By Brett Howse @ AnandTech

Sometimes things happen that are unexpected – just ask Ned Stark. In a far less fictional event, Microsoft has posted an update on their DirectX Blog announcing that they’ve brought a form of DirectX 12 to Windows 7, via official support for the latest DX12 version of World of Warcraft on Windows 7. Where do we even begin?

For some background, Microsoft’s latest DirectX API was created to remove some of the CPU bottlenecks for gaming by allowing for developers to use low-level programming conventions to shift some of the pressure points away from the CPU. This was a response to single-threaded CPU performance plateauing, making complex graphical workloads increasingly CPU-bounded. There’s many advantages to using this API over traditional DX11, especially for threading and draw calls. But, Microsoft made the decision long ago to only support DirectX 12 on Windows 10, with its WDDM 2.0 driver stack.

Today’s announcement is a pretty big surprise on a number of levels. If Microsoft had wanted to back-port DX12 to Windows 7, you would have thought they’d have done it before Windows 7 entered its long-term servicing state. As it is, even free security patches for Windows 7 are set to end on January 14, 2020, which is well under a year away, and the company is actively trying to migrate users to Windows 10 to avoid having a huge swath of machines sitting in an unpatched state. In fact, they are about to add a pop-up notification to Windows 7 to let users know that they are running out of support very soon. So adding a big feature like DX12 now not only risks undermining their own efforts to migrate people away from Windows 7, but also adding a new feature well after Windows 7 entered long-term support. It’s just bizarre.

Read on…

Source: TechPowerUp!

AMD has released the latest version of their Radeon Adrenalin 2019 Edition drivers. Beta version 19.3.2 is a significant update as it delivers support for Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 and Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm. AMD also claims up to 4% gain in regards to average performance on the Radeon VII when compared to the previously released 19.2.3 drivers. To go with the added game support and performance boost this release also supports DirectX 12 on Windows 7 for select titles. The Vulkan API also gets some love with this release with the addition of various extensions with the most notable one being the VK_EXT_depth_clip_enable extension which allows for depth clipping operations to be controlled by the application rather than the driver thus making it useful for Developers translating Direct3D content to the Vulkan API.

The new Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.3.2 beta 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.

• Netgear Launches XR300 Nighthawk Pro Gaming Router Optimized to Minimize Lag for Gamers
• Razer Expands Best-Selling Lineup with a New Line Designed for Value-Conscious Gamers
• Spire X2 Unveils the RGB ZOOM Fan Series
• Roccat Purchased by Turtle Beach
• Spire X2 Also Launches the Aura Fan 3-pack
• Lounge Wizard – Introducing the K83 Wireless Entertainment Keyboard from CORSAIR
• Inno3D Announces the New Super Charger GeForce GTX 1660 Twin X2

Ubisoft has revealed a brand new trailer ahead of the release of Tom Clancy’s The Division 2. The trailer, which is titled ‘What is The Division 2?’ gives an in depth look at the upcoming title.

Led by Massive Entertainment in collaboration with seven other studios around the world, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 is the next evolution in the open-world online shooter RPG genre that the first game helped establish. Set seven months after a deadly virus was released in New York City, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 will bring players into a fractured and collapsing Washington D.C. The world is on the brink, its people living through the biggest crisis ever faced in human history. As veteran Division agents, players are the last hope against the complete fall of society as enemy factions vie for control of the city. If Washington D.C. is lost, the entire nation falls. Building upon more than two years of listening to and learnings from The Division community, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 will offer a substantial campaign that organically flows into a robust endgame, to create a cohesive and meaningful experience for all types of players.

More game information can be found on the official Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 website.

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 releases worldwide on March 15th, 2019, on the Xbox One family of devices including the Xbox One X, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Windows PC.

