I wish I had a system as good as the current state of the art!
For years, video games have been getting prettier thanks to increasingly sophisticated graphics processors.
But crates that don’t budge, planks that don’t splinter and windows that don’t break are a constant complaint of gamers who crave more than just skin-deep realism.
Ageia Technologies Inc. wants to change that with its new PhysX processor, which simulates the physical properties of everything from smoke to rocks.
I wonder what the cost for integration will be, and if that could prove a barrier to implementation?
It does sound very cool. From Ageia’s Website:
The AGEIA PhysX processor is the critical hardware element required for optimized game physics and is the third engine of the Gaming Power Triangle which will drive a new era in exciting and immersive gaming. This new triangle consists of the central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU) and Physics Processing Unit (PPU) working together to balance the extensive computing demands of game logic, graphics and physics. Within this balanced triangle the CPU “thinks and orchestrates” to drive game artificial intelligence and logic, the general purpose GPU “renders and displays” to deliver beautiful 3D imagery, and the third leg of the triangle, the new AGEIA PhysX Processor, “moves and interacts” to take gaming to the next level with pervasive dynamic motion and interaction.
Will it be worth it?
“I wish I had a system as good as the current state of the art!”
So I guess my Dreamcast and N64 are out of date now?!
I should also mention that HardOCP has a pretty good editorial about this technology…
http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTAyMCwxLCxobmV3cw==
Judging by the specs on John C. Dvorak’s current rig, you can bet he’ll go for one of these.
It will be interesting to see how the hardware vs softare battle takes shape.
With the shift toward dual-core and multi-processor systems, and woop-ass GPUs, it seems the CPU(s) will not be bogged-down by the added requirements of a software physics engine like Havoc’s:
http://www.havok.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/
I’ll have to read the editorial SN linked to, to see if the PPU is an accelerator for existing physics routines, or requires wiriting code specifically for the chip – that could be the decisive factor.
Yeah, the programmers have to use Ageia’s SDK, but that’s it. It’s relatively simple.
This is the differance between Pong and the PlayStation. Imagine fully destructable environments, interactive puzzles and un-scripted behaviors, deformable objects and thousands of ragdolls at once.
In fact, some people have even begun to water cool their ppu’s, just in case.
and unless you have a program that takes advantage of the HARDware, it really wont do you much good.
THEn if DirectX dont like it, you are screwed.
AND SENCE directX10 wont be release to anything until AFTER the XP versions….so it wont know HOW to use the new tech.
1. You wanna see a window break realistically; throw a rock through it.
2. Off topic a bit, but while researching the components for my next computer I saw where somebody was using cooking oil to cool their computer. Yep, seal it up and fill the case with cooking oil. But the smell makes you hungry, and then it’s on the phone to the Pizza delivery guy.