ARCHIVED NEWS
To view the latest news click Here
August 2008
Creative Console Launcher 2.60.29
30 August 2008
Creative has released Version 2.60.29 of the Console Launcher application for the X-Fi series of sound cards. This version fixes several issues in both XP and Vista.
Game Patches
30 August 2008
Game Patches
29 August 2008
Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2
28 August 2008
Microsoft has released Beta 2 of Internet Explorer 8. IE8 has a range of new features and improvements. More details about these features can be found at the official IE8 Blog.
CPU-Z 1.47
28 August 2008
A new Version 1.47 of the CPU-Z information utility has been released. This version includes support for new chipsets.
Game Patches
28 August 2008
Nvidia PhysX 8.08.18
27 August 2008
Nvidia has released the 8.08.18 PhysX drivers, available as part of the Beta 177.92 Forceware package below, or on their own, for both Ageia PhysX hardware and Nvidia PhysX-capable GPUs.
Nvidia Beta Forceware 177.92
27 August 2008
Nvidia has released a new Beta Forceware 177.92 driver for Windows XP and Vista. These drivers are for GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9 and 200 series graphics cards. These drivers provide support for Nvidia PhysX and include a new 8.08.18 PhysX driver as part of the package. Importantly, aside from a range of fixes, the drivers have notable performance improvements in a range of games including Assassin's Creed, CoD4, ET:QW, CoH and BioShock, particularly in DX10 mode, both in single card and SLI configurations.
Windows Updates
26 August 2008
Microsoft has released a range of non-critical Windows Updates which you can download from here, or wait for them to appear on Windows Update.
Game Patches
26 August 2008
SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium 2.17.0004
26 August 2008
Creative has released the 2.17.0004 driver for the SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium series under Windows XP and Vista. These drivers add Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect functionality when installed along with the Dolby Digital Live & DTS Connect Software Pack. They also improve microphone volume level, and resolve several bugs.
CCleaner 2.11.636
25 August 2008
A new Version 2.11.636 of the free CCleaner system cleaning utility has been released. This version improves memory usage in Vista, improves registry cleaning in 64-bit OSes, and has a range of other minor bug fixes and improvements.
Game Patches
25 August 2008
Vista Annoyances Resolved
23 August 2008
I've released a new article entitled Vista Annoyances Resolved. Whether you use Vista or not, the article should have something to interest you. It provides a range of working solutions which put to bed quite a few of the annoyances people often cite as being the reasons they dislike Vista. It arms you with information so that you can start to better understand what Vista is doing and why, and how you can alter it to suit your tastes. It also takes a factual look at the Vista debate, giving everyone some food for thought from an unbiased perspective. It even provides you with a range of practical reasons and examples why you might want to consider using Vista if you don't already.
Site Update
23 August 2008
We are in the process of moving servers once again in order to resolve the recent outages and slowdowns the site has been experiencing since the last server move. Things should become consistently faster and more stable once the move is complete, however there may be a few teething issues in the interim so please bear with me.
AutoRuns 9.33
23 August 2008
Microsoft has released AutoRuns 9.33, updating this free startup software identification utility. This version adds command line options for automated scanning and export of results, as well as a range of bug fixes.
Game Patches
22 August 2008
ATI Catalyst 8.8
21 August 2008
ATI has released the Catalyst 8.8 graphics drivers. This version adds new Avivo features to the Control Panel and Hybrid Graphics support for Windows XP, as well as a range of fixes.
Game Patches
21 August 2008
AMD Dual Core Optimizer 1.1.4
20 August 2008
AMD has released Version 1.1.4 of the Dual Core Optimizer. This software is aimed at fixing issues with older games that may have problems with AMD dual core CPUs on Windows XP.
Opera 9.52
20 August 2008
The free Opera browser has been updated to Version 9.52. This is a security and stability update.
Team Fortress 2 Update
20 August 2008
Valve has released a Major Update for Team Fortress 2, adding three new Heavy unlockables, a range of new Heavy achievements, a new game mode called Arena Mode, two new maps called Badwater Basin and cp_steel, and a range of changes and bug fixes.
Windows Update
20 August 2008
Microsoft has released an Update that fixes any issues caused by revised daylight savings time laws in several counties.
Realtek HD Audio 2.02
20 August 2008
Realtek has released Version 2.02 of its HD Audio drivers. Note if you have problems with the link, click the 'High Definition Audio Codecs' link at the top of the page and select 'Software'.
SpeedFan 4.35
20 August 2008
Almico has released Version 4.35 of SpeedFan, a free utility for changing system fan speeds, measuring temperatures and voltages and adjusting clock speeds. The changes include support for the latest chipsets and a range of new features and bug fixes.
Game Patches
19 August 2008
Site Update
19 August 2008
Unfortunately we've once again had server issues resulting in the site being down at various times over the past day or two. I'm investigating my options at the moment, but rest assured I will resolve this problem one way or another. I can also let you know that once things are stable I will be releasing a new article shortly, and then in the coming month there will be at least one new game guide given the release of several new games.
VirtualDub 1.8.5
18 August 2008
A new Version 1.8.5 of the free video editing utility VirtualDub has been released, fixing two minor bugs.
Game Patches
18 August 2008
AVG 8.0 Update Corruption
17 August 2008
An update released today for AVG 8.0 Free is confirmed as corrupted. Either do not update your AVG today, or if you do and you experience this issue, wait for the next update to fix it.
Update: The latest update now fixes this issue.
SyncToy 2.0
17 August 2008
Microsoft has released SyncToy 2.0, a free file management/synchronization tool for Windows.
