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December 2010
Happy New Year
31 December 2010
Here we are at the end of another year, one which I hope has been positive for you. I'd like to wish you and yours a prosperous and enjoyable 2011. My New Year's Resolution for TweakGuides in 2011 is to keep the focus on providing the best information I can on how to have a well-performing and problem-free PC. I've enjoyed this same privilege for many years now, and I'll continue sharing my methods so that hopefully you too can have the same success. All the best, and see you back here in 2011.
Game Patches
31 December 2010
Game Patches
30 December 2010
Game Patches
29 December 2010
Game Patches
28 December 2010
GPU-Z 0.5.0
28 December 2010
GPU-Z, a free graphics card information utility, has reached Version 0.5.0. Changes include support for new chipsets as well as several bug fixes.
Intel Rapid Storage Technology 10.1.0.1008
27 December 2010
Intel has released Version 10.1.0.1008 of the Rapid Storage Technology driver for those using RAID or AHCI on Intel chipset motherboards.
Game Patches
27 December 2010
FRAPS 3.2.6
27 December 2010
A new Version 3.2.6 of the FPS measurement, benchmarking and video capture utility FRAPS has been released. This version has several bug fixes.
Merry Christmas
24 December 2010
I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and hope you all get a chance to have a nice break. If you're like me, you may be stuck wondering what game to play over the holidays, given the relatively few good PC games released this year. For something different, I bought the new Back to the Future: The Game. It's a point-and-click 3D adventure game which is faithful to the spirit of the movies, and continues the story shortly after the last movie in the trilogy. It's a nice change of pace from the shooters, and takes me back to the fun days of adventure gaming as a kid in the 80's. I've uploaded a YouTube Video of the initial portion of the story and gameplay.
CCleaner 3.02.1343
24 December 2010
A new Version 3.02.1343 of the free CCleaner system cleaning utility has been released. This version improves IE history cleaning for Windows 7, adds cleaning for CloneCD, Ashampoo Burning Studio 10 and ExamDiff, and has other improvements and bug fixes.
Game Patches
24 December 2010
Fallout: New Vegas Tweak Guide
23 December 2010
Perhaps better late than never, the latest in a series of guides I am writing for Nvidia is the Fallout: New Vegas Tweak Guide, now available over at GeForce.com. Though most of the advanced tweaking is similar to Fallout 3, there are a range of notable differences in the way Fallout: New Vegas' in-game settings affect image quality and performance.
Game Patches
23 December 2010
Windows Update
22 December 2010
Microsoft has released a non-critical update for Windows 7 designed to 'resolve issues'. Full details of the fixes are not available as the relevant KnowledgeBase Article is not yet up. The update can be downloaded in 32-bit and 64-bit versions, or you can wait for it to become available on Windows Update.
Game Patches
22 December 2010
3DMark 11 1.01
21 December 2010
Futuremark has released a 1.01 Patch for the 3DMark 11 benchmark. The patch contains a range of fixes, adds automatic update notification, and updates the SystemInfo component.
Game Patches
21 December 2010
Game Patches
19 December 2010
Game Patches
18 December 2010
AMD Catalyst 10.12a Hotfix
17 December 2010
AMD has released the Catalyst 10.12a Hotfix graphics driver for Windows 7. This driver provides support for Radeon HD 6900 series cards and support for 5x1 AMD Eyefinity display configurations.
Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0.657.0
17 December 2010
Microsoft has released a new Version 2.0.657.0 of its free Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) anti-malware package for Windows XP, Vista and 7. You can update via the link above, or by waiting for the update to become available via Windows Update, or through MSE's built-in updater (Help>Upgrade Microsoft Security Essentials).
Update: In terms of my recommendations for configuring the new real-time protection options in MSE, for novice to medium-level users, all real-time protection options should be left enabled. Advanced users can make trade-offs between security and performance. The 'scan all downloads' option relates to files downloaded via browser and email, and can be enabled without a major performance impact. The new choices under the 'monitor file and program activity on your computer' appear to allow: either the scanning of files copied to or created on your drive (incoming files), or existing files being read or copied from the drive (outgoing files), or both (all files). In my opinion this option is best left unticked for maximum drive performance, but if left enabled, I recommend setting it to 'monitor only incoming files' to prevent constant scanning of existing files. The 'Enable behavior monitoring' option controls heuristics, which along with the new 'Enable Network Inspection System' option are both designed to catch any malware or vulnerabilities before Microsoft issues an official security patch or MSE definition update. These options have the potential to cause software conflicts, so I personally disable them to ensure optimal stability and performance. Ultimately your choices should be based on a range of factors including: how risky your browsing and file downloading activities are, your level of knowledge, who else uses your machine, which version of Windows you are using (XP is the least secure), and your other Windows security-related settings such as UAC.
Game Patches
17 December 2010
Opera 11.00
16 December 2010
The Opera browser has been updated to Version 11.00. This version adds several new features including Bookmarks bar, extensions, updated rendering engine, Search predictions, Tab stacking, and Visual mouse gestures. There are also a range of other improvements and fixes.
