PhysX card worth it or not?

[youpla]

Ok do you think a PhysX card worth the buy or not. I have a 8600GTS and not planning to upgrade to a 8800 anytime sound, so I wonder if adding a PhysX card will help with recent games and future games like Crysis?

At the moment World in conflict for example is kind of slow when running in 1440x900 with high details. So can the PhysX card improve my speed or I won't see much difference. And more importantly do you know if Crysis will use PhysX?

TIA

 

[PP Mguire]

Simple and easy answer no. The games that do support it dont need it beacsue you can program the game to use your second core on your CPU to do phsysics calculations. IMO that would be alot better than a P2 equivalent on a board with some ram ono a PCI bus.

 

[Mr. Smith]

LOL - PP, I knew before I even read this what you were going to say, you really do hate physX cards!

BTW - physX will reduce your frame rates due to the additional complex equations, although I am sure this will improve. Future games will be using physics but I beleive that physics will be intergrated into the gpu...

 

[FarFarAway]

Simple and easy answer no. The games that do support it dont need it beacsue you can program the game to use your second core on your CPU to do phsysics calculations. IMO that would be alot better than a P2 equivalent on a board with some ram ono a PCI bus.

Yes you're right...but not to the extent that PhysX cards can handle. CPU's don't have the right architecture to handle the data effieciently on the scale a physx card can...GPU's maybe but that hasn't been proved in a real life situation.

If/when games take advantage of the power of a physx then maybe it's worth it, certainly we'll be looking with interest at some coming soon.

LOL - PP, I knew before I even read this what you were going to say, you really do hate physX cards!

BTW - physX will reduce your frame rates due to the additional complex equations, although I am sure this will improve. Future games will be using physics but I beleive that physics will be intergrated into the gpu...

PhysX only reduces your framerates due to the extra "stuff" on the screen, not by the actual processing of the physics itself

 

[youpla]

ok so basically it is useless and will end up reducing my frame rate... guess I will pass on this option then.

thank you for your input guys...

 

[Toxcity]

ok so basically it is useless and will end up reducing my frame rate... guess I will pass on this option then.

thank you for your input guys...

I know for sure that it is useless when on Crysis.

The physics have been given a core of the CPU. Crysis was made for quad core, so you lucky quad owners will be running some good FPS.

But of course Crysis will run sweet on dual cores too!

 

[youpla]

Thanks Tox, sounds like a good news... I am just not sure my 8600GTS will handle Crysis correctly though!

 

[Toxcity]

Thanks Tox, sounds like a good news... I am just not sure my 8600GTS will handle Crysis correctly though!

I have heard reports that the 8600 can run the beta smoothly on medium settings.

And that was the beta so hopefully they will smooth the game code out some more for the final release.

 

[Rastalovich]

Tbh they have to be embraced more by the game devs.

But tbf I think they`ve been around long enough for devs to `get interested` in them, they just don`t seem to be.

You could probably list a whole host of top games out there that could use PhysX and don`t or choose not to.

Politics ? dunno.

Even mentioning using cores to do physics stuff.. well even if they aint as proficient at doing the job - game manufs are `generally` so incompetent that they only use 1 core of u`r cpu to do the game.. so atm u have up to 3 cores to do the physics.

I fold on the cores I don`t use whilst I game !

 

[HarryB]

Its theres only a few games that support it, quite pointless really

 

[FarFarAway]

There is actually a lot of take up frm devs, but we just haven't seen the results as of yet. I think we will start to soon though

Remeber games take years to develop, not just a year, but years

 

[Toxcity]

There is actually a lot of take up frm devs, but we just haven't seen the results as of yet. I think we will start to soon though

Remeber games take years to develop, not just a year, but years

To tell the honest, I don't want it to take off. I know that sounds harsh.

But I don't want to spend loads on another bit of hardware.

I know I don't have to spend money on hardware or even get the best out there.

But I just think it is an over-priced peice of tech, which seems so far to not do alot.

Apart from in CellFactor.. which was pretty pants performance too.

 

[FarFarAway]

Aye Cell Factor was very badly coded and ran like @rse.

I do want it to take off, physics that good in all games? Imagine being able to go up to a snipe point then shoot the ladder off the building so no-one else gets up there. Then perhaps someone shoots or grenades the floor out from under you....awesome

 

[Mr. Smith]

^Agreed

After reading the interview Matt had with Ageia, I actually changed my mind about physics... Give it a read and decide for yourself.

Link

 

[Toxcity]

As with all things it has its ups and downs.

I have to admit some of the stuff mentions sounded so much fun and Kemp, you little example sounded awesome too.

Really, all it comes down to is the price. I believed it was way over-priced when it first appeared.

Seeing as it wasn't need