By Billy Tallis @ AnandTech

The first retail consumer SSDs to be updated with new 96-layer 3D NAND flash memory are the Samsung 970 EVO Plus. The 970 EVO Plus will be replacing the 970 EVO as Samsung’s mainstream consumer NVMe SSD. Today we are reviewing two of the launch drives: the 970 EVO Plus at 250GB, and the 970 EVO Plus at 1TB. These two drives are Samsung’s attack on both the mainstream and high capacity markets, while the new NAND has a focus more on power than driving down overall costs per GB. Performance per watt is a key focus of these drives.

Read The Review Here

Source: TechPowerUp!

AMD late Monday released WHQL-signed Radeon Software Adrenalin 19.1.1 drivers. These drivers are identical in features and changes to January 11 release of Adrenalin 19.1.1 as a Beta. Among the key changes over the previous 18.12.3 drivers include performance optimization for “Fortnite,” bug fixes for Virtual Super Resolution (VSR), graphics card fan zero-fan mode not correctly engaging when toggled on/off in Radeon Settings, incorrect software update notifications in Radeon Settings Advisor, and multi-monitor systems experiencing a mouse pointer lag when one of the displays is enabled but powered off.

The new Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.1.1 WHQL drivers are available online at the AMD driver download page.

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.

• Samsung Electronics Sets New Performance Levels for Consumer NVMe SSDs with 970 EVO Plus
• Be Quiet! Unveils Shadow Wings 2 & Pure Wings 2 High-Speed Fans
• ASUS Intros GeForce RTX 2070 Turbo EVO Graphics Card
• Antec’s DA601 ‘Dark Avenger’ Case is Now Available
• GIGABYTE to Introduce RTX 2070 eGPU Gaming Box
• Corsair Adds The Finishing Touch to their Premium Accessories Lineup
• DIYPC Releases DIY-SD1-RGB Mid Tower PC Case
• RAIDMAX Rolls Out the Magnus White and Brushed Aluminium Finish Chassis
• MSI Officially Launches the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Lightning Z
• Western Digital WD Black SN750 is a High-end NVMe SSD with a Chunky Heatsink
• EK Water Blocks Introduces its EK Classic Product Line
• ASRock Announces its Intel B365 Motherboard Series
• Phanteks Announces the Release of New Glacier Series Products and Accessories

Jujubee’s Kursk Has Been Updated to Version 2.1.3 Improving the Game’s Performance!

Polish developer Jujubee S.A. has just updated their documentary-adventure game Kursk to version 2.1.3, adding automatic detection of graphics settings and significantly improving the game’s performance. Players can now expect better framerates on low and medium settings.

The new update improves the performance on systems that meet the minimum requirements of the game. The players’ request has been heard as the developers added automatic detection of graphics settings so that the system decides what settings are the best for optimal performance and for the player to fully enjoy the experience. The community can expect a couple of more updates incoming in the very near future.

Jujubee also wishes to inform that Kursk will soon appear on the Mac, enabling users of this system to get acquainted with the catastrophe that shook the world at that time. Worth noting is the fact that Kursk is currently discounted on Steam, creating a great opportunity for players who have not yet been tempted to experience the latest game from the studio.

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

The crisis that has enveloped Venezuela since 2013 has reached a quasi-apocalyptic dimension.

The Government of Caracas has accused in several occasions that the reason for this humanitarian catastrophe is the constant interference of the USA and its puppets in the region, willing to stop the glorious Bolivarian Revolution started with Hugo Chavez.

These suspects have been reinforced by the enclosing relationship between Colombia and NATO, culminating in 2015 in a joint military operation against maritime piracy.

Recently the situation has further escalated as for days two Colombian bordering towns, Cucuta and Arauca, have been theatre of fights between soldiers wearing the uniform of The Bolivarian National Armed Forces of Venezuela and local Colombian border troops.

