So, the newest graphics line from AMD ATI will be known collectively as Radeon HD 4800 and will contain more precisely two major cards: Radeon HD 4850 and Radeon HD 4870. It is even clear that the first one will be sold around 200$ (so notably under 200€) and the second around 300$.
AMD announced, in the recent presentation at Computex, that there will be quite a number of improvements in these cards to support nearly cinematographic quality in games, named Cinema 2.0. This was a surprise and it means that AMD is going to hit as hard as possible on nVidia.
The other muddy issue is the exact date of the launch. It was initially expected in May 2008. But it has been delayed (obviously) apparently for technical problems had to be solved in the last minute. AMD will not be able to hit the streets before nVidia can launch the GTX200 line (on June 17th), but it should arrive only a few days later. Some people say June 23rd (just enough time for the news people to move from one place to another), and it is now possible that both cards will arrive at the same time (initially the high-end Radeon HD 4870 was expected only for September).
Usually, I would not comment about upcoming software applications and tools, but today there is an rumour that may be very important. We all know that switching from Windows to Linux is a difficult move because we have been used to so many applications available on one Operating System but not on the other (in my case, how could I do without Photoshop?)
Here comes Wine, an open source tool supposed to allow you to run native Windows applications in your Linux PC. In beta during years, Wine was incomplete and unable to provide the ultimate dream of OS migration, but things seem to be changing. Google invested a lot of effort, and it is said that version 1.0 of Wine is upcoming.
One of the important things I noticed, of course, is that there are plenty of games now supported (Baldur’s Gate II – Throne of Baal, Call of Duty 2, World of Warcraft, etc.) and I see that both Photoshop CS2 and CS3 are also in the list.
The video game saga collectively known as F.E.A.R. (FPS games with an horror/terror ambiance) keeps pushing news opus. Before the end of 2008, we should see F.E.A.R. Project Origin on PC, PS3, XBox 360. It will be hard judging from the pre-beta demo here.
Beware: This is violent and bloody. Really not for sensitive minds.
Every rumour points at a change of pace in the war between GPU designers (designers of processors for graphics cards), nVidia and AMD are preparing a big battle for this Summer.
While we have been observing a rush for always bigger GPU (G80 and R600 from nVidia and AMD-ATI are even bigger than central CPUs from Intel and AMD), we should see the arrival of the first modular processors for grpahics cards: one chip only for cheap products, but 4 or 8 for the high-end graphics card. It will be easier to design the silicium, and you will only have to choose how many GPUs you need on the video card. The question is still to know if this will be refelcted in the announcements of this Summer or in 2009.
The long-expected HD4800 series from AMD will arrive on June 18th (with two cards: HD4850 and HD4870). The only limitation would be waiting for availability of GDDR-5-type memory (yet another memory technology for a new graphics technology). A turbo version HD 4870X2 (two high-end chips GPU on the same board) would be ready in Fall.
The HD4850 should be a performance boost over the current HD3850, but the HD4870 is expected to be a plain twice more powerful than the already nice HD3870X2. Let’s kick ass…
nVidia just revealed its low-cost GTX260 and a hig-performance GTX280. These would be the last launches before modular series. Under the public name of GT 9800 GTX with no less than 240 shader processors, 32 raster units, 1 GB of GDDR3, and a moderate 512-bit memory interface. The fastest version should be named GT 9900 GTX.
So, let’s look at the laucnhes in the sun and let’s watch the technological announcements for Fall (AMD R700 and nVidia G9x). The marketroids from both companies are cleaning their weapons under the eyes of video game players.
It’s coming! The new FPS video game for PC is arriving. We had seen the first opus of the saga hitting our minds and PCs in 2007: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. A game definitely attractive, where the player can really go anywhere in several square kilometers, where there is always something happening (you’d better be cautious). Now comes the prequel (not the sequel, but the a part of the story coming before the original title) under the -always too difficult to type- name of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky (or STALKER: Clear sky, for lazy typists).
