AMD today released its new AMD Radeon™ VII, the world’s first 7nm gaming graphics card. It was designed to deliver exceptional performance and amazing experiences for the latest AAA, esports and Virtual Reality (VR) titles, demanding 3D rendering and video editing applications, and next-generation compute workloads.

Built on the enhanced second-generation AMD ‘Vega’ architecture, AMD Radeon VII provides 2X the memory, 2.1X the memory bandwidth, up to 29 percent higher gaming performance on average, and up to 36 percent higher performance on average in content creation applications compared to the current top-of-the-line AMD Radeon™ RX Vega 64 graphics card1,2,3,4. For gamers, AMD Radeon VII enables maximum settings for extreme framerates at the highest resolutions. It also provides seamless, high-refresh HDR5 gaming at 1080p, ultrawide 1440p and 4K, and enables next-generation photo and visual creation applications on razor sharp, vibrant 8K monitors.

“AMD Radeon VII is the highest-performance gaming graphics card we ever created,” said Scott Herkelman, corporate vice president and general manager, Radeon Technologies Group at AMD. “It is designed for gamers, creators and enthusiasts who demand ultra-high quality visuals, uncompromising performance and immersive gaming experiences.”

Find out more about the new Radeon VII on the AMD website.

AMD  today launched its all new Radeon VII,  the world’s first 7nm gaming graphics card. The Radeon VII will compete against NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 at 699 USD price point. The Radeon VII graphics card is built upon 7nm process technology, delivering higher gaming performance than the AMD Radeon™ RX Vega 64 graphics card. Equipped with 60 compute units/3840 stream processors running at up to 1.8GHz and 16GB of ultra-fast HBM2 memory (second-generation High-Bandwidth Memory), the Radeon VII graphics card enables high-performance gaming and ultra-high quality visuals. Ground-breaking 1 TB/s memory bandwidth and a 4,096-bit memory interface paves the way for ultra-high resolution textures, hyper-realistic settings and life-like characters. That being said, a number of reviews are now available, so we have listed the links to those reviews below. Enjoy!

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By Destin Legarie @ IGN

For better or for worse, playing The Division 2 doesn’t immediately feel that different from the first game. The sound effects on kills remain intact, the cover system, the core mechanics and modes are all there. And it turns out that this familiar feeling is because the development team at Massive is beginning with the huge patch 1.8 from the original and using it as the bedrock of the sequel.

Read on…

Polish developer Jujubee S.A. has just revealed that their documentary-adventure game Kursk has just been updated to version 3.0. This update comes with a new gameplay mechanic and improved optimization.
Players can now experience quite a challenge to hack into the submarine’s cabins and computers as sailors will now patrol their respective sections. Additionally, Kursk’s optimization has been drastically enhanced and players can now expect improvement when navigating the vessel.

With the current Steam Lunar Sale, players interested in the game are in luck as Kursk has got a 40% discount. The sale is available until February 11.

More information about Kursk can be found on the games official website.

Source: TechPowerUp!

AMD today posted the latest version of Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition. Version 19.2.1 beta ships with optimization for “APEX Legends” and “The Division 2 private beta.” It also improves performance of “Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey” by up to 5 percent, when tested on a Radeon RX Vega 64 graphics card. The company also fixed a number of issues.

To begin with, a bug affecting “Battlefield V” in which character outlines remain on the screen after revive has been fixed. Radeon Settings not automatically installing when updating Radeon Software on machines with hybrid graphics has been fixed. Also fixed is a Radeon Settings application crash noticed when switching tabs too quickly with long game lists. Some displays experiencing a loss in video when maximizing to fullscreen any software with FreeSync enabled, also has been fixed. A white-screen bug affecting “Anthem” has been fixed. HDMI Underscan settings not restoring after reboot has been fixed. An inverted color bug with ReLive has been fixed.

The new Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.2.1 beta drivers are available online at the AMD driver download page.

Source: TechPowerUp!

NVIDIA has released GeForce 418.81 WHQL software. The drivers add support for mobile versions of GeForce RTX 20-series GPUs. The desktop version adds optimization for 3DMark Port Royal benchmark, in addition to its DLSS (deep learning supersampling) AA setting. The drivers add or improve NVIDIA SLI support for “Anthem,” “Assetto Corsa Competizione,” “Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2,” “Life is strange Season 2,” “NBA 2K19,” and “Space Hulk Tactics.” CUDA version 10 is included with these drivers.