Source: Blue’s News

Heatblur’s DCS F-14 Tomcat DLC for DCS World has launched. This can be picked up on Steam for the DCS World Steam Edition and from the DCS E-Shop and the Heatblur Store for the non-Steam version of the virtual battlefield. There’s a post in the DCS forums also mentioning where to buy this in Russia and South Korea, and warning that keys picked up from sketchy sellers will not work, saying, “Any DCS World keys purchased from other sources are invalid and are simply trying to re-sell keys that are bound to other users or purchased through fraud. Such sites include Kinguin, CDExpress and G2A.” Ride into the danger zone in this launch trailer and read on for the full flight plan:

The F-14 Tomcat was a two-crew, variable geometry, maritime air superiority fighter that served with the US Navy for 32 years and continues to serve with the IRIAF in Iran. The F-14 was the US Navy’s frontline fighter from the 1970s until the mid 2000s. Over the course of its long service life it also became the US Navy’s premier precision ground-attack platform and lone airborne reconnaissance asset.

Outstanding features of the aircraft are the swing-wing configuration, crew of two, and the powerful AN/AWG-9 Weapons Control System (WCS) and radar. The AWG-9 allows employment of the powerful AIM-54 Phoenix air to air missile while the LANTIRN pod allows the ability to carry out precision ground strikes using laser guided bombs. The F-14 Tomcat was present during many pivotal historic moments such as the two Gulf of Sidra incidents, Operation Desert storm in Iraq, the conflict in Yugoslavia, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was also immortalized in the iconic motion picture, Top Gun, and starred in several other feature films including The Final Countdown, Executive Decision, and others.

Independent developer and publisher Rebellion today announced Sniper Elite V2 Remastered, in this stunning gameplay trailer. Sniper Elite V2 Remastered launches on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch in 2019. Fans can return to Berlin and revisit an epic campaign set in the final moments of World War 2.

Offering stunningly enhanced graphics, 4K resolution and HDR display, this is the visually definitive version of Sniper Elite V2. It will introduce new playable characters, a brand new photo mode, expanded online multiplayer for up to 16 combatants, as well as all the content ever released for the game. Sniper Elite V2 Remastered will be released both digitally and at retail later this year.

Sniper Elite V2 Remastered weaves an explosive story of an undercover American OSS agent, stalking enemy prey across key historical locations from the Battle of Berlin in a mission to unravel the mysteries and dangers of the German V-2 rocket programme.

Visit the official Sniper Elite website for more game information.

Eugen Systems Delays Deployment for Steel Division 2 for Steam Beta and Additional Player Feedback

Independent developer and publisher Eugen Systems (R.U.S.E., Wargame series, Steel Division: Normandy 44) is excited to welcome players to phase 1 of the upcoming singleplayer/multiplayer beta for Steel Division 2 on Steam. With phase 1 scheduled to begin on March 27 for 48-hours and open to players who pre-order Steel Division 2 via Steam, Gamesplanet, or The Humble Store, beta testers can look forward to an advanced look at a variety of Steel Division 2’s game modes, including Breakthrough. This mode finds defending players holding control of the map against an attacker – and makes heavy use of the brand-new Defense Structures feature recently highlighted on Eugen Systems’ developer diary. Deploy barbed wire, trenches, gun pits, and bunkers to hold the line. Beta testers can also look forward to checking out Conquest Mode, an objective based mode that charges players with pushing the frontline of battle forward by capturing objectives across the map. Two divisions will be available to choose from for phase 1, starting with the German 5. Panzerdivision and 2nd Guards Tank Corps – with more to come in future phases.

Steel Division 2 fans can also look forward to regular updates and additional 48-hour multiplayer beta phases each week. For full details on the upcoming beta phases for Steel Division 2, please head to the page on Steam. To make room for an extended beta on Steam and to allow for further development work on Steel Division 2 based on player feedback, Steel Division 2 is now scheduled to launch on May 2, 2019.

“We’re excited for Steel Division players to finally experience what we’ve been working so hard on behind closed doors when the Steam beta launches,” said Pierre-Yves Navetat, Marketing and Communication Manager at Eugen Systems. “This beta will allow us time to incorporate player feedback and ensure players the best launch day experience with Steel Division 2.”

For full details on pre-order bonuses for Steel Division 2, please head to the official website at buy.steeldivision2.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.

