Source: techPowerUp!

In the wake of its new high-end GPU launch, the GeForce GTX 980 Ti, NVIDIA released new GeForce 353.06 WHQL drivers. In addition to support for the new GPU, version 353.06 WHQL is Game Ready for “Heroes of the Storm,” including an SLI profile and one-click optimization in GeForce Experience.

The R353 drivers bring a few new features to the table, including G-Sync support for windowed applications (could be useful in ‘windowed-maximized’ display-modes in certain games), a new feature called ULMB (ultra-low motion-blur), which arbitrarily decreases motion-blur drawn by applications (could help with excessive ghosting on LCDs with high response-times), and Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR) for notebook GPUs. The drivers also add a comprehensive game-optimization suite for GPUs based on the “Kepler” architecture, which should increase frame-rates across the board for GeForce GTX 600 and GTX 700 series.

NVIDIA’s GeForce Game Ready 353.06 WHQL drivers can be downloaded from GeForce.com or through GeForce Experience.

NVIDIA has launched its new GeForce GTX 980 Ti. The new flagship GeForce GPU is an amazing upgrade for gamers who haven’t yet jumped to a Maxwell GPU. If you want to enjoy 4K and VR with all the settings cranked, you’ll need the very best. As of now that is the new $649 GeForce GTX 980 Ti, a 6GB, 2816 CUDA Cores behemoth that’s ready for the future’s demanding, graphically-advanced games. We have collected a large number of reviews and we’ve posted the links to them below for your convenience.

• HARDWARE CANUCKS
• HARDOCP
• TOM’S HARDWARE
• PC PERSPECTIVE
• GURU3D
• OVERCLOCKERS CLUB
• HOT HARDWARE
• TECHPOWERUP!
• TECH REPORT
• ANANDTECH

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 Announces the GeForce GTX 980 Ti Graphics Card – VIDEO
• MSI Launches GeForce GTX 980 Ti Gaming Graphics Cards
• GIGABYTE Unveils Next-Gen GeForce GTX 980 Ti G1 GAMING Graphics Card for 4K Gaming
• EVGA Announces its GeForce GTX 980 Ti Lineup
• ASUS Unveils GTX 980 Ti DirectCU III STRIX and ROG Poseidon GTX 980 Ti Graphics Cards
• Zotac Unveils Five New GeForce GTX 980 Ti Cards At Computex
• Palit Announces its GeForce GTX 980 Ti Graphics Card
• Manli Introduces its GeForce GTX 980 Ti Graphics Card
• Corsair Announces Obsidian 750D Airflow Edition Case
• Antec Teases $499 Flagship Signature-Series S10 Case
• Corsair Brings Liquid Cooling to Latest NVIDIA GeForce GPUs
• Corsair Introduces Strafe Mechanical Gaming Keyboard With Cherry MX Switches
• Powercolor Devil HDX PCI Express Sound Card Announced
• Corsair Announces RMi Series 80 Plus Gold Smart PSU Series
• Patriot Expands Viper 4 DDR4 Series With 128GB Kit
• Corsair Unleashes the Bulldog, an Upgradeable, Liquid Cooled 4K Gaming PC For The Living Room
• MSI Next Generation GAMING Motherboards Pictured
• ASRock Next Generation Fatal1ty Motherboard Lineup Pictured
• EVGA PrecisionX 16 v5.3.5 Released with DirectX 12 Support
• ASUS Unveils Three High-end STRIX Series 7.1-ch Sound Cards
• Microsoft Windows 10 Launching on July 29th, 2015

Update Adds New Weapons, Balancing, Gun Master Mode, And More

Source: GameInformer

Though Battlefield 4 launched in October, 2013, developer DICE is still supporting it through updates. With the new Spring Update, Battlefield 4 has now enhanced the experience from several angles, adding new weapons, a new online mode, re-balancing the weapons, and much more.

The new weapons balancing is illustrated above in the image taken from EA and DICE’s patch notes. In addition, DICE is adding a new assault rifle in the AN94, a new carbine in the Groza-1, a new PDW in the Groza-4, a new sidearm in the Mare’s leg, and a new LMG in the L86A1. The new update also brings various netcode improvements including minimizing player stuttering and boosting the performance of fast-handling vehicles over the network. Those with a keen ear will also notice new audio improvements, including DICE introducing a unique sound for headshots and improved bullet sounds for soldier impacts.

DICE is also bringing back the Gun Master mode, which was found in Battlefield 3: Close Quarters. The mode plays out like team deathmatch, only you change weapons every two kills. The first player to record a kill with the final gun wins. The mode brings with it five preset playlists within it to give you a variety of different gun sets to experience Gun Master with.

If you’d like to read the full patch notes, you can head to EA’s PDF, which runs down all of the updates in painstaking detail.

Third DLC Pack for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Delivers Four New Multiplayer Maps Taking Players Across the Globe

Prepare for a globetrotting Call of Duty DLC experience like no other, against the backdrops of several of the greatest monuments around the world in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Supremacy. On 2nd June, the third DLC pack for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare from Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI) and Sledgehammer Games, will be available first on the Xbox Live online entertainment network for Xbox One and Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft, with other platforms to follow.

