AGEIA PhysX Processor Technology Preview

so I'm guessing even _IF_ this card does improve gaming quality and FPS us laptop gamers and totaly screwed, right?
 
the chip could be easily integrated on a motherboard via pci/pci-e. doesnt appear to be a power hog... though a laptop like that it would be more of a DTR anyway.
 
Deviationer said:
so I'm guessing even _IF_ this card does improve gaming quality and FPS us laptop gamers and totaly screwed, right?
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Unless the board partners are willing to create a version that runs directly off the MB or the graphics card, then yes, you are screwed.
 
The Cobra said:
Unless the board partners are willing to create a version that runs directly off the MB or the graphics card, then yes, you are screwed.
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PCMCIA?
 
i have two questions.

can current game titles benefit form this new tech (like COD series, UT series, BF2 & AA..... i play mostly online FPS) if developers release a patch that adds support for it?

or is it only for specific games in development now and games in the future if the tech catches on?
 
USMC2Hard4U said:
One question that probly has already been answered. What benifit will this physics PPU card give me on a game that is 2 or so years old... say... Halo, or Counterstrike Source? Maybe even a game like World of Warcraft?
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I agree, I'd like to drag out some OLD fun titles and see if they play any different even with a patch.
Quake3 and Nerf Arena Blast! Will live forever! :)
 
dreamcast87 said:
i have two questions.

can current game titles benefit form this new tech (like COD series, UT series, BF2 & AA..... i play mostly online FPS) if developers release a patch that adds support for it?

or is it only for specific games in development now and games in the future if the tech catches on?
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Highly doubtful. They would have to re-write the underlying code and repatch the game. That would seem kinda redundent just for the simple reason that newer games are being developed. Maybe for a game liek COD2, QUake 4 ect ect....but for older games like Q3 and UT2004, that would really be overkill.
 
Imagine RTS games with native 1920x1200 resolution support with this card!!!!!?!?!??!!

100,000 unit battles in Warhammer Mark of Chaos = RTSgasms
 
Kritter said:
PCMCIA?
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Again highly doubtful. For them to condense the PhysX card down to this scale would require alot of reverse enginnering on this product. Plus the laptop gaming market is a VERY VERY VERY VERY small niche market.
 
Brent_Justice said:
Maybe!
Check it
http://www.beyondunreal.com/main/ut2007/about.php
That is a lot earlier than I thought it would be out, originally I had heard fall of '06.
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Did anyone catch this "Expect the minimum spec graphics card to be an NVIDIA GeForce FX or ATI Radeon 9700 level card."
That game has me SALAVATING!
I especially like the ability to fient death part.
Ok so maybe the Agia PPU should be in the minumum specs.
 
Jasonx82 said:
i hope pcie is not to far off :eek:
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True.dat

This is probably the biggest thing yet.

My Last PC was top of the line. It only had 2 PCI slots... those were taken with my X-Fi and TV Tuner.

However I have 2 PCIe 1x slots just chillin... so hopefully they utilize them...
 
Wow those movies are awesome, I remember the first time I played the HL2 physics demo and how cool it was to play around with a single object now with this card it makes it 1000k fold, I will be buying this card and hope move developers get on this bandwagon imagine a mech game using this PPU, DROOL….
 
GabooN said:
Wow those movies are awesome, I remember the first time I played the HL2 physics demo and how cool it was to play around with a single object now with this card it makes it 1000k fold, I will be buying this card and hope move developers get on this bandwagon imagine a mech game using this PPU, DROOL….
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a shogo 2 would do nicely. :D
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't it suggested that F.E.A.R. already took advantage of the PPU? If so, that would be a good reason to get a Dell, extract the PhysX card and test it.
 
Ockie said:
Will nvidia be integrating this technology in their cards instead of having a seperate card?
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All SM 3.0 GPUs are already multi-capable processors, such as the ability to do physics.
 
Sgt Hobo said:
Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't it suggested that F.E.A.R. already took advantage of the PPU? If so, that would be a good reason to get a Dell, extract the PhysX card and test it.
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F.E.A.R. uses the Havok physics engine.
 
