nVidia GTX 680 Surround Setup & Summary

I was lucky enough to bag myself one of the new nVidia Kepler offerings - the GTX 680. It has been a slightly longer wait than expected since putting together the Sandy Bridge E system. I've been sat with three screens but no ability to play surround as the 570 isn't capable of it alone, it requires another running in SLI and unfortunatley my second one failed.

Point of View were the only models in stock

I've been far too caught up in fiddling with the clocks and playing the odd game to sit down an run a long winded benching session, but a few scores are below.

GPUZ showing the highest clocks/temperatures achieved (MSI Afterburner was clocked at +214Mhz core and +360Mhz memory):

3DMark11 scored 10952 P points.

http://3dmark.com/3dm11/3046327;jsessionid=1xso1zmj71y0f13rdzpmbtzxv7

Battlefield 3 Benchmarks running in surround at 5760x1080 resolution:

Ultra Settings (Game used all 2GB of VRAM)

Frames	Time (ms)	Min	Max	Avg
3815	141647	21	37	26.933

High Settings (Game used 1.7GB max of VRAM)

Frames	Time (ms)	Min	Max	Avg
8198	187708	33	59	43.674

Ultra settings in single player were just about bearable, but an average of 27fps wasn't all that enjoyable. High was just right to play at, only a minimum of 33fps, so I was happy with that across a triple screen setup.

Skyrim isn't really worth mentioning, with everything set to full, official texture pack and the 2K texture pack, it will still return anywhere between 50 and 60 fps (Vsync on) on constant gameplay. I could unlock the vsync and see what more it can give at a later date.

Pics and screenshots to follow!

A quick phone snap of WoW spread across the three screens:

UPDATE: 24/7 Clock at +194 core, +500 mem, scored over 11.5K 3DMark11
http://3dmark.com/3dm11/3235185

Kepler Confirmation for April?

Yet again, no official announcements, however we've seen a lot of very similar rumours flying around now that indicate the release of Kepler cards around the second week of April.

If there is any truth in it, we'll be seeing some form of official statement in the next few weeks I would think.

Links:
http://hexus.net/tech/news/graphics/35933-nvidia-gtx-6xx-kepler-rumoured-production/

http://www.fudzilla.com/home/item/26069-kepler-gk104-cards-in-production

Mass Effect 3

It's been around 2 years now since Mass Effect 2 was pushed onto our shelves. Since then there have been a lot of eager gamers awaiting the launch of the third title in the series.

Well, as luck would have it, we have just under 3 weeks until the official release!

However, without spoiling it too much, ME3 brings the fight home; the Reapers launch an all-out assault on Earth. You take the role of Commander Shepard, as with the previous games, to carve your own path through the Mass Effect universe and to seek out a way to defeat the Reapers.

Expect to see many diversions to the main story arc though, with multiple quests that will take you to far out planets in search of god knows what.

ME3 brings something new to the table though, 4 player co-op mode! You will be able to team up with 3 friends to take on various challenges that will also reflect back on your single player campaign. Taking over enemy strongholds has been mentioned as one of these scenarios.

The demo is currently available to play at http://masseffect.bioware.com/ so if you're a fan of the series I'd grab it now!

Beta Roundup - Tera, Guild Wars 2, Diablo III & Others

We've got three games kicking around at the minute that are set to release quite soon. Most are now in beta stages or are set to enter beta fairly soon.

Tera Online
Pre-Beta. Registration open.
http://tera-europe.com/home.html

An MMO with a difference. Tera brings a new aspect to the world of MMOs - skill. You can, more often than not, get by in most of the MMOs around with some semblance of common sense and hand-eye coordination, specifically in PvE fights. However, Tera takes targeting to a whole new level.

With a crosshair.

That's right, you have to physically aim your spells. After all of the standard 3rd person MMOs I've played, this has been predominantly the case: Click target, cast damage/healing spell, wait for cast time, boom. Next.

Take a look at this video of the Archer gameplay. The mobs know when you've taken aim at them, there is a skill aspect involved in actually targeting your enemy as opposed to just having them on your targeting pane. I have a feeling this will be absolutely hilarious in a PvP environment and cannot wait to give it a try.


Guild Wars 2
Closed Beta, Open Beta in March. Registration not yet open.
http://www.guildwars2.com/en/

We finally see a sequel to the much loved Guild Wars. Again, another MMO doing something different this year. Guild Wars 2 brings a slightly different take to the traditional roles of tank, dps and healer, they name them Control, Damage and Support. For a start, every class will be able to resurrect, at level 1! There are no dedicated 'healers' in the game so to speak either. All healing will be done via self heals, support heals or defensive abilities, protective domes (positional) and so on.

Death is not the end. When you are pummeled to the ground in GW2, you do not die. Nope, you are given a second chance. You are placed into a 'Downed' mode, in which you can fight to your last dying breath. You can still be attacked and defeated in this state, but you are able to use certain abilities to turn the tides of battle. Certain professions (classes) have instant resurrects, that can get you straight back into the thick of the fight again.


Diablo III
In beta - limited keys available.
www.diablo3.com

 
It's taking a very, very long time for this to be released. The original promise was Christmas last year if I recall. That didn't happen. It was then 'early 2012', which, I suppose is still around now, but no release date as of yet (but we all know what Blizzard are like with their release dates). I would suspect it will arrive at some point during March as they will want to be competitive with other releases at this time, else they risk losing out.


The beta has technically started, however, I've not spoken to one person just yet who has a beta key here in the UK though that may just be not knowing the right people. If you are signed up for beta access, keep an eye on your battlenet account and the associated email address to see if you get in!



A few more...

It may be worth mentioning a few other releases I've had on my radar for a while. Some of these are works in progress, some are just rumours.


WoW: Mists of Pandaria 
http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/

We all know WoW is a lumbering behemoth of a game nowadays, so with the current content already complete, yet again comes the time for a new expansion. The next major delivery to the monster is Mists of Pandaria. Information was released last BlizzCon on the zones, dungeons, enemies, classes and so on.

The new playable race (Pandaren) are neutral and can 'side' with a faction at level 10 it seems. A new class (monk) is also being released. No auto attack is present on the monk! Their abilities are all active.

I think we should see MoP beta hit in the next three months some time. I would be disappointed if they released the actual game any later than early August, as with half the level increase in each expansion, they should really be bringing the packs at least 6 months closer between each one, so an 18 month release schedule as opposed to a 2 year one. I would hope for a June/July release of MoP.



Infinity Universe
http://www.infinity-universe.com/

I am hoping for big things from this project. It's being managed by a small team of 8 people but has been going for years now. In short it is a space simulator, similar in a way to EVE, however, there seems to be more emphasis on skill than how long you've had to train a certain ability. Their aim is to create a seamless universe, in which you can travel through space, head towards a planet and instead of a loading screen where you 'land' and then can walk around etc, you should technically be able to fly towards the planet, enter the atmosphere, fly around the surface, and just head towards space again to leave the planet.

This video was recorded almost two years ago:

 

 

In conclusion, I think we have a few good games on the horizon for 2012, and some (Infinity) to watch develop into something possibly fantastic over the coming years.

nVidia Kepler Rumours

So, the mill seems to have been turning! We've seen an article appear on Tom's that has taken some of its information from the Chiphell website. It seems to indicate the timescale for the arrival of the new nVidia Kepler cards:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Nvidia-Kepler-GTX680-GPU-geforce,14499.html

Again, this is a rumour, not fact. It speculates that the new series of cards will hold the 600 series nomenclature, which opposes some previous rumours stating that the 600 series was being ditched for mobile GPUs, as the 300 series was, and that they were skipping to the 700 series instead.

Not only that but it also states that the new '680' card, may not actually host their flagship core, as has mostly been the case before. Hosting a 780MHz clock speed and 2GB of VRAM, it sounds half decent.

[Speculation]I personally think, if this is to be believed, that this card could be a quick release from nVidia. With AMD currently holding the top spot, they are losing out on cash. I also have a feeling that this is not going to be all nVidia have to offer. Again, if it's to be believed, this card may well be the successor to the '560(Ti)' card, with another release of an even higher single GPU card later in the year. Of course, I could be entirely wrong![/Speculation]

SOPA Stopped Me

I've taken myself offline for today in protest of SOPA and PIPA. A bunch of ridiculous bills the US Congress are trying to pass.

Read more here: http://sopastrike.com/strike/

Support the strike!

Site now back up - thanks for the support and let's hope it achieved something.

Crucial Release Firmware Fix for M4

Crucial announced last Friday that their firmware fix for the M4 SSD went live.

The release was to fix the issue with the drives, where once they reach 5184 power on hours, they would become unresponsive and cycle down. This is just over 7 months of power on time for the drives.

The fix includes all of the changes made in 0009 and you can upgrade from any lower firmware version.

I have just run the update across my two M4's in the desktop and the one in the laptop too without any issue.

See Crucial's website for the files:  http://www.crucial.com/support/firmware.aspx