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Old August 14th, 2006, 08:57 PM
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Default OT: Physics Cards

What exactly do phsycis accelerator cards such as AGEIA® PhysX® physics accelerator do and do we really need them?
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Old August 14th, 2006, 09:53 PM

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Default Re: OT: Physics Cards

They are supposed to speed up physics calculations (bouncing grenades, rolling barrels, collapsing hillsides, breaking glass..). The idea is to take load off the CPU by dumping it to a dedicated chip, leaving the CPU free for AI and such.
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Old August 14th, 2006, 10:18 PM
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Default Re: OT: Physics Cards

Yup. That's basically what they do. The same thing a graphics card does for graphics. You don't need them, but they're supposed to allow newer games to have mind-bending physics or something, and improve the graphics by doing things such as calculating where each and every piece of that glass you just grenaded lands.
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Old August 14th, 2006, 10:48 PM
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Default Re: OT: Physics Cards

They are worthless, at least now. Maybe in a few years when games support them and the price comes down. But until then I wouldn't spend my money on one.
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Old August 14th, 2006, 11:24 PM
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Default Re: OT: Physics Cards

I would hope at some point they would put both chips on a single card.
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Old August 15th, 2006, 01:50 AM
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Default Re: OT: Physics Cards

thanks guys for the info.
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Old August 15th, 2006, 10:12 AM
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Default Re: OT: Physics Cards

Here is an article from Tom's Hardware talking about video cards v physics cards.

The tech isn't there yet for the cost, in my opinion.

This is an older article from a month or two ago talking about the card.
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Old August 15th, 2006, 02:22 PM
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Default Re: OT: Physics Cards

For about $260, it's an expensive way to bend ones mind...
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