TweakGuides.com is devoted to providing you with a range of detailed tweak guides to help you understand and optimize your computer. The place to start is with the TweakGuides Tweaking Companion, a free PDF guide for Windows XP and Windows Vista:
Valve Hardware Survey
16 May 2008
Valve has released an updated snapshot of over 1.7 million gaming PCs which use the Steam client in the form of their Hardware Survey. The results are interesting as always, and include such facts as: a 42% vs. 58% split between AMD and Intel systems; a 62% vs. 30% breakdown of Nvidia vs. AMD graphics card users; approximately 74% of users on 4:3 aspect ratio monitors; and almost 40% with 2GB of RAM or more.
Creative ALchemy 1.10.01
16 May 2008
Creative has released an updated Version 1.10.01 of the ALchemy software for Windows Vista. This version resolves some issues with Vista SP1. Note that ALchemy is now free for both Audigy and X-Fi users, however to download the latest version you will need to go to the Creative Support Site and look under the Applications downloads for your sound card.
Microsoft WorldWide Telescope
15 May 2008
Microsoft has launched a beta of the WorldWide Telescope application. Similar to Google Sky, it allows users to view a range of space imagery from various ground- and space-based observatories.
AutoRuns 9.21
14 May 2008
Microsoft has released AutoRuns 9.21, updating this free startup software identification utility. The only fix is a correction to the version number in the about box.
Nvidia Official Forceware 175.16
14 May 2008
Nvidia has released the Official Forceware 175.16 drivers for Windows XP and Vista. These drivers are the WHQL certified versions of the recently released 175.16 Beta Forceware drivers - the only change is the certification. They are for all GeForce 6,7,8 and 9 series graphics cards, and contain a range of fixes and new features. Having tested this driver in both XP and Vista I highly recommend it as it provides excellent image quality and performance, and does not suffer from any obvious bugs or broken features.
Microsoft Security Updates
14 May 2008
Microsoft has released its monthly set of Windows security updates which you can get through Windows Update, or if not there by viewing and downloading them from here.
Assassin's Creed 1.02 Patch
14 May 2008
Ubisoft has released the 1.02 Patch for Assassin's Creed. The changes include a range of bug fixes, proper support for 64-bit Windows, and a DirectX 10.1 fix. I have updated the Assassin's Creed Tweak Guide for the changes - see page 4 for details.
Realtek HD Audio 1.92
14 May 2008
Realtek has released Version 1.92 of its HD Audio drivers.
Game Patches
14 May 2008
AutoRuns 9.2
13 May 2008
Microsoft has released AutoRuns 9.2, updating this free startup software identification utility. This version fixes some 64-bit issues, adds support for Winsock notification DLLs, and allows importing and exporting of scan results.
CPU-Z 1.45
13 May 2008
A new Version 1.45 of the CPU-Z information utility has been released. This version includes support for new chipsets.
Game Patches
13 May 2008
For previous news items go to the Archived News