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NVIDIA launches "low-end" 320MB GeForce 8800 GTS
If you find it rather appalling that a $300 graphics card is on the budget end of things these days -- back in our day that was the price of a next-gen console, now get off our lawn! -- you might be comforted to know that NVIDIA's 320MB 8800 GTS ain't no sloucher. Sure, the 500MHz G80 core is stepped down from the 575MHz in the GTX, with the 320MB of memory falling far short of the 768MB in the GTX or even the 640MB in the beefier version of the GTS, but you're still getting a whole lot of DirectX 10 juice for your dollar, relative to the $600+ GTX and $400+ 640MB GTS. If you're still having trouble justifying the price, just google yourself a few Crysis screenshots -- there won't be any turning back. Be sure to peep the uniformly awkward OEM box art after the break.[Via TrustedReviews]
Crysis will run on ye olde gaming rig
As Crysis looms, anxiety levels are high. The perceived demands of Crytek's DirectX 10 showcase present a financial burden to those with dated PCs. Speaking to Next-Gen, Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli assured gamers that Crysis will be playable on 2- to 3-year-old gaming rigs, but warned that if you do plan to rely on aging hardware, avoid those who have the game running on DX10 -- it might be hard to go back to your scaled-down DX9 experience.Yerli also seemed to express Crytek's approval of Vista, telling Next-Gen, "Most likely we will upgrade all dev stations to Vista and move to Vista-only titles". This apparent commitment to the new operating system stands in stark contrast to comments issued by id Software's John Carmack, who isn't pleased that Microsoft has "artificially" tethered DX10 to Vista.
Joystiq hands-on: Crysis (PC)
Crysis has been gathering momentum as it nears release, gathering hype like a katamari rolling up schoolchildren. The game will finally hit store shelves "sometime in 2007" according to publisher EA; after recent play-time in the game, I decided to pour a little gas -- and water -- on the hype fire.As is usually the case, I only got a short time to play the game, and Crytek has nearly a year to make more changes; these impressions reflect only the area and version of the game I played. Still, I walked away looking forward to the final game. Does it look good? Yes. Does it look better than anything my tiny mind could imagine? Not the parts I saw. Does it feel fun to play? Yes. Do the gameplay and story hold up for hours? That's way early to call.
Rumorang: Crysis game for Xbox 360, not PC port
Xboxic reports that an unnamed developer, speaking to 1UP, has revealed details about a Crysis game headed to Xbox 360. Allegedly, the console version will not be a direct port of the PC title that's currently in development. Like Far Cry before it, Crysis will be stripped down for its console debut.The Xbox 360 version will supposedly incorporate similar story elements to its PC brethren, but will feature different gameplay aspects (physics, environments, etc.) that better utilize 360's DirectX 9 technology (the PC version is being built using DirectX 10). Expect full details if and when Crytek finally (and officially) announces this much-anticipated console installment of its high-profile franchise.See also: Crytek says 360 and PS3 can't handle Crysis Crytek revises claim: Crysis could be ported
Carmack blasts Vista gaming initiative
id Software's John Carmack isn't ready for his studio to make the jump to Windows Vista. "Nothing is going to help a new game by going to a new operating system. There were some clear wins going from Windows 95 to Windows XP for games, but there really aren't any for Vista," Carmack recently told Game Informer during a lengthy interview, which also featured id colleague Todd Hollenshead.While Carmack remains keen on Xbox 360, he thinks the Vista initiative is bogus, accusing Microsoft of using the new OS's "artificial" tie with DirectX 10 to lure consumers (and developers). "They're really grasping at straws for reasons to upgrade the operating system. I suspect I could run XP for a great many more years without having a problem with it," concluded Carmack. Good news for those content with XP.[Via GamesIndustry.biz]See also: Games for Windows Vista: how the new brand & OS will change PC gaming
And the Emmy goes to ... Microsoft!