Intel Matrix Storage Manager 8.5.0.1032
16 August 2008
Intel has released Version 8.5.0.1032 of the Matrix Storage Manager driver for those using RAID on Intel chipset motherboards.
Windows Update
16 August 2008
Microsoft has released an update that fixes an issue in which the system may be in an inconsistent state after restarting with the 'Last Known Good' boot option. It's available for Windows Vista in 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
Windows Update
15 August 2008
Microsoft has released an Update which addresses incorrect script output when running VBScript or JScript scripts in Windows XP SP3 and Vista SP1.
Nvidia Beta Forceware 177.89
15 August 2008
Nvidia has released a special Beta Forceware 177.89 which supports OpenGL 3.0. These drivers are for GeForce 8, 9 and 200 series cards in Windows XP and Vista, and are meant to allow developers to start coding applications in OpenGL 3.0.
Game Patches
15 August 2008
Unreal Tournament 3 1.3 Patch
14 August 2008
Epic has released the UT3 1.3 Patch. I will update the UT3 Tweak Guide for the changes shortly.
Update: The guide has now been updated, see pages 4, 7 and 9 in particular for the changes.
Site Update
14 August 2008
The site has been down or unreachable a number of times in the past week, including several hours today. Unfortunately this has been due to a combination of teething problems on the new server we moved to recently, as well as problems with Leaseweb, the network provider to my host. The server issues should be resolved now, however Leaseweb issues may persist a bit longer, as they have scheduled maintenance to address these problems both today, and one week from today. Thank you for your patience, and if you find the site not responding at any time please come back a little while later, hopefully it will all be smooth sailing again shortly.
GPU-Z 0.2.7
14 August 2008
GPU-Z, a free graphics card information utility, has reached Version 0.2.7. The changes include a range of fixes, GPU release date and transistor count added, and support for the latest graphics cards.
Realtek AC97 Audio 4.05
14 August 2008
Realtek has released Version 4.05 of its AC97 audio driver.
Game Patches
14 August 2008
Nvidia Official Forceware 177.83 & Power Pack
13 August 2008
Nvidia has released the Official Forceware 177.83 drivers for Windows XP 32-bit and 64-bit, and Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit. These drivers are only for GeForce 8, 9 and 200 series graphics cards, and aside from several fixes, importantly they include full support for GPU-based PhysX on the above graphics cards, courtesy of the included 8.08.01 PhysX drivers which are part of this Forceware package.
To allow you to experiment with the new GPU-accelerated PhysX capabilities, Nvidia has also released the GeForce Power Pack, a set of games and tech demos which support PhysX and highlight its benefits. The pack also contains the full Unreal Tournament 3 PhysX Mod Pack, since UT3 supports additional PhysX-based levels which GeForce 8, 9 and 200 series owners can now access. Details of the new PhysX functionality and performance impact are on this page of the updated Nvidia Forceware Tweak Guide.
Game Patches
13 August 2008
Microsoft Security Updates
13 August 2008
Microsoft has released its monthly set of Windows security updates which you can get through Windows Update, or if not there by viewing and downloading them from here.
VIA Hyperion Pro 5.20A
13 August 2008
VIA has released the Hyperion Pro 5.20A chipset drivers for VIA-based motherboards.
Realtek HD Audio 2.01
12 August 2008
Realtek has released Version 2.01 of its HD Audio drivers.
Game Patches
12 August 2008
DirectX Update
10 August 2008
Microsoft has released a DirectX Update. While the update is new, confusingly the description on the update page incorrectly says 'June 2008'. In any case it is generally recommended that all Windows users update their DirectX for optimal performance and compatibility, but it is not critical to do so.
mIRC 6.34
9 August 2008
A new Version 6.34 of the chat client mIRC has been released. This version fixes an important bug along with several other minor fixes.
Process Explorer 11.21
9 August 2008
Microsoft has released Version 11.21 of the free Process Explorer utility which is a more detailed version of Task Manager. The changes include a bug fix in the Process Explorer device driver.
Game Patches
9 August 2008
Game Patches
8 August 2008
Shockwave 11.0.0.465
7 August 2008
Adobe has released a new Version 11.0.0.465 of the Shockwave player plugin for browsers.
Foxit Reader 2.3
6 August 2008
The free Foxit PDF Reader has been updated to Version 2.3 Build 3201. The changes include a range of enhancements and important bug fixes.
Game Patches
6 August 2008
DivX 6.8.4.5
5 August 2008
The DivX video codec has been updated to Version 6.8.4.5. The changes include some fixes for Windows Vista.
Windows Update
5 August 2008
Microsoft has released an update to fix protected storage on systems with the locale set to French (France) - the fix is available for Windows XP and Windows x64.
Winamp 5.541
5 August 2008
The free Winamp media player has been updated to Version 5.541. Changes include a range of fixes and improvements, including a security fix.
Game Patches
5 August 2008
Site Update
3 August 2008
We had a server move earlier today which has resulted in some outages and other issues related to DNS problems over the past few hours. These issues should all be resolved now, though it may take some time for the changes to reach all DNS servers around the world. Apologies for any inconvenience.
Game Patches
2 August 2008
Creative ALchemy 1.20.04
1 August 2008
Creative has released an updated Version 1.20.04 of the ALchemy software for X-Fi and Audigy sound cards under Windows Vista. This version adds support for several more games.
Realtek HD Audio 2.00
1 August 2008
Realtek has released Version 2.00 of its HD Audio drivers.
Game Patches
1 August 2008
To view the latest news click Here