It seems that the game is pretty well done and a few interesting bits are leaking on the Internet.
Always the same lovely atmospheres of abandonned landscapes around the old soviet nuclear power plant. But you can’t really consider this as a poster for tourism in modern Ukraine.
If you have an old collection of PC MS-DOS games that has been sleeping at the bottom of a drawer, you may have two approaches: A/ you prefer to forget the old pixels and buy new games, B/ you were so found of those that you want to play even on your newest PC. However, it is difficult because most of these run only in a DOS box, but are so unusable because of the speed of the processor and the limited compatibility of the sound and graphics.
Now DOSBox.com offers a real solution with a free emulator.
Usable for MS-Windows, most Linux boxes, some Apple OS and OS/2.
Project Offset, the running name of a company who promises to build one of the most expected action epic video games, has announced in February that they were bought by Intel. However, I have to admit that nothing has been shown since. Not even the slightest hint at what Intel intends to do with it.
Is the development still going on?
Just to let you salivate a little in advance, here was the trailer “leaked” to the Internet earlier in September 2007.
After more than 10 years, Turok comes back and you are ready to kill dinosaurs in a video game. The solo mission of this FPS may feel a bit short, but it’s fun enough to be thrilled while killing lizards on your PC screen.
Like all Internet reviewers, I hate this title because of the strain it puts on the writer just to put the name down on the keyboard. However, it has received a number of reviews. Let’s see some of them:
After appearing on gaming consoles, Assassin’s Creed arrived on PC and it seems that the effort was made to ensure that contrary to the previous habit of bad ports from console to PC, it supported well the transfer from one platform to the next (test 1, test 2).
Notice 2: Recently, a 3D test has shown that the DirectX 10 rendering was over-simplified by Assassin’s Creed (with undue performance gains at the cost of image quality). There is a patch planned in the short term to correct this.
2008 will be the year of the triple core CPU. AMD started to ship the Phenom chips in various configurations.
As said before, this is a great way for AMD to differentiate itself, but the prices are not expected to go down immediately. Either because AMD does not want to shoot itself in the foot or because the quantities will not be huge for a few more weeks.
Let’s wait for the next price war between Intel and AMD, remembering that most games do not take advantage of more than 2 cores.
If you have a nVidia graphics card on your PC, you can get a free download of recent games from Steam / Valve.
For a limited time, if you qualify (you only need your PC to hold a nVidia graphics card), you can donwload a free copy of the following games from Steam just by creating an account or having an account on Steam.
Portal: First Slice (11 levels of this new innovative game from Valve)
Half-Life 2: Deathmatch (networked FPS)
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast (FPS technology demonstrator)
Peggle Extreme (a relatively simple game inspired by old brick games)
Look! It’s a free offer for only half of the PC owners in the world.
Some of the graphics cards are available in different memory sizes (like the successful nVidia 8800 GT or 8800 GTS): 256MB, 512MB, 1GB. But how much RAM do you really need?
All lovers of role playing knew -at least- the name of Gary Gygax, co-author of Dungeons & Dragons, the game that opened the path for all RPG (Role Playnig Games). This man who influenced the imaginations of countless players and inspired many other creators, just died at 69.
When you’re searching for the best mid-range graphics card (200€ or $200, with the usual conversion rate for computer-software dollar), it is often difficult to find one’s way. This is why a big graphics cards comparison like the one from The Tech Report is more than welcome.
Previous Entries
AMD announced, in the recent presentation at Computex, that there will be quite a number of improvements in these cards to support nearly cinematographic quality in games, named Cinema 2.0. This was a surprise and it means that AMD is going to hit as hard as possible on nVidia.
If you have an old collection of PC MS-DOS games that has been sleeping at the bottom of a drawer, you may have two approaches: A/ you prefer to forget the old pixels and buy new games, B/ you were so found of those that you want to play even on your newest PC. However, it is difficult because most of these run only in a DOS box, but are so unusable because of the speed of the processor and the limited compatibility of the sound and graphics.