From the famed Houses of Parliament in London, to the snowy confines of the Kremlin in Moscow, players will experience a diverse landscape of multiplayer mayhem, including the return of one of the most iconic multiplayer maps in Call of Duty history, “Highrise,” which first debuted in 2009’s Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2, now transported to the year 2054.

“Set against iconic landmarks, Supremacy takes players across the world in some of our most exciting maps to date. New and exciting vertical routes give players unique ways to dominate the battle through both the exo movement set and the new Exo Grapple ability. We are also thrilled to re-imagine one of the most popular Call of Duty maps ever, Modern Warfare 2’s Highrise, with exo and grapple gameplay for fans to enjoy,” said Michael Condrey, Co-Founder and Studio Head, Sledgehammer Games.

“This is not only the four new multiplayer maps, but the continuation of the popular Exo Zombies saga. We’re huge fans of Bruce Campbell and to be able to add him to the already great roster of performers in Exo Zombies takes this to a new level,” said Glen Schofield, Co-Founder and Studio head, Sledgehammer Games.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Supremacy includes four new, action-packed multiplayer maps, all featuring the new Exo Grapple mechanic, which adds a layer of fun and strategy to the experience.

Watch the first gameplay trailer here.

Paradox Reveals Screenshots and Update Info on New EU4 Expansion

The Common Sense expansion for Europa Universalis IV will encourage you to take a closer look at the dominions you control – provincial development, new options for subject states, and parliaments to bend to your will. So it makes sense to take a closer look at how the game will appear. Paradox Development Studio has you covered.

Ten new screenshots of Common Sense reveal a few of the secrets hidden by our cabinet ministers for the last few months. Get a sneak peek at a few of the new events relevant for subject states, our new theocracy government and the Buddhist nations of East Asia. Our new building menu is revealed, as well as the master menus for the Parliamentary and development mechanics.

Also, pictures of tall men carrying pikes, because that’s how we roll at Paradox.

Common Sense hits digital retailers on June 9th – get ready to rule a whole new world.

By Max Page @ FrostyTech

When you’re doing real work on a desktop PC, creating content in whatever its form, there is nothing more annoying than a loud fan droning on or a computer randomly restarting because some component is overheating under load. Cooling brings reliability and quiet cooling is the only way to go!

With that in mind, on the test bench today we have BeQuiet’s Dark Rock TF heatsink – a top-down dual tower heatsink which features a pair of BeQuiet SilentWings fans and stands 130mm tall. The Dark Rock TF heatsink is built around six 6mm diameter heatpipes which link a large primary aluminum fin stack and smaller secondary set of aluminum cooling fins to a chunky copper heatspreader below. The 135mm PWM fans are arranged in a push-pull configuration, exhausting downwards so related motherboard CPU VRM components benefit from the cooling air flow.

Read The Review Here

Author: SKYMTL @ Hardware Canucks

As NVIDIA’s GTX 980 gradually matures, their board partners are starting to take a few more chances with their custom designs. While cards like the Matrix and Classified series have pushed air cooled options to their max, water cooling has remained persona non grata for the most part. EVGA’s GTX 980 Hybrid is meant to bridge the gap between classically cooled options and those which require a pre-existing water cooling loop for optimal performance.

Read The Review Here

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.

• ZOTAC Unveils the GeForce GTX TITAN-X ArcticStorm Edition
• AMD Fiji to be Codenamed Radeon Fury
• AMD Radeon Fiji Pictured Again
• GIGABYTE Readies FM2+ Series Motherboards for Newly Launched AMD Godavari APUs
• ASUS Announces Support for AMD A-Series ‘Godavari’ APUs
• SilverStone Packs 700 W Into Teeny SFX-L Power Supply
• Be Quiet! Extends Dark Rock Family with Top Flow Model
• X2 Announces Affordable X2.Kimera 4007 Gaming Keyboard
• Thermaltake Announces the Suppressor F51 Mid-tower Chassis
• G.SKILL DDR4 Memory Achieves Fastest Air-Cooling Record at 4062 MHz
• OCZ to Unveil New TLC-Based Trion 100 and Z-Drive 6300 NVMe PCIe
• WD Redesigns World’s No. 1 Selling Portable Hard Drive
• Cryorig Teases its Computex 2015 Lineup
• ADATA Teases its Computex 2015 Unveiling
• Colorful To Become Second Largest GPU Vendor Globally

Today sees the release of the first gameplay trailer for Total War: Arena, showing exclusive Alpha footage of this energetic and exciting new entry to the award-winning series.

Total War: Arena is a free-to-play, team-based strategy game, putting players in the middle of epic-scale battles. Using key elements of award-winning Total War design, it is made from the ground-up for multiplayer realtime strategy fans, with players going head-to-head in 10v10 battles.

To join the Closed Alpha sign up at: www.TotalWar.com/Arena. The Closed Alpha is currently available in Europe, US servers will be added soon.

What’s more, this weekend sees the first live stream of an ARENA match, with games broadcast live from an exclusive ESL event in Cologne. To see more of the game, watch the first live stream on Saturday 23 May at 17:00 CEST on the official Total War Twitch channel: http://www.twitch.tv/totalwarofficial.