angeles.

Samsung is aiming at a few different markets with its Onyx screen, as it is really just a super massive 4K TV that will get built into not just movie theater walls, but other places as well. When it's used in a cinema, it rocks a custom JBL sound system that ensures people will get out-of-the-box audio. The company hopes to see it used for dine-in theatrical experiences, eSports and live gaming events, and more.

Continue reading: Samsung's new 34-foot Onyx: portable 4K cinema screens (full post)

New Dragon Age could be mainline sequel

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Apr 25, 2018 6:25 PM CDT

BioWare's next Dragon Age game is in the works, but with its new juggernaut release Anthem on the horizon, the game could take some time before it releases...but it also could be a big AAA mainline game.

New Dragon Age could be mainline sequel

We've known for a while that BioWare is making a new Dragon Age game, and that Sunless Sea's Alexis Kennedy is helping the devs write a portion of the game. All of the info we know so far strongly hints the game will be a big-budget affair versus a smaller-scale spin-off (Mass Effect: Andromeda's failures notwithstanding). Now BioWare's Mark Darrah might've just hinted the game is a direct sequel.

In a long Twitter thread chronicling Darrah's development career, the BioWare dev outlined everything that led up to his current position as Executive Producer on Anthem, the studio's massively ambitious new online-based action-RPG. At the very end he directly refers to the next Dragon Age game as "DA4", and says that he's the exec producer on that project too.

Continue reading: New Dragon Age could be mainline sequel (full post)

Halo devs: PC community is very important to us

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Apr 25, 2018 5:25 PM CDT

343 Industries could be working on bringing authentic Halo multiplayer to PC in some form--could it be Halo: Master Chief Collection or maybe an official worldwide rollout of Halo Online?

Halo devs: PC community is very important to us

In its official statement surrounding the unauthorized Eldewrito Halo Online PC mod 343i both confirmed the mod itself will be put on hiatus while saying something else quite interesting: the team is excited about bringing an "official classic Halo experience" to PC at some point. In fact the Halo devs are so impressed with Eldewrito's most recently 0.6 update that they want to team up with the team in a bid to broaden community-driven tools and creations across the Halo fanbase.

Here's 343i's full statement on the matter: "One thing remains clear - the community really wants more Halo on PC. As we look ahead, we're very excited about the prospects of an official classic Halo experience making its way to PC and we hope to be able to partner with the ElDewrito team and broader mod and content creation community to help inform the types of experiences and features our fans desire. While we have nothing to announce today, please know that the PC community is very important to us and top of mind as we work towards the future," the developers said in the post.

Continue reading: Halo devs: PC community is very important to us (full post)

Modded Halo Online PC project under fire by Microsoft

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Apr 25, 2018 4:38 PM CDT

Halo Online, which brought an authentic Halo 3 multiplayer experience to PC, has been resurrected and revamped thanks to the most recent Eldewrito 0.6 update...but Microsoft and 343i are taking measures to get it yanked offline.

Modded Halo Online PC project under fire by Microsoft

In a blog post 343 Industries says it has a "non-optional" obligation to protect its intellectual property, and that the Eldewrito project directly violates its IP rights because it was built on company-owned assets and content that weren't technically released. Unlike Installation 01, which is built on its own game engine and fits in line with Microsoft's rules, Eldewrito is built on the Halo Online game that was built by 343i and Saber Interactive and only available in Russia.

"While we are humbled and inspired to see the amount of passion poured into this project, the fact remains that it's built upon Microsoft-owned assets that were never lawfully released or authorized for this purpose. As this project reverberated across the community, our team took a step back to assess the materials and explore possible avenues, while Microsoft, like any company, has a responsibility to protect its IP, code and trademarks. It's not optional in other words."

Continue reading: Modded Halo Online PC project under fire by Microsoft (full post)

South Park: The Fractured But Whole trailer for Switch

Jak Connor | Gaming | Apr 25, 2018 5:00 AM CDT

Early March during the Nintendo Direct we discovered that South Park: The Fractured But Whole was on its way to the Nintendo Switch, now the title has officially launched and Ubisoft are celebrating with a new trailer.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole trailer for Switch

From the above trailer we can see two minutes of South Park: The Fractured But Whole running on the Nintendo Switch. Thanks to the games art style, players won't really be able to notice the visual downscales.

Also during the Nintendo Direct, it was revealed that the port will be coming with the titles DLC, unfortunately there has been no mention of the DLC as we were not given a release date with the launch.

Continue reading: South Park: The Fractured But Whole trailer for Switch (full post)

Dark Souls Remastered: new trailer and discount announcement

Jak Connor | Gaming | Apr 25, 2018 3:00 AM CDT

We had some confusion not to long ago about Bandai Namco bringing Dark Souls Remastered discounted to gamers that already own the original title, now official confirmation has been announced.

Dark Souls Remastered: new trailer and discount announcement

Publisher Bandai Namco has revealed on Twitter that "owners of the PC version of "Dark Souls Prepare to Die Edition" will be able to upgrade to "DARK SOULS REMASTERED" at a discounted price. Please feel free to take advantage of this campaign."

Additionally, Bandai has also revealed not only the PC requirements for the title but also have released a new gameplay trailer for fans. Dark Souls Remastered will be released on May 25th for PC, Xbox One and PS4. The Nintendo Switch version of the Remaster has been delayed until further notice.

Continue reading: Dark Souls Remastered: new trailer and discount announcement (full post)

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus comes to Switch, June 29

Jak Connor | Gaming | Apr 25, 2018 1:00 AM CDT

Nintendo Switch fans will be glad to know that Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus will be arriving on their handheld console this year, as Bethesda announced the date through a short Nintendo Switch trailer for the title.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus comes to Switch, June 29

Bethesda has released the above trailer showcasing what Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus will be looking like on the Nintendo Switch. At the beginning of the month we saw gameplay of the title running on the Switch and we discovered that the game will be running at a smooth 30FPS with the respective downscaling.

Panic Button will be porting over the title to the Nintendo Switch, the same developers who have brought over DOOM. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus will be arriving to Nintendo Switch fans on June 29.

Continue reading: Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus comes to Switch, June 29 (full post)