GamingNexus’s team visited the Microsoft GameScoreBlog event in Chicago last night and came back with a mini-review/impression of the forthcoming Microsoft Xbox 360 controller “upgrade”. They mention the version they handled was not the “final” and that they did not get much game time with the accessory but you can roll on over there to read their initial take.

Keeping up with the video card market is never easy, but Tech ARP has a full review of the Sapphire Radeon X1950. This low end Radeon card gets a comprehensive review over at Tech ARP thanks to writer Adrian Wong. Wong says that the card is a nice budget model but that it does not handle well when graphical flourish like Anti-aliasing is applied and suffers from poor Windows Vista driver support.

Gamers looking for a low cost card should enter into this purchase with some trepidation. Read the full article to see how it measured up in all the normal performance tests.

John Yan of Gamingnexus.com has a lengthy review of the mid-range DirectX 10 enabled GeForce 8600 GTS. Yan analyzes the cost for benefit on this newer card as well as major performance hallmarks to help you make the decision on if you should wait to purchase a DX 10 enabled 8600 GTS or wait for the higher-end cards to become reasonably priced. (After all there are not many DX 10 enabled games yet and it does require purchasing Vista if you didn’t get it free with your latest system.)

The latest update to your Nvidia ForceWare driver is here.

Release Highlights:

• WHQL certified driver.
• Increased performance in 3D applications.
• Numerous game and application compatibility fixes.
• Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0c and OpenGL® 2.1 support.
• Please read the release notes for more information on product support, feature limitations, and known compatibility issues.

This release fixes issues for games such as Splinter Cell: Double Agent, and Medal of Honor. It’s available now at Nvidia’s webstite.

Derek Wilson at tech site anandtech delivers a thorough and detailed review of ATI’s latest HD chip burner. The card, ATI’s  Direct X 10 high-end solution, is put through its paces and the reviewer determines if this latest ATI card is worthy of your investment. Be forewarned that this review is high on technical and engineering data – there are lots of statistics, charts and graphs. Skipping to the summary page may yield you the best use of your reading time if you don;t want the details.

The card costs around $400 and should be available at retail.

ATI or Nvidia? Here’s another review to help you decide.

It’s worth a mention because Endgadget usually has some worthwhile things to say about the products they talk about, and when it comes to deciding what video card to buy you’re going to need all the information you can get. What it comes down to is that it’s an investment, and there’s a whole bunch of regret involved when you don’t make the right buy.

The main comparison is between the HD 2900 XT and the GeForce 8800 GTX, of which Endgadget was more impressed was the latter. Also included were benchmark stats and other data.

Ah, yes. The age old question. Do I go with NVIDIA, or ATI?

It’s a tough battle between these two competitors, and NVIDIA just made a move to get its flagship card, the GeForce 8800 Ultra, out two weeks before ATI’s.

If you need an educated opinion, head over to Tech ARP to see what they have to say in their review about the card.

Maybe you should test out video cards the way they tested to see if people were witches–see if they float. And then burn them if they do.

NVIDIA has released new Win32 drivers for their GeForce 8800 cards. Those of you that take your gaming seriously, and have the money to prove it, would do well to download the latest update. Full patch notes of fixes and the like here. I would give you a more hands on story, and check the fixes for you, but unfortunately the 8800 NVIDIA meant to send me must have gotten lost in the mail. NVIDIA…hint….please?

Not getting the frame rates you had hoped for from that pricey GeForce 8800? It’s not Vista, and it’s not your game…it’s your card. TechArp has uncovered the truth that a bug in the manufacturing process is really to blame. What does this mean to all the gamers that shelled out the big bucks on what was supposed to be an awesome card? Click the link and find out.