Content and news by Rob Williams

Back in September 2005, at the PDC Microsoft Conference, CryTek, developers of Far Cry, released a movie that showcased some of the capabilities of the Cry Engine 2 under DirectX 10 API: dynamic day/night cycle, fully interactive enviroments, sunrays and diffuse transmission, real time soft shadows, soft particles, interactive/destructrible enviroments, volumetric clouds, and advanced shader technology.

CryTek steps up to the plate again. Just imagine how cool FarCry would be on this technology! Sadly, Gamershell had pictures of the game but have since been forced to take them down. You can still read the posting here.

With little fanfare, Microsoft just announced that the x64 version of Windows Vista will require all kernel-mode code to be digitally signed. This is very different than the current WHQL program, where the user ultimately decides how they want to handle unsigned drivers. Vista driver developers must obtain a Publisher Identity Certificate (PIC) from Microsoft. Microsoft says they won’t charge for it, but they require that you have a Class 3 Commercial Software Publisher Certificate from Verisign. This costs $500 [EUR 412] per year, and as the name implies, is only available to commercial entities.

Ouch, this is not good. What ever happened to the ‘power user’? It seems that if you own x64, you will not be able to use BETA video drivers as they are never usually digitally signed. Maybe this is another reason to not make the Vista jump right away. Source: OS News.

And we can now confirm that the official name of the new AIW card is All in Wonder X1900 PCIe 256MB. It does not come as a huge surprise and this card will support 256MB only. It would be very hard to put the whole 512MB together with two TV tuners on this rather packed card. You should be able to buy it for $524.00, although are talking about distributor prices here. Suggested retail prices could end up a little higher.

It’s hard to determine the consumer cost of the card, but I would guess around $599US. If that turns out to be the actual cost, it’s quite reasonable considering how packed the card should be. Check out the posting at The Inquirer.

Confirming our earlier reports, some owners of HD television sets will not be able to see HD DVD and Blu-ray programming in its full glory, as the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) used by both next-gen formats has been modified to require picture degredation over analog connections. As a result, the signal sent through analog connections will be constrained to 960×540, rather than the 1920×1080 that both Blu-ray and HD DVD are capable of.

As we all know very well, this will likely not stop piracy in any way. It sucks for those who do use an Analog signal to suffer with ‘poorer’ quality. It seems that if you intend on using an HDMI connection, then you will receive the top quality you want. Check out the full article at Ars Technica.

Adobe Systems has created a high-end version of Acrobat–aimed at boosting sales in the manufacturing industry–that displays three-dimensional images within PDF documents.

On Monday, the company is releasing Acrobat 3D, which allows a person to create a PDF (Portable Document Format) with embedded images from computer-aided design (CAD) applications. Recipients of Acrobat 3D files need to upgrade to the latest version of Acrobat reader to view the documents, the company said.

If you are thinking about picking up the software to create such documents, be ready to part with $995US! Check out the full posting at News.com.

1up recently posted their Dead or Alive 4 strategy guide on their website. It didn’t take long for users at the Dead or Alive Central forums to recognize their hard work analyzing the fighting game engine had been blatantly pasted into the strategy guide without any credit given whatsoever. While movelists are largely factual and can be argued to be public knowledge, the most incriminating evidence is the section on the evasion system, which had been pasted into the 1up guide with a few reworded sentences.

If this is true, it’s sad to see the big review sites doing this. Check out the full posting and comments at Slashdot.

While there may have been numerous Gameplay enhancements, as well as the potential for endless fun, we’re finding it hard to recommend this title to those who either aren’t fans of the series already, or have dabbled in it before. Now that said, considering the nature of the game to be totally multiplayer bar a few campaigns, the replay value comes from your friends, or your boredom, but nothing else really. As such, this title can provide a welcome introduction to the world of turn based strategy titles, but as a viable stand alone product for the well equipped gamer, it’s but a collection of upgrades. Fallacies or not however, it’s still got us playing it and offers hours of fun to those willing to invest the time!

Head on over to GamePyre for the full review!

Sniper Elite can be quite time consuming with its need for a perfect mission, but the kills can be worth it with interesting cinematics given for headshots. Gameplay centers around stealth and precise planning, in ways that remind me of the Hitman games. For $39.99, it can provide a lengthy and rewarding experience for those who enjoy determining the best way to render their enemy dead while not giving away their own position. Sniper junkies (like those who hog the sniper rifle on America’s Army round after round…) are sure to love every minute of it.

Check out the full review at GamePyre!

Happy Monday! We have a full slew of new reviews to link you to this morning. If you want a classly looking silver case, that’s also heavy enough to throw your back out, then check out Xtreme Computings review of the SilverStone TJ06. If you are an aspiring DJ, then you are probably quite familiar with Ministry of Sound, and now they have released a new product to help you along. Think Computers takes a look at the StikAx which allows you to mix songs to your hearts content, but most importantly, it’s easy.

techFEAR takes a look at my personal favorite Corsair modules, the 2GB 4000PT. They note that the price is awesome for the speed, and they are not even touching on the overclocking capabilities. Want a smokin’ ATI card? PC Per takes the ASUS AX1800XT TOP for a spin, and they conclude that it’s one of the faster single GPU setups they have tested. The addition of the full King Kong game and a gamepad make this card seem like a great bargain.