Windows Live Plugins
16 December 2010
Microsoft has launched a Windows Live Plug-ins site, with a range of plug-ins to enhance Windows Live Photo Gallery, Movie Maker and Writer. You can also submit new plug-ins here.
Silverlight 4.0.51204.0
16 December 2010
Microsoft has released an update to the Silverlight multimedia plugin, bringing it up to Version 4.0.51204.0. This update fixes two issues.
iTunes 10.1.1
16 December 2010
Apple has released a new Version 10.1.1 of the iTunes software. This version contains several bug fixes.
Game Patches
16 December 2010
Game Patches
15 December 2010
Microsoft Security Updates
15 December 2010
Microsoft has released its monthly set of Windows security updates which you can get through Windows Update. Alternatively you can view and download them individually from here - click the 'Released' column header once to sort by date.
Chrome 8.0.552.224
14 December 2010
Google has released Version 8.0.552.224 of the Chrome browser. This version contains a range of security and bug fixes.
Game Patches
14 December 2010
AMD Catalyst 10.12
14 December 2010
AMD has released the official Catalyst 10.12 graphics driver for the HD 2000 series and above. The changes in this WHQL certified driver are not clear as the release notes link is broken. A new Catalyst Control Center user interface is available for these drivers, and is part of the 10.12 Preview driver release.
Update: The release notes are now available here. The changes include support for DivX on 6800 series cards, OpenGL 4.1 support, AMD Stream 2.3 SDK, as well as a range of bug fixes.
Game Patches
13 December 2010
Game Patches
11 December 2010
Firefox 3.6.13
10 December 2010
Mozilla has released Version 3.6.13 of the Firefox browser. This version contains several security and stability fixes.
Game Patches
10 December 2010
Call of Duty: Black Ops Tweak Guide
9 December 2010
The latest in a series of guides I am writing for Nvidia is the Call of Duty: Black Ops Tweak Guide, now available over at GeForce.com. The good news is that COD:BO is more tweakable than Battlefield: Bad Company 2, so this guide has several more advanced tweaks for you to try compared to the previous guide. Two more guides which have already been completed will also be available soon.
Game Patches
9 December 2010
QuickTime 7.6.9
9 December 2010
Apple has released a new Version 7.6.9 of the QuickTime media player. This version has security fixes.
Nvidia Forceware 263.09
8 December 2010
Nvidia has re-released the Official Forceware 263.09 WHQL certified driver for Windows XP, Vista and 7. This driver is only for the new GTX 570 and GTX 580 cards. In all other respects it is identical to the previously released 263.09 driver. The driver package also contains the 9.10.0514 PhysX drivers.
3DMark 11
8 December 2010
Futuremark has released the latest version of the graphics benchmarking program 3DMark 11. This benchmark runs only under DirectX 11 on Windows Vista or 7, and requires a DirectX 11-capable graphics card. The free Basic Edition runs all the tests but is limited to 1280x720 'performance' mode and has no scope for user customization; these require the purchase of the Advanced Edition.
Update: For those without a DX 11 GPU or Windows Vista/7, I've uploaded a YouTube Video showing a full run through the Basic Edition. My detailed 3DMark 11 results at stock clocks, High Quality mode in Nvidia CP can be seen here.
Game Patches
8 December 2010
Winamp 5.601
8 December 2010
The free Winamp media player has been updated to Version 5.601. Changes include a range of fixes.
Game Patches
7 December 2010
Game Patches
5 December 2010
GPU-Z 0.4.9
4 December 2010
GPU-Z, a free graphics card information utility, has reached Version 0.4.9. Changes include support for new chipsets as well as a range of bug fixes.
FRAPS 3.2.5
4 December 2010
A new Version 3.2.5 of the FPS measurement, benchmarking and video capture utility FRAPS has been released. This version fixes two bugs affecting half-size mode and key duplication.
Realtek HD Audio 2.55
4 December 2010
Realtek has released Version 2.55 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'.
Winamp 5.60
4 December 2010
The free Winamp media player has been updated to Version 5.60 Build 3085. Changes include two bug fixes.
WinZip 15
4 December 2010
The archival utility WinZip has been upgraded to Version 15 Build 9334.
Game Patches
4 December 2010
Sandra 2011
4 December 2010
SiSoftware has released a new 2011 Build 17.25 of the free system information utility Sandra.
Game Patches
3 December 2010
Chrome 8.0.552.215
3 December 2010
Google has released Version 8.0.552.215 of the Chrome browser. This version adds a built-in PDF viewer secured by sandbox, as well as a range of security and bug fixes.
Windows Live Update
3 December 2010
Microsoft has released a Quick Fix Engineering (QFE) update for the Windows Live suite of applications, containing a range of bug fixes. To apply this update you must rerun the latest Live Installer, or wait for it to become available via Windows Update.
Game Patches
2 December 2010
DirectX Update
1 December 2010
Microsoft has released the DirectX November Update for all versions of Windows.
Game Patches
1 December 2010
Winamp 5.60
1 December 2010
The free Winamp media player has been updated to Version 5.60. Changes include Android Wi-Fi support, direct mouse wheel support, along with a range of fixes and improvements.
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