With the fictional Emmy awards out of the way, Microsoft today announced that it has won an Emmy for, ahem, "Pioneering Work in Near and Real-Time Fully Programmable Shading Via Modern Graphics Processors." It's got to be hard to write that all on one envelope. A simpler way of saying it: DirectX got an Emmy. The official Emmy release doesn't really give any more details, but it's good news for Microsoft nonetheless. Of course, it should be noted that the 360 can't run the latest and greatest DirectX (that would be DirectX 10). Microsoft also won an Emmy last year for Xbox Live. One more year and they'll have a streak. Other notable winners include Nintendo, Sony, and id Software (along with John Carmack). Hit the "read" link for a PDF of all the winners.
Watch 3 videos, get DX10 and Vista for free
Forget the PS3 and Xbox 360, the next great thing in gaming graphics is called DirectX 10. The only catch is you'll need a fairly beefy PC and a copy of Windows Vista. However, the Vista half of the equation could come cheaper than expected. Microsoft, through a website called Power Together, is offering up a free copy of Vista Business edition just for watching three videos. The videos are geared toward system admins or even internal auditors, but we could all sit through it just to get a $300 operating system for free (legitimately we might add). The only catch is you have to use IE6 or better and install the Live Meeting Replay Wrapper. The site is currently moving at a snail's pace right now and the videos themselves are an hour long, so it could take a bit of work to get your free copy of Vista. The downside is Vista Business Edition doesn't come with the Media Center feature (like any of us care); however, Vista Business will be just fine for any of us who want to enjoy some sweet DirectX 10 gaming.
Microsoft sticks a fork in Vista, it's done
Back in 2001, Vista was a faint -- but sparkling -- glimmer in the software giant's glassy eyes. Now, after multiple delays and feature reductions, Microsoft's latest release of Windows is ready for the world. Sure, it doesn't look quite like they thought it would, back when it was still called "Longhorn," but Vista is here and we're sure they still love it. Of course, Microsoft wants to treat the Vista launch as a console launch ... they've even gone so far as to hand off the Games for Windows marketing to the increasingly capable Xbox guys. Pretty exciting, right? PlayStation 3, Wii ... and Vista!Yeah, we're having a hard time getting excited too; however, if you want to play Halo 2 on your (capable?) PC, you don't have a choice (something about DirectX 10). Here's the skinny: The big businesses get it November 30th (because we all know how quickly major corporations upgrade to brand new Microsoft operating systems, right?) while consumers will have to wait until January 30th to either pick it up retail (which version?) or have it pre-installed on their latest beige box. Who's camping out?[Via Engadget]
NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 GTX reviewed
If you're looking to impress with your gaming rig and money is no object, it doesn't look like you can do much better than NVIDIA's latest bit of graphics excess, the DirectX 10-compliant GeForce 8800 GTX . That's according to the good folks at bit-tech.net, who recently got a chance to put this monster of a graphics card through its paces, finding that it delivered on performance -- but, obviously, isn't for everybody. For one thing, you'll want to have at least a 24-inch monitor to take full advantage of the card, with bit-tech actually saying that the card is too fast for use with resolutions less than 1900 x 1200. Not surprisingly, it also consumes loads of power, with NVIDIA recommending a minimum 450W power supply; that, of course, is for a single card -- we're a little scared to think of what you'll need for an SLI setup. Bit-tech did find a few problems with the device, including a few glitches with image quality in Half-Life 2: Episode One, although they suspects that'll be remedied with a driver update.