Cases & Enclosures
• An Introduction to Thermaltake’s BTX Form Factor Cases – BTX Form Factor
• I-Star Nitro AX S-10000 Full Tower – Mad Shrimps
• Silverstone TJ06 full ATX – Xtreme Computing

Cooling
• AzenX Evo-Jet 2in1 Heatsink – Pro-Clockers
• Thermaltake Blue Orb CPU Cooler – XYZ Computing

Memory & Storage
• Corsair TwinX2048-4000PT Evaluation – techFEAR
• Setting Up a Portable Office on a USB Drive – HDD Saver
• Tsunami Ice-1 Media Manager – Overclockers Online

Motherboards & CPU’s
• Foxconn 6150K8MA – Overclocker Cafe

Peripherals & Power Supplies
• Ministry of Sound StikAx – Think Computers
• SilverStone Strider ST56F 560W – Phoronix
• Thermaltake ThoughPower 550W PSU – Technic3D

Video Cards & Monitor
• ASUS AX1800 XT TOP – PC Perspective

Etcetera & Contests
• Announcing the ARP-Seagate Survey Contest Winner – Rojak Pot
• ASUS WL-550GE Wireless Router – Trusted Reviews
• Computer Power User (CPU) magazine giveaway – Case Mod God
• New Contest – GamePyre
• Olive Symphony Media Receiver – Design Technica

Although X2 – The Threat is still under development by the
talented folks over at Linux Game Publishing, many of the initial issues
seen by the closed BETA community that is testing this game have now
been resolved. Twice already we have done game-play performance
examinations with the various BETA candidates, but today we are finally
delivering some Linux X2 – The Threat screenshots. These images show the
various menus available as well as a few cut scenes and in-flight gaming
and the integrated benchmark. More images will be delivered upon the
retail availability of the game.

Check out the full look at Phoronix.

OCZ is one of the most well known manufacturer of enthusiast memory. Recently they have introduced their XTC line of heatspreaders which are engineered to keep temperatures of the memory down, even when overclocking. The PC2-4200 Gold XTC offer superb overclocking, even at stock voltage. We found that the default timings of 4-4-4-12 can be tightened a good deal without losing much overclocking headroom.

Check out the full review techPowerUp!

Kolink’s retail brand Coolink holds a strong presence in the Asian market and has achieved considerable success during the past years. With its product range and information preparation specifically tailored to the requirements of the European market, Coolink-Europe will open up the European retail market. Although Coolink is not yet really known in Europe but with these products they are on the right path to achieve more…

Check out the full review HardwareXL.

The latest Tyan motherboard to have entered the Phoronix
facilities was the K8E-SLI S2866, which was a Socket 939 solution with
an nForce Professional 2200 Chipset. Up for review today, we have Tyan’s
latest-and-greatest on the Intel server side of things, and making its
appearance, is the Tomcat i7230A S5160. The i7230A features dual PCI
Express connectors, two Broadcom LAN controllers, XGI Volari graphics,
and the Mukilteo Chipset.

Check out the full review at Phoronix.

MVKTech has just released a new version of NVIDIA BIOS Editor (NiBiTor) software. NiBiTor is the original and defenitive BIOS tweaker that supports the latest NVIDIA graphics cards. NiBiTor allows graphics card enthusiasts to have full control over advanced features and functionality found on firmware on supporting cards. This to gain some extra performance, enable hidden features and extra stability on the NVIDIA graphics cards.

Check out the new release right MVK Tech.

On a personal note this has been one of the easiest full installs that I have done in my six years working with computers, this is down to as I stated earlier to the massive amount of space in the motherboard area. I am so impressed with it in fact, that I think all enclosures should use this layout in some sort of config as it makes installing a much easier process.

Check out the full review Xtreme Computing.

While it may be easy to consider yourself to be a geek or gamer, it
has not always been easy to dress the part. Appalled by the paltry amount
of clothing available that is geared toward geeks and gamers and
embarrassed by the collection that did exist; two friends set out to create
a line of apparel that a geek or gamer may actually want to be seen in. The
result of their efforts is The Gravy Factory. Just who are these two
ambitious men and what does their Factory have to offer? Read on and find
out.

Check out the full article at A True Review.

Pumping out a full 38A on the single +12V rail is no joke and keeping it up to specifications at high loads during extreme temperatures is even harder. With efficiency near towards 80%, its no doubt why SilverStone claims that Zeus ST56ZF the most efficient single +12V rail PSU in the world. Read more as to why we found that the ST56ZF was showing numbers similar to the highly priced PCP&C Turbo Cool 510SLI unit.

Check out the full review at PC Modding Malaysia.

Lian Li has been making some of the most gorgeous aluminum Cases for years now. Previously I have used the Lian Li PC-65 and PC-75 and have always been fond of them. Things have gotten flashy lately with Cases, custom window panels, lights, gigantic fans – some of the new Cases I’ve found to just be downright tacky. When I first saw the Lian Li PC-V1000 and PC-V2000 line it was a breath of fresh air. Finally, here comes a Case that is just so perfect out of the box even the most hardcore modder will want to leave their dremel alone and just enjoy the natural beauty of the the PC-V2000.

Check out the full review at 3D Xtreme.

The best offerings in the X1300 and X1600 range are what we look at today, as the markers for their sub markets, so join us as we analyse RV515 and RV530 in a modicum of depth internally, before looking at the physical specifics and performance levels of X1300 PRO and X1600 XT.

Check out the full review over at Hexus.

Science Fiction, probably one of the most popular themes of video games, in the past and most likely in the future as well, combine that with strategy role playing games and you have the makings of something great. UFO Aftershock is the sequel to UFO Aftermath from Cenega. I have to be honest I never played Aftermath, but you don’t have to in order to play Aftershock. I do enjoy strategy games and the C&C series is one of my all time favorites, I also enjoy RPG games as well. Aftershock combines both of those into one great game.

Check out the full review over at Think Computers.