• NVIDIA Launches the GeForce GTX 1660 6GB Graphics Card
• MSI Reveals New GeForce GTX 1660 Series Graphics Cards
• EVGA Rolls Out the GeForce GTX 1660 for Zero Compromise Gaming
• Colorful iGame GeForce GTX 1660 Ultra Video Card Launched
• ZOTAC Announces GeForce GTX 1660 Series
• Palit Introduces the Turing Architecture- GeForce GTX 1660 Series
• GIGABYTE Announces GeForce GTX 1660 Series Graphics Card
• ASUS Announces TUF Gaming and Phoenix GeForce GTX 1660
• SilentiumPC Announces New RGB Products With Next Generation Corona Upgrade Kits
• Alphacool Eisblock Plexi Light for Radeon VII
• ENERMAX Intros StarryFort SF30 – A Brilliant RGB Case with 4x SquA RGB Fans
• CORSAIR Launches Crystal Series 680X RGB and Carbide Series 678C Cases
• Raijintek Outs Teos 240A RBW Radiator with Addressable RGB Lighting
• ENERMAX Launches CoreIcer CI30 – An ARGB ATX Case with 4x Vivid RGB Fans
• Glorious PC Gaming Race – Model O Gaming Mouse Launched
• ENERMAX Readies AQUAFUSION, the Splendid ARGB AIO Liquid Cooler Series
• Cooler Master Unveils TR4 Edition Variants of MasterLiquid ML RGB Series AIO Coolers
• Aerocool Intros Klaw Mid-Tower Gaming Chassis

With NVIDIA’s release of its new GeForce GTX 1660 6 GB graphics card, a large number of reviews are now available for you to learn all there is to know about this latest NVIDIA product. We’ve searched the web and posted the links to those reviews below.

• HOT HARDWARE
• OVERCLOCK3D
• TOM’S HARDWARE
• ETEKNIX
• PC PERSPECTIVE
• TECHPOWERUP!
• GURU3D
• KITGURU

Gaijin Entertainment announces the release of Content Update 1.87 ‘Locked on!’ for the military vehicle online game War Thunder. It adds radar systems as a new game mechanic for aircraft, helicopters and tanks as well as more than 30 new vehicles to the game. The extensive list of new machines includes the first French helicopters, new cruisers and destroyers, the first ground vehicles of the new Rank VII as well as the first surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the Soviet 2S6 ‘Tunguska’.

Radar systems are a new game mechanic introduced to War Thunder and will be available on a large selection of different vehicles with the release of this update. Installed on anti-aircraft vehicles, they will allow for the detection and engagement of aircraft and helicopters in a large radius, increasing the protection of ground forces against aerial threats. AA gunners will be able to track and lead targets more effectively to counter the fast speed of supersonic aircraft, while the increased effective range will counterbalance the power of helicopters armed with guided missiles.

In turn, aircraft and helicopters that are equipped with radar systems can detect the presence of radar-assisted anti-aircraft systems – and some models can even detect the direction of the signal. Pilots will receive warnings, allowing them to evade an incoming attack by means of maneuvers or hiding behind obstacles. Affected anti-aircraft vehicles, however, can deactivate their radar at any time to reduce their visibility. This “electronic warfare” will make War Thunder’s combined arms battles even more tactically diverse.

16 tanks, aircraft and helicopters in total have been equipped with radar systems so far, including the first vehicle SAM system in War Thunder – the Soviet 2S6 ‘Tunguska’. It is armed with eight 9M311 surface-to-air missiles that will hunt enemy aircraft with speeds of up to 900 m/s, which can alternatively be used to combat armored ground vehicles. More radar equipped vehicles to come – including for Naval forces.

The new vehicles added with Update 1.87 include the first tanks of Rank VII, such as the M1A1 for the US and Challenger 2 for Great Britain, among others. Among the aircraft added with this Update is the fastest jet fighter in the game, the Japanese Mitsubishi T-2, which can reach an impressive 1.6 mach speed. Several aircraft present on Rank V were also equipped with air-to-air guided missiles.

Update 1.87 also includes a new combined-arms combat location, ‘Alaska’, where battles will take place both along wide city streets and in the dense, surrounding forests. Seeing a helicopter emerge behind one of the city’s skyscrapers is sure to turn any battle into a real blockbuster experience!

Watch the War Thunder Content Update 1.87 “Locked On” Teaser Trailer HERE.

More information about the War Thunder Update 1.87 ‘Locked on!’ is available on the game’s official website.