Claiming the episode is a machination of Washington to destroy the revolution, Venezuela has asked for support to Russia, granting it the Caribbean Island of Orchila as an outpost. Moscow, eager to expand its influence in the area, agreed immediately and it is confirmed news that an aero-naval expeditionary force is already being sent in aid of its new ally.

The United States has declared they’ll support Bogota from aggression with any means and have put their forces in Panama and Porto Rico on the highest alert.

Stay tuned for further information. Command LIVE news report will keep you informed on any update on this escalation.

Find out more about Command Live: The King of the Border on its official webpage.

Activision and Treyarch have announced that fans will be able to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s popular Battle Royale mode for free in the Blackout Free Trial, which begins Thursday for one week on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

The Blackout Free Trial will feature all the intense action from the game mode that brings together characters, locations, weapons and gear from across the series with Black Ops signature gameplay fans know and love.

Additionally, Treyarch released a new update to the game today on consoles (later this week on PC) that features the following:

• Debut of Gauntlets and new Elixirs in Zombies on PS4
• A new week of Featured Playlists and the addition of Elevation and Madagascar to map rotation for Black Ops Pass owners in Multiplayer
• New-and-improved console looting interface in Blackout
• plus much more

Watch the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 — Blackout Free Trial Announcement Trailer HERE.

For more information, fans can visit www.callofduty.com.

Source: Blue’s News

Another new video from Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown offers a developer diary for the upcoming aerial combat game. They call this Dev Diary #1, but with the game due on consoles Friday and on PC on February 1st, there’s not much time for many additional entries. Here’s word on this one:

“Fly behind the scenes of ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN with this exclusive interview of the Ace team, featuring Brand Director Kazutoki Kono, and learn more about the making of the game.” All the developer commentary is in their native Japanese, but handy English subtitles are used throughout.

By Mike Jennings @ Hardware Heaven

The AOC AGON AG322QC4 costs £406 in the UK and $537 in the US, so it’s not a cheap gaming screen – but it does include a huge range of features that will tempt the keenest gamers. However, screens with loads of features do sometimes find themselves lacking in image quality – and that’s no good, because it makes games and films look fundamentally disappointing. How does this panel stack up? Find out the truth in our AOC AGON AG322QC4 review!

Read The Review Here

By Daniel Dobrowolski @ HardOCP

Taking a queue from Hollywood, ASUS brings us another sequel to its long running ROG franchise with its Maximus XI Hero. While most movie sequels never live up to the original, computer hardware usually improves on the previous iteration. However, that’s not always the case. Is that the case here? Read on and find out.

Read The Review Here

Source: TechPowerUp!

NVIDIA has released its latest version of GeForce software. Version 417.71 WHQL is the first public driver to add support for the new GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card. More importantly, it makes good on CEO Jen-Hsun Huang’s promise to make NVIDIA GPUs, “Pascal” and “Turing,” compatible with VESA Adaptive-Sync (AMD FreeSync) monitors. NVIDIA maintains this repository of monitors it has tested to support Adaptive Sync, although any compatible monitor meeting the cable requirements can be made to run G-Sync. The only feature only supports single-displays for now, and NVIDIA plans to add multi-display Adaptive-Sync support later.

NVIDIA also addressed a number of issues. To begin with, it fixed the problem of the GeForce GTX 1080 not dropping down GPU clock-speed to idle when three displays are connected. Also addressed is a black-screen noticed on monitors connected via DisplayPort, when resuming from S3 sleep. Also fixed is black screen noticed on BenQ XL2730 when the refresh-rate is set to the monitor’s advertised 144 Hz. A Windows 7-specific error in which game frame-rates drop when both G-Sync and the in-game V-sync are enabled. Multiple apps throw up artifacts on Windows RS5 when resolution is changed, on machines with RTX 2080, which NVIDIA fixed with this release. An occasional crash on “Shadow of the Tomb Raider” with the game running in DirectX 12 mode was fixed.

You can download the new GeForce 417.71 WHQL drivers through GeForce Experience or via GeForce.com.