Nvidia releases graphics card with physics ability
Nvidia launched a new line of GPU and motherboard products today, the GeForce 8800 and nForce 680 respectively. The hardware looks good, but these sorts of press events are big on hype; we'll have to wait until the card and motherboard make it out to the wild for detailed assessments. The wait, at least, will be short; all products will be shipping to retail today.Nvidia's 8800 card comes in two versions, costing between $449 and $649, but we weren't expecting a bargain. For that price, you get a DirectX 10 card that can compute physics tasks in addition to its polished graphic touches. Nvidia also says that the card dynamically allocates its processing power, so idle silicon that would normally be shading a fully-shaded scene, for example, can be used for other 3D tasks. The card also includes a 2D video accelerator to draw HD and other video.At the San Jose launch event, Nvidia demonstrated the card, creating live smoke and water effects by plotting the 3D movement of the particles, in addition to rendering the graphics. Before the game demos, Nvidia showed a realtime tech demo of an 8800-created version of model Adrianne Curry. This demonstration looked a little creepy, watching the avatar model skimpy clothing with a slightly robotic gait. But when standing still, the character looked realistic; her hair and face were especially believable. Overall, the character didn't quite look like a real person -- the animation probably threw us off. Years ago, "photo-realistic" got undeservedly tossed around so much, the term went out of style, but parts of this demonstration were as close as we've seen. We're interested in how the GeForce 8800 (and nForce 680) perform in the real world; the event certainly made a lot of promises. As an aside, we also give Nvidia PR kudos for dovetailing the announcement against its multi-day LAN party. The gamer audience, high on Bawls, cheered and pumped its fists with each announcement.More pictures after the break.
NVIDIA busting out liquid-cooled GeForce 8800 in November?
As if the world of high-performance gaming graphics wasn't already out of control, NVIDIA is rumored to be working a their next-gen "G80" GeForce 8800 card, which will be liquid cooled, and purportedly chows down on 300 watts of electricity to push its pixels. The news comes our way via [H]ard|OCP, which has spy pics of the monstrosity, and DigiTimes, which pulls on their usually cadre of shady insider sources for dirt on a mid-November launch. The card is designed for DirectX 10, allowing for beefier graphics and the offloading of some CPU duties, but DigiTimes is hearing word that DirectX 10 won't be ready in time for Vista's launch (it'll instead be available for download from Windows Update at a later date), and since the new graphics API won't be available at all for previous versions of Windows, a November launch seems a pretty risky move for the GPU builder -- though we're sure the DirectX 9.0 speed gains won't be non-existant. And of course there's always the pure, unadulterated geek cred of having a liquid-cooled supercomputer dominating that PCI-E x16 slot of yours -- not even Vista can take all the fun out of that.[Via I4U]Read - NVIDIA launching GeForce 8800 mid-NovemberRead - G80 spy pics
Xbox 360 can't run DirectX 10, confirms ATI
1up reports that ATI has debunked a rumor that Xbox 360 could be upgraded to support DirectX 10 via a patch. "Xbox360 cannot run DX10," an ATI spokesperson told 1up. Currently, Microsoft's console runs an advanced version of DirectX 9, which, according to ATI, features "memory export that can enable DX10-class functionality such as stream-out."It's difficult to say when and if studios that are developing cross-platform titles for Xbox 360 and Vista will hit a roadblock because of DirectX variances between the two platforms, but certainly a game like Crytek's Crysis, which does support DX9 with some DX10 features, could be optimized and ported to consoles.
Windows Vista delayed until 2007... taking Halo 2 with it?
Microsoft's announced that Windows Vista will be delayed until January of next year for most consumers. Some businesses will get an early crack at the OS this November, however.Other than Vista's touted advantages for gamers (and its enormous technical requirements), we care about a delay because certain games may not release, run, or run "optimally" with anything less than Vista, including Halo 2 for the PC, MS Flight Simulator X, and CryTek's Crysis ("the first DirectX 10-enabled game" for the new OS).Of course, release plans, optimizations, and compatibilities could change from here till the end of 2006, but Microsoft will probably try to support its upcoming OS upgrade with as many titles as it can in the coming year. Vista was supposed to spark a new renaissance in PC gaming after its long and drawn-out development grind. At least corporate testers will get to check out the new version of Minesweeper before Christmas.
