The Pxl Lab is a blog dedicated to writing about the great games, software, and the stuff you can do with them.
Posts tagged new
ATI Catalyst 9.2 WHQL Drivers Released
03 years ago
ATI released their newest set of Catalyst drivers, which brings the improvements listed below. You can read through the entire changelog (PDF) if you want more in-depth information. Also, be aware that there is a hotfix released for the HD2000 and HD3000 series, which you can download along with the drivers below.
- Crysis DirectX 10 performance gain up to 20%
- Crysis Warhead DirectX 10 performance gain up to 20%
- World in Conflict gains up to 5%
- There are also multiple bugs resolved, both in the CCC (Catalyst Control Center) and in various games like Call of Duty 4.
Download: ATI Catalyst 9.2 drivers
Download: ATI Catalyst 9.2 hotfix for HD2000 and HD3000 cards
nVidia 182.06 WHQL Drivers Released
13 years ago
nVidia released their latest set of drivers, 182.06, which come packed with improvements in many games and full OpenGL 3.0 support. These drivers work with GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, and 200-series cards. Here’s what comes with the download:
- Recommended for the best experience in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.
- Boosts performance in several 3D applications. The following are examples of improvements measured with Release 182.06 WHQL drivers vs. Release 181.22 WHQL drivers (results will vary depending on your GPU, system configuration, and game settings):
- Up to 8% performance increase in Fallout 3 at high resolution and AA.
- Up to 10% performance increase in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.
- Up to 9% performance increase in Half-Life 2 at high resolution with AA.
- Up to 11% performance increase in Left 4 Dead at high resolution with AA.
- Up to 10% performance increase in Race Driver: GRID at high resolution and AA
- Includes full support for OpenGL 3.0 on GeForce 8-series, 9-series, and 200-series GPUs.
- Automatically installs the new PhysX System Software version 9.09.0203.
Download : nVidia ForceWare 182.06 for Windows XP 32-bit
Download : nVidia ForceWare 182.06 for Windows XP 64-bit
Google Chrome – The New Look of Future Browsing?
2
Could Google’s attempt at an internet browser be a huge success, or just a flop? Google released Google Chrome on September 2nd and they are making some pretty big claims about their new browser. I’ll start first with the mechanics behind the browser.
Chrome uses a different method behind it’s tab system. Instead of opening each tab under the same process, and lagging the computer as well as consuming memory, some of which cannot be reused until you restart, Chrome opens each tab in a new process. In this way, if one tab goes faulty, the whole browser doesn’t crash, just the tab. If you prefer to use tabs over windows, this is the browser for you. If you prefer to use windows over tabs, this is the browser for you. It’s unique drag and drop design allows you to separate tabs into windows, and windows back into tabs again. This is all done at a quick speed, and there is no lag time involved. (more…)
Inside the Team Fortress 2 Heavy Update
03 years ago
The Heavy update for TF2 has been out for about a week and a half now, giving players time to earn and use their new weapons and sandviches on normal maps. Here’s a rundown on the content introduced in the Heavy update:
- A fan-made map, CP_Steel, is added to the offical map list
- Arena mode released, giving TF2 a deathmatch gamemode
- A new Valve map, Badwater Basin, released for both Payload and Arena gamemodes.
- 38 new achievements for the Heavy to unlock
- 3 unlocks for the Heavy: the Sandvich, Natascha, and the Killing Gloves of Boxing.
I played on an achievement server to unlock the 3 new unlocks, then I went onto my favorite Gib$Ru$ server, Dustbowl 24/7, and tried them out. I ended up using the Sandvich more than I thought I would on defense, but on offense, it does absolutely no good because you never have 4 seconds of spare time. Natascha, which slows down enemies but doesn’t do as much damage, doesn’t seem to have much of an impact on gameplay, so I would recommend staying with Sasha. Finally, the K.G.B.’s are a great new unlock, and even with the “slower” punch times, you’ll never want to go back to normal fists.
nVidia Power Pack Brings New Drivers and Physics to Gamers
03 years ago
This week, nVidia released their first ever “Power Pack,” one of many planned to be released. This power pack comes with new drivers for the nVidia Geforce 8-series or newer, bringing nVidia PhysX to gamers around the world. Astute gamers will notice that Ageia is not developing PhysX anymore; this is because nVidia bought the company in February and began integrating the technology into their video cards. PhysX brings some really awesome features to gamers, such as:
- Explosions that cause dust and collateral debris
- Characters with complex, jointed geometries for more life-like motion and interaction
- Realistic weather effects, with forces such as tornadoes directly modifying the world
- Cloth that drapes and tears naturally
- Dense smoke & fog that billow around objects in motion
The Force Within Power Pack itself comes with a slew of games and programs to make use of the PhysX technology. From the Unreal Tournament 3 PhysX mod to Folding@Home, the pack will hopefully continue to be a showcase of ground-breaking games, mods, and programs. You can stay up-to-date on future nVidia news at The Pxl Lab.
Genesis Joins the Group
04 years ago
by Genesis
in Randomness
Hello, my name is Genesis (AKA baby_Lord). I represent a new beginning of writing here at The Pxl Lab. I will be writing reviews mainly on books and games. I may occasionally throw in something else, but hey, that’s my choice, I’ll write about whatever I want, unless of course Pxl_Buzzard decides to delete it. I read quite a bit, and my first book reviews are going to be on an author who goes by the name of Ted Dekker. You should give him a look over, he writes suspense filled stories about killers and other such topics. I will also write reviews on Wii games, starting with Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I hope you stay tuned in to keep up to date on all the things that matter here at The Pxl Lab.
New Theme for The Pxl Lab
04 years ago
by Thomas
in Randomness
For you newcomers, we have just recently changed our theme to Daily32 by DailyBlogTips. Pxl_Buzzard has been working very hard for about three weeks editing it, to ensure it to be bug free. However, bugs are unavoidable, so we would love you to test out our new theme, and post any comments, critique, or any bugs that you may find while browsing the blog. Thanks very much!
- Thomas, Japanerd, and Pxl_Buzzard
And thank you WordPress, for making this beautiful blog software.
New Theme On The Blog
24 years ago
by Pxl_Buzzard
in Randomness
I realize that this isn’t something new in the overall scheme of things, but I thought I would mention the fact that the blog now has a new theme thanks to these guys, but of course I modified the theme to make it a black and green combo instead of full green. I hope to use this theme for a good while, as it is very customizable so that I can do whatever I feel like doing to it (maybe having a spot of tea on Sunday’s or something like that). If you have any suggestions about what could make it EVEN awesomer looking, feel free to leave a comment.