Brent_Justice said:
All SM 3.0 GPUs are already multi-capable processors, such as the ability to do physics.
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Wouldn't that be "soft"-physics?
I just watched this video http://www.fileshack.com/file.x?fid=8558 And the collisions and the AMOUNT of objects made me go :eek:

Terra - Now tell me if NVIDIA's/HAVOCK's/ATI's solution can do that kind of physics? :)
 
Terra said:
Wouldn't that be "soft"-physics?
I just watched this video http://www.fileshack.com/file.x?fid=8558 And the collisions and the AMOUNT of objects made me go :eek:

Terra - Now tell me if NVIDIA's/HAVOCK's/ATI's solution can do that kind of physics? :)
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I haven't seen any demonstrations of a GPU doing physics personally. I do know they can do 10,000's of objects though, just like the PPU.

NVIDIA is demonstrating this at GDC this week, hopefully some videos of it in action will crop up on the web.


Like we were talking about in the other thread if you are a hardcore gamer/enthusiast and you want your cake and eat it to then you'll want the PPU (for games using Ageias physics engine) and you'll want a couple of GPUs in SLI (for games using Havok FX as a physics engine).

Cause games are not going to support both, it comes down to what games you will be playing and what physics engine they are using.
 
I can't wait for this thing to reach its true potential. Screw the Havok solution, I don't want to sacrifice graphics power for slightly better physics.

This Aegia thing seems to be the real deal in actually changing gameplay and providing the best physics possible. A totally dedicated solution.

Just think... some guy is hiding in a room and you need to get in, you place some C4 on the side of the building while he is guarding the front door... BOOM you bust in the back wall while debris and dust is all over and you start spraying, hitting the guy and one of your bullets *actually* penetrates the wall behind him killing his teammate :D Then you can peek through that hole and see if there is anyone else in there.

The only problem is finding an expansion slot... 2 GPUs and a sound card make that a problem :(. Maybe an external solution?

This reminds me of when the Voodoo came out :p
 
bop says....
Just think... some guy is hiding in a room and you need to get in, you place some C4 on the side of the building while he is guarding the front door... BOOM you bust in the back wall while debris and dust is all over and you start spraying, hitting the guy and one of your bullets *actually* penetrates the wall behind him killing his teammate Then you can peek through that hole and see if there is anyone else in there.
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that is indeed cool but will developers take the time to acutually make a game like that.... i think not.

the most they'll do now is add more pretty explosions with this in PPU

our grandkids will be playing a game like you described and we'll be too old to play. :)
 
i'm not sure what SLI boards you guys are running, buy my ASUS A8N easily has enough slots for 2 PCI cards, the 3rd PCI slot is not usuable while in SLI with large Heatsinks..

but if you have single slot HSFs on your cards then there is 3 usuable expansion slots..

back in the day, 3 expansion slots was not enough (i remember filling a 5 expansion slot motherboard).. but now 3 expansion slots is quite a bit with a lot of stuff being onboard..
 
I submitted a quote request to my Dell rep for a price on one of these, we'll see how it turns out.

This is the Dell description and part number:

PhysX Accelerator:
AGEIA® PhysX® Physics Accelerator PHYSX [320-4785] 200
 
1. I think that NVIDIA's solution can do just as many objects, but at the same time sacrifices shader performance, unless you buy a dedicated video card just for physics, but that would be redundant as you might as well buy the PhysX.

2. Maybe new games, during the transition period, could offer the user two options:
--Physics processing on PhysX, or
--Physics processing on GPU, with less graphics performance.
That way people wouldn't be forced to buy a PhysX to play the newer games.

3. I wonder if these things will develop into a market more like the sound card or video card market? Will they become add-in cards that only change every 3-4 years, aren't modified, and don't receive much hype? Or, will they become a mandatory part of a gaming system, upgrading every year, with new cores being hyped over and people watercooling and overclocking them?
 
H-street said:
i'm not sure what SLI boards you guys are running, buy my ASUS A8N easily has enough slots for 2 PCI cards, the 3rd PCI slot is not usuable while in SLI with large Heatsinks..

but if you have single slot HSFs on your cards then there is 3 usuable expansion slots..

back in the day, 3 expansion slots was not enough (i remember filling a 5 expansion slot motherboard).. but now 3 expansion slots is quite a bit with a lot of stuff being onboard..
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I'll be running a K8N Diamond Plus board, which has enough room for 2 dual slot GPUs, a PCI slot and two PCIe slots(1x and 4x). Thing is I only have one PCI slot for the sound card so I'd have to wait for the PCIe version :(

Same thing goes with the A8N32, except there is only enough room for one more 4x card at the top of the first GPU.
 
