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Driver Booster 8 Now Helps Offline Computers

Just like any machine, computers need maintenance. More specifically, the drivers that power your computer’s hardware and game components have to be kept up-to-date or you could experience sound and display glitches, slow downs, crashes, or even the complete disabling of certain components such as your mouse or monitor. Yet, keeping up with the dozens and dozens of drivers your PC needs to function correctly is a practically impossible task for a human. Fortunately, IObit – leaders in PC health solutions – have just released a new version of its Drive Booster software to get the job done for you.

Driver Booster 8

Now in its eighth release, Driver Booster continues to improve the way in which it keeps PCs humming along with the right driver updates as soon as they are released.

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For this version of the software, IObit has once again upped Driver Booster’s database. It now monitors over a whopping 4.5 million drivers and game components. Once updates are identified, they can be installed quickly and safely, thanks to the fact that all updates come from the official manufacturer’s website, and have passed both IOBit testing as well as Microsoft’s Windows Hardware Quality Lab (WHQL) tests, which gives the stamp of approval to drivers made by companies other than Microsoft.

The updates can fix problems with a simple click that might otherwise take hours of searching and experimenting to solve.

“According to TechRadar ’s article: Windows 10 has killed off driver updates via Device Manager“ said Bing Wang, Product Director at IObit, “So now it could be harder for common users to get the latest device drivers. Driver Booster 8 is a great choice for all PC users, as it includes fresh but safe drivers in its database, is easy to use, and it can help users solve common driver issues like no sound and network failure problems.”

Offline Update Now Included

Keeping your drivers up-to-date is hard enough when you are connected to the internet, but what happens when the drivers that get you online (like your wireless adapter) fail and your computer has no way to connect? Driver Booster 8 now has a solution.

Thanks to its Offline Driver Update, the software can get your unconnected computer back online in a few short steps. You simply download the drivers to a computer that can connect and transfer them over to the non-functioning machine. The software walks you through every step of the process and fills in a vital gap that was missing in the driver-update landscape.

Driver Booster 8 is now available on IObit and Softonic. It can fully support Windows 10, 8/8.1, 7, XP and Vista.

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IObit turbocharges latest release of Advanced SystemCare Ultimate to keep PCs safe and speedy

If you own a PC, you’re already familiar with the need for robust antivirus software. You might also be acquainted with software that scans your computer and helps you make tweaks to keep it humming along efficiently rather than getting bogged down with useless files and malware. What you might not know is that IObit has been producing a software solution that combines both of these functions, and that in its latest release of the program – Advanced SystemCare Ultimate 13 – it has injected a significant dose of new tech to ensure that its solution is one of the best on the market at this time.

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For starters, Advanced SystemCare Ultimate 13 has been bestowed with an antivirus database that is 30 percent larger than in the previous release, along with a spyware database that is a whopping 200 percent larger than in the past. This bleeding-edge digital gold mine ensures that the software is now entirely equipped to identify even the most recently unleashed online threats.

On top of this, IObit partnered with Bitdefender, a global cybersecurity leader, to update its antivirus algorithm – meaning that real-time protection against threats including viruses, malware, worms, Trojan horses, spyware and ransomware are now at an industry-leading level.

Advanced SystemCare Ultimate 13’s protective features have also been expanded to monitor system emails to guard against spam, phishing scams and more, while the program’s Surfing Protection functionality indicates unsafe links when search results are returned, allowing users to steer clear of potentially troublesome websites.

So that covers the improvements to Advanced SystemCare Ultimate 13’s protection software. What about its PC cleaning and optimizing functions? IObit has introduced significant improvements here as well.

As with the protective side of the software, it starts with a database upgrade. The Startup Organization database has been increased by 30 percent to speed boot time by eliminating unnecessary processes and system services. Beyond this, Advanced SystemCare Ultimate 13 has a stronger PC cleaning function, which zaps junk off your hard drive like temp files and the cache files kept by programs such as Dropbox, Steam, Chrome Firefox and more. A file shredder functionality completely eliminates deleted files, a context menu helps clear out unwanted shortcuts without a trace, more robust privacy shields guard against the leakage of personal information, and a multiple accounting cleaning utility allows full machine optimization without the need to switch accounts.

“With the continuous appearance of new viruses, we consistently value the expansion of our anti-virus & spyware database, we believe that only if we insistently extend the anti-virus database we can truly deal with rampant viruses” said Bing Wang, the Product Director at IObit, “Advanced SystemCare Ultimate 13 aims at providing users a more secure and stable PC with a larger anti-virus database and more powerful cleaning, that can rank among the top comprehensive utilities of antivirus and system optimization.”

