Ageia PhysX

[Malak]

Ok, who's getting one? Voodoo PC's CEO says he'd rather have a nice soundcard than a PPU, he doesn't want another fan in his computer. He also thinks Havok's approach is more ideal to the enthusiast. I completely disagreed on all points, so I will be getting a PPU.

They are supposedly coming out next month, right now they are only available through people like Alienware, and I'm not getting a whole new system. I may wait a little while though, want to see the list of games supported first. Last I looked, the site was down

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

When they get drivers arranged for 3D Studio Max, absolutely. ray traced shadows via hardware calculation... A person can dream, right?

 

[andyandyandy]

Depends on how much they cost i guess...does anyone no how much theyre gonna sell for?

 

[Czar]

they do need software support before they become useful, no point in buying one untill then

 

[MTDEW]

I'd be thrilled if all my games made full use of my dual core cpu's first.
So im in no hurry to start praying for PPU support also.


Heck , dual core cpu support is spotty at best so far, so i'll wait on a PPU until i see some MAJOR support to make full use of the product before i buy anything!

 

[Drisler]

Originally posted by: andyandyandy
Depends on how much they cost i guess...does anyone no how much theyre gonna sell for?

Alienware has it selectable as a card in their 7500 systems for $285 extra.

 

[andyandyandy]

$285? well im in Australia so that would be like 450 wouldnt it? Too much.

 

[Bobthelost]

Originally posted by: Drisler

Originally posted by: andyandyandy
Depends on how much they cost i guess...does anyone no how much theyre gonna sell for?

Alienware has it selectable as a card in their 7500 systems for $285 extra.

Dell seem to be the only ones with the cards.

 

[Mocib]

Poll needs a "I'll wait and see" option.

I will buy one if I have enough money and there's a game on the market that really uses it wisely and effectively (efficiently?).

 

[996GT2]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost

Originally posted by: Drisler

Originally posted by: andyandyandy
Depends on how much they cost i guess...does anyone no how much theyre gonna sell for?

Alienware has it selectable as a card in their 7500 systems for $285 extra.

Dell seem to be the only ones with the cards.

Accordig to Aegia, you can get the card as an upgrade from 3 companies right now-Dell, Alienware, Falcon NW

 

[Geomagick]

I won't be getting one to start with. None of the games I run at the moment are a problem for my current setup and unless there will be a dramatic visual and gameplay improvement then I can't see the point.

 

[MrX8503]

although i also do disagree with voodoo pc's ceo, but you also disagree with his commment on how its directed towards pc enthusiasts? Arent the only people interested in this or buying this card only enthusiasts? lol

 

[Bobthelost]

Originally posted by: 996GT2
Accordig to Aegia, you can get the card as an upgrade from 3 companies right now-Dell, Alienware, Falcon NW

Never heard of falcon NW, but Alienware=Dell (as far as access to components go).

 

[ND40oz]

Originally posted by: 996GT2
Accordig to Aegia, you can get the card as an upgrade from 3 companies right now-Dell, Alienware, Falcon NW

Yeah, and I'm still waiting on a quote from Dell as to the individual price of the card...soon as I have the quote, I'm placing the order.

 

[biostud]

probably not until 2007

A nice upgrade of Agiea, DX10 videocard, X-Fi and Vista

 

[0roo0roo]

dual core..then quad core ....think i'll just wait for cpu's to do it

 

[ronach]

0roo0roo
Lifer, has it right, most guys don't fully utilize the Duo's they have, not to mention the Quads soon to come. I envision a software solution to be realeased in a timely fashion, utilizing the extra cores more effectively, and cheaper as well. That's my take...let's wait and see.

 

[n7]

When UT2k7 comes out, & i get see how much of a benefit the PhyX card provides, i'll make my decision.

 

[Crescent13]

I definetly want one!

 

[RaiderJ]

I can't even use a PPU until it comes out in a PCI-e x1 form factor... or until I upgrade from my SN25P.

Plus, I'm going to have to see some software first - maybe UT2007 will decide it for me?

 

[JBT]

We'll see. I think the idea sounds sweet but I'd perfer not waste $2XX on something that is a flop. So if it ends up with alot of support heck yeah I will, if not well obviously not then.

 

[Jeff7181]

Assuming the PPU is still as powerful as they said it was a while ago (50 times more physics processing power than a CPU) then dual core or quad core CPU's won't be an alternative to a PPU once games begin to use it because a PPU will still be rougly 10 times more powerful than a quad core CPU. Not quite as impressive as 50 times... but in a scenario that's completely dependant on physics processing power, wouldn't 100 frames per second be better than 10?

Anyway... I really hope it ends up being more of a generic PPU rather than one that only works with a specific physics engine. I'm thinking that's probably how it'll end up being, and saying it was only going to work with a specific one was to try to get developer support for that particular physics engine.

I'll buy one when it makes sense to buy one. Right now it doesn't, and I'm not in the habit of predicting the future, nor have I been able to with any degree of accuracy in the past. The only game out right now that I can see benefiting from a PPU is Oblivion (load up a table with a bunch of junk a shoot a fireball at it and watch your computer beg for mercy)... and that uses the Havok physics engine if I'm not mistaken. Wasn't nVidia supposed to be working to make spare GPU power in SLI setups able to assist in physics processing with the Havok engine? That would be a welcome feature for that game.

 

[Thraxen]

I find it cool yet ridiculous at the same time. Aren't video cards already too expensive these days? SLI? Now we are going to be expected to buy PPU cards to get the most out of our games? WTF? Are AI cards next? It's getting too expensive to have a top of the line gaming machine these days which, IMO, will only end up hurting the industry, not helping.

 

[MrUniq]

If these physics chips ever gain popularity..which I hope they do. I expect the tech to become integrated. Either on motherboards or video cards b/c it doesn't make sense to waste a slot on another addon card that doesn't have essential functionality. Plus if ATI or Nvidia is successful with their implementation and ageia goes under...just swipe up the card from a used bin in a PC store...so it's a win win either way...just gotta wait.

 

[Polish3d]

I spent a lot of money on my PC last July. I had fun with it, but there were barely any games that made all this hardware anywhere near worth the price. I am still playing BF2 and Oblivion's graphics were cut down so much that I was wholly disappointed ...and nothing else has even come out. Fear, Q4, so-so .. Not a chance in hell I'm shelling out another 300 bucks for a PPU at the moment