I'm wondering if the PPU will be like graphics - where you upgrade it every 6 months, or if it will be a one-time purchase. I mean, developers are creating better and better graphics, but it's not like they can continue to increase the number of objects. Computer graphics may never reach true realism due to the depth of detail required, but physics are only so complicated. Since it's all math, I can easily see Ageia making a PhysX processor that 100% perfectly imitates real life. What then?
 
I dunno, I was watching the 3 Ageia game videos out today, take note of the BetOnSoldier video.

http://www.fileshack.com/browse.x?cat=3323

I noticed it getting choppy, I don't think it was the video, it looks like the game was getting a bit choppy there.

Someone else download it and watch it and tell me if i'm crazy.

Cell Factor looked great though, it was the most impressive.
 
InorganicMatter said:
I'm wondering if the PPU will be like graphics - where you upgrade it every 6 months, or if it will be a one-time purchase. I mean, developers are creating better and better graphics, but it's not like they can continue to increase the number of objects. Computer graphics may never reach true realism due to the depth of detail required, but physics are only so complicated. Since it's all math, I can easily see Ageia making a PhysX processor that 100% perfectly imitates real life. What then?
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Touch...

Feel...

Smell...

Artificial intelligence...

Terra - The list is long, and I even read about someone wanting to make an game A.I. chip a while back...
 
jebo_4jc said:
There's only 1 at this point, but I'm sure other versions will follow in time. ASUS apparently makes cards for OEMs (Dell, Alienware) and BFG will make the retail cards that we can buy.
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BFG is also suppliying Aleinware and FalconNorthwest accordingto the BFG sales lady I spoke to
 
InorganicMatter said:
I'm wondering if the PPU will be like graphics - where you upgrade it every 6 months, or if it will be a one-time purchase. I mean, developers are creating better and better graphics, but it's not like they can continue to increase the number of objects. Computer graphics may never reach true realism due to the depth of detail required, but physics are only so complicated. Since it's all math, I can easily see Ageia making a PhysX processor that 100% perfectly imitates real life. What then?
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if you read that review, you will see that they allready cover that :)

there are firmware Patches out for the cards to support new thing that the Dev's are puttin in..
 
HOCP4ME said:
3. I wonder if these things will develop into a market more like the sound card or video card market? Will they become add-in cards that only change every 3-4 years, aren't modified, and don't receive much hype? Or, will they become a mandatory part of a gaming system, upgrading every year, with new cores being hyped over and people watercooling and overclocking them?
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Actually I would love to see this chip onboard a high end Motherboard option. Leaving a PCI slot open amd if needed we could add another PPU later.(they say they are SMPable)
 
griff30 said:
Actually I would love to see this chip onboard a high end Motherboard option. Leaving a PCI slot open amd if needed we could add another PPU later.(they say they are SMPable)
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Hmmm, "PhysX SLI". For that to happen the card would certainly have to evolve like a video card first.
 
Can't wait to see how these cards will overclock. OC them so much you see a whole new kind of physics. Beyond 2d, beyond 3d, 4D PHYSICS WITH THE NEW BFG PHYSX PPU OC edition. Leave your Newtonian physics behind. Quantum shmantum. Frag the bad guy from Point A to Point B without having your bullets travel in the distance between! If Einstein were alive, he'd be gaming with a PHYSX PPU. Mass times acceleration = FRAG. Let's get physical!


Btw, in the demo, I dunno about a single grenade causing that little damage and that much damage to a vehicle. Seriously, one grenade TORE that truck apart. Unless a PPU also stands for Projectile Power Up....
 
Bop said:
Just think... some guy is hiding in a room and you need to get in, you place some C4 on the side of the building while he is guarding the front door... BOOM you bust in the back wall while debris and dust is all over and you start spraying, hitting the guy and one of your bullets *actually* penetrates the wall behind him killing his teammate :D Then you can peek through that hole and see if there is anyone else in there.
Click to expand...

This has been discussed several times before. Terrain deformation has nothing to do with physics.
 
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