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Advanced SystemCare Ultimate 13 is now available on Softonic. It provides full support for Windows 10, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 7, Windows XP and Vista.

Top 6 Microsoft Excel alternatives for Mac and PC

Excel isn’t your only option; check out these alternatives!

Microsoft Office has been a business standard for a long time now. Despite how common it is, using it over and over again can get very dry. Also, if you have to pay for it yourself, Microsoft Office can be a little expensive. Because of this, many people have been looking for alternative options for both their business and personal use. Excel is one of the more complicated programs offered by Microsoft Office, so finding an alternative can be a difficult task. Thankfully, there are plenty of free and cheap options.

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Top 6 Microsoft Excel alternatives for Mac and PC

LibreOffice

While LibreOffice lacks a few formatting options when compared to Excel, it is offered as a free alternative to all Microsoft Office products. Since LibreOffice only offers the basic functionality of Excel, it isn’t often that you’ll see this program in a business setting, but it can make for a free program to use at home.

If you need something to help keep organized or to help with some basic number balancing, it’s a good option. LibreOffice is available for both Mac and PC.

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WPS Office

Another option available on both Mac and PC, WPS Office is not only a good alternative to Excel but Word as well!

Most free spreadsheet programs will struggle to have complex programs but provide simple features that can be nice for smaller data management. WPS Office is the middle ground between most free programs and more powerful ones like Excel.

While it won’t be able to perform as complex features like Excel, it is generally a more user-friendly program. That being said, if you choose to pay for it, you will be able to get most of the complex features that Excel itself has.

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Google Sheets

This may seem like an obvious choice, but the Google Suite provides completely free alternatives to all Microsoft Office products. That being said, Google Sheets has the added bonus over Excel that you are able to use it as part of a browser. Additionally, Google Sheets allows for real-time collaboration. All you have to do is invite other Gmail users to edit your work and they’ll be able to start on it with you right away. Once again, this is available on both Mac and PC.

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Numbers

This one is Mac exclusive, but it is super helpful.

As with most Apple products, their spreadsheet program is well-known for being one of the most user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing spreadsheet programs out there. Workbooks are able to be saved and worked on in a variety of formats, allowing you to use practically any spreadsheet with Numbers. It also has many helpful and easy-to-use templates for those who may not be the most familiar with these types of programs.

Thinkfree

Thinkfree Office is often compared to Google Suite applications, as they are both provide free alternatives to Microsoft Office. Thinkfree’s spreadsheet application is much easier to learn than similar programs, like Excel, which makes it useful for those who are less tech-savvy. Unlike LibreOffice, it also provides a variety of formatting options, making it easily compatible with Excel itself.

Although Thinkfree is available for both Mac and PC, most online tutorials you will find online are in Spanish. If that proves to be a language barrier for you, this might not be your best option.

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Gnumeric

Gnumeric is an open-source spreadsheet program that can be used for easy and simple data management. However, since it is an open-source program, it can be customized to do practically anything. While it will start as one of the less complex spreadsheet programs, it can become one of the most powerful ones. It is great for both beginners and experts; however, it is not available for Mac.

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Wrapping up

If you’re a beginner with spreadsheet programs, you may also want to check out our Softonic Solutions’ Best Excel Tutorials to get some help on getting started. Many of these programs can be a bit complex. Let us know in the comments below about which program worked best for you!

How to choose your graphics card

From price to speed, there are so many things to consider when buying a graphics card!

When you’re building your new gaming PC, one of the most expensive single pieces you’ll end up buying is your graphics card. If you’re going to dish out a few hundred bucks for one, you better make sure that you are getting the best one for all of your needs.

We took a look at some of the best graphics cards on the market, and what you should consider before adding it to your cart. Price is far from the only thing you should consider as some of these can make all of the difference depending on your needs.

How to choose your graphics card

The main things you need to look into when choosing a graphics card are GPU/memory, cooling, noise, size, aesthetics, and extra features. We’re going to go through these features one by one to let you know why each is important.

GPU/Memory

With GPU and memory comes speed, and this can vary drastically based on what kind of graphics card you buy. On one hand, you might have a graphics card that can let you play the most heavily modded version of Skyrim you can find with no issue, or you can have one that struggles to play Tetris.

Check to see what the games you want to play require for a GPU in order to play them fluidly and fast.

If speed is the name of the game for you, we’d recommend the Zotac GeForce GTX 1070. With 1070 GPU, you get some of the highest speed you can get for the price of $350.