Among the issues fixed are HDR not being enabled by default in Gamestream when an HDR display is connected to the client and PC. 3D performance and frame-rate overlays accidentally appearing on Twitter UWP app is fixed. Random flickering in games with G-Sync enabled is fixed. Also fixed is a strange issue in which when a G-Sync display (one with NVIDIA G-Sync hardware) is hotplugged, and a G-Sync Compatible (read: VESA Adaptive Sync) display is connected, the right half of the G-Sync display goes blank.

You can download the new GeForce 418.81 WHQL drivers through GeForce Experience or via GeForce.com.

Check out these latest hardware announcements for today from around the web. Also included are some hardware news bits, and on some days, a few rumors tossed in for good measure. Click on the links below to read the official press release, visit the products web page, or to an independent news source.

• SilentiumPC Unveils Armis AR7X TG RGB Sports Chassis
• Arctic Introduces Gen 3 Monitor Arms, All New W1C Wall Mount
• Be Quiet! Unveils Dark Base 700 White Edition Case
• Logitech G Introduces Four New Gaming Headsets
• GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Xtreme Waterforce Motherboard Now Available… For $899 or €1049
• MSI Finally Reveals Radeon RX 590 Armor GPUs
• GIGABYTE Releases AORUS C300 GLASS Chassis
• ASUS Launches GeForce RTX 2060 TUF Gaming Series Graphics Cards

How the shootdown of a U-2 spyplane over Cuba by a Soviet surface-to-air missile nearly led to nuclear war

By Michael J. Tougias @ Aviation History Magazine

On Friday, October 26, 1962, one day before “Black Saturday,” the most terrifying day of the Cuban Missile Crisis, CIA Director John McCone gave President John F. Kennedy more bad news about the Soviet military build-up on the island. He explained that the Soviets were spending an estimated $1 billion on their military installations and that “rapid construction activity” was contin­uing. More alarming was the discovery of a Soviet FROG-7 missile launch system (also referred to as a Luna-M), a tactical nuclear weapon that could be used against an American invasion or the U.S. outpost at Guantanamo Bay.

This information prompted Strategic Air Command (SAC) to authorize a Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance flight over Cuba for October 27. U.S. Air Force U-2s and Navy Vought RF-8 Crusaders had been used extensively in the prior days to photograph medium-range ballistic missile sites, SA-2 surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites and a variety of Soviet military installations and troop barracks. While the Crusaders were used for the low-level surveillance and close-up photographs, the high-flying U-2s could cover a much broader area with their high-resolution cameras.

Read on…

PC based pilots, your day has come! Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is now officially cleared for take-off on STEAM. Having garnered an 81 Metacritic score for both the PlayStation®4 and Xbox One versions, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is set to deliver the explosive dogfighting action, deep storyline, and beautifully rendered aircraft the franchise is known for, to PC players to experience and enjoy.

Head over to YouTube to witness the action that’s set to unfold in the PC version of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is available now in the Americas for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PCs via STEAM.

Now, buckle up for take-off, we’ll see you in the skies!

To find out more about Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, head over to the games official website.

Check out these latest hardware announcements for today from around the web. Also included are some hardware news bits, and on some days, a few rumors tossed in for good measure. Click on the links below to read the official press release, visit the products web page, or to an independent news source.

• Antec Announces Prizm Cooling Matrix Compound Fans
• GIGABYTE Adds GeForce RTX 2070 Gaming OC White To RTX Lineup
• DeepCool Rolls Out the MATREXX 55 ADD-RGB Case in Silver
• Sharkoon Launches VG6-W ATX Chassis Series
• Swiftech Announces New Generation Boreas Liquid Cooling Kits
• CHERRY DW 9000 SLIM Keyboard and Mouse Combo Introduced
• MSI Unveils the Trident X Series SFF Gaming Desktops
• Asetek Launches 690LX-PN Cooler for Xeon W-3175X: Up to 500 W
• ASUS Announces their RGB Illuminated FX Series External HDDs with Aura Sync