Monday, September 07, 2009

186.91 now available

Another Windows Update release... 186.91 is now available.

Win7/Vista 64-bit

Win7/Vista 32-bit

More to follow...

Friday, September 04, 2009

NVIDIA SLI Profile Update #2

NVIDIA has posted their second SLI Profile update.

Version: SLI PROFILE UPDATE 2
Release Date: 2009.09.03
Operating System: Windows Vista, Windows Vista 64-bit, Windows XP 64-bit, Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows 7 64-bit
Language: English (U.S.)
File Size: 0.237 MB

This update adds support for:
Biohazard 5 (Resident Evil 5)
Call of Juarez: Blood in Bound Demo
Majesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim
Need for Speed: Shift


This update also provides increased performance for:
Batman: Arkham Asylum

Please note, the release specifically states:
This version of the NVIDIA profile update should be used with v190.62 WHQL display driver.

If you download this SLI Profile update and find reduced performance with your current driver, the best way to remove the update will be to uninstall your display driver completely and then reinstall your display driver.

DIRECT DOWNLOAD LINK

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Essential Apps (all freeware)

I've compiled a list of the main apps/utilities I use and recommend. I see multiple posts in the forums from new owners asking what monitoring app to use, etc. This list should cover all of the basics.

1. HWMonitor - a small app used to monitor CPU/GPU temps.

2. Auslogic's Disk Defrag - a very fast alternative to Vista's own Disk Defrag

3. GPU-Z - a lightweight utility which can be used to check clock speeds of your GPUs.

4. CPU-Z - another handy utility from the makers of HWMonitor, this little app will display info on your current CPU clocks/multiplier along with info on installed RAM, etc.

5. CCleaner - of all the registry cleaning tools I have tested, CCleaner is the safest and most effective of the bunch. This one I use almost daily to ensure the registry is free of old/non-essential entries. It can also be used to quickly access and enable/disable startup items.

6. Recuva - another top app from the makers of CCleaner, this utility can be used to restore files that have been accidentally deleted from your computer, memory cards, mp3 players, etc. If you've ever accidentally deleted an image from a camera memory card and needed to recover it, this is the app to have installed.

7. ExtractNow - is a great compliment to Vista's built-in .zip archive support. I use this one for all the .rar files I encounter. It supports the following formats: ZIP, RAR, ISO, BIN, IMG, IMA, IMZ, 7Z, ACE, JAR, GZ, LZH, LHA, TAR and SIT. I leave .zip archives to Vista, but the others are handled by ExtractNow.

8. Notepad++ - This is one of the best freeware source code editors I have ever used. This little app is essential when it comes to modding INF files and other formats. It also features a very handy built-in 'Compare' feature.

9. Stardock's LogonStudio Vista - this cool app is a lot of fun. You can take any .jpeg file and turn it into a Vista Logon screen. Take a look, this app is great. Did I mention the app does not have to be running in the background? Launch it, set your Logon Screen and hit apply. That's it.

There you have it - my recommended freeware app list. If I think of any others I'll update the list.