Cooling/Noise

Fan comparison — You might be able to save a few bucks if you get a graphics card with a small fan or only one fan, but you risk the GPU overheating and have to deal with a lot of noise.

When buying a graphics card, take a look a the quality of fans that go into them. Fans are what keep your graphics card from overheating, and help reduce noise. If you have good fans, then your GPU stays cool and quiet. A single fan or a small fan can mean that your PC will run hot and loud.

The Zotac GeForce GTX 1070 is still a good option in this department, but if you are willing to compromise speed and memory, the Diyeeni Colorful GTX 1060 is a solid choice. Your GPU will run nice and cool, and it will be as quiet as a church mouse. You can even pick this one up for less than $300. Don’t worry, you can still play Skyrim with this bad boy.

Size

Depending on the size of your device’s chassis, you may be limited on the size of the graphics card you can buy. Just so you know, it would really stink if you bought a big, expensive, non-refundable graphics card only to find out it’s far too big. This is why many people choose their graphics card first and then build a PC around it.

Your typical chassis for a decent gaming PC will support a graphics card as big as 12 inches by 9.63 inches. However, if you are going to get yourself a smaller chassis, you can be limited to 9.63 inches by 9.63 inches or even 6.75 inches by 6.75 inches.

The Zotac GeForce GTX 1070 and the Diyeeni Colorful GTX 1060 can fit inside the large chassis with no issue. However, if your chassis has a smaller limit, there are other options. For the 9.63 by 9.63 chassis, the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050 is a great option. If you have the smallest option, go with the Gigabyte GeForce GT 1030.

Aesthetics and extra features

Before you buy a graphics card, make sure you are buying one that comes with a good warranty. If your graphics card gets fried because of a faulty piece, you need to make sure that you have a warranty that will cover the damage. However, there are other features you can look into to bundle into your purchase.

GeForce typically has game bundles for some of their bigger graphics cards. Be careful though; you don’t want to spend an extra $500 just to get one or two games that cost $60 each.

Wrapping up

If we had to pick the best graphics card on the market right now, we’d have to go with the Zotac GeForce GTX 1070. For the price, there just isn’t anything else on the market that will let you play games in such high quality. You can play pretty much whatever you want in beautiful 1080p at high speeds without much risk of your PC overheating.

Coolest future gaming tech from E3 2019

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Watch: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reveal trailer

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare says goodbye to annual passes, and hello to free content!

After eight years of waiting, gamers are finally getting the next Modern Warfare game in the Call of Duty lineup. Activision released the trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and the hype is real:

To make things even better, we don’t have to wait very long before this comes out. The trailer ends by giving us a release date of Oct. 25 of this year!

New features

According to Kotaku, the game will feature the following updates:

Modern Warfare will remove annual passes. Instead, it will deliver free maps, content, and post-launch events to all players. Although these features will be free, we don’t know whether or not Activision will include any paid content.
The game will feature cross-play support between PC and consoles. We don’t know if Xbox One users can play against PS4 players, but they will be able to play against PC users.
The PC version is exclusive to Battle.net
Modern Warfare will be on a completely new engine.
In the campaign mode, players will traverse through European cities as well as the Middle East.
You will be able to play co-op in “Elite Operations.”
There will be an “immersive narrative experience” crossing single-player, co-op, and competitive multiplayer.

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What did the trailer show?

If you’re looking for next-level storytelling, Call of Duty simply isn’t the franchise for you. As far as stories go, there really isn’t a single Call of Duty game with a noteworthy story, and this game doesn’t look like it will be an exception. That said, we do get a shot of the return of fan-favorite character Captain Price.

Although the story looks lacking, the graphics look absolutely top notch.

Characters move throughout the world without the landscape blurring around them. This suggests that the game has low motion blur. Over the past few years, motion blur has made its way into games. Basically, motion blur keeps characters looking crisp when the camera moves while the backgrounds get blurry. The Uncharted series is a prime example of a franchise with big motion blur issues.

Luckily, everything in this game looks crisp no matter how intense things get.

How will this be different from other Call of Duty games?

To be perfectly blunt, Call of Duty games don’t often stray from their winning formula. Call of Duty games consistently sell millions of copies despite the fact that each game feels like more of the same.

However, Activision appears to be atoning for sins of the past, and for that we’re excited. Not having to pay extra for more maps, content, and events is a huge step in the right direction.

Do we think this game is going to be a contender for Game of the Year? Probably not. Death Stranding looks like it will have that on lockdown. However, it does look like it will set a positive tone for Call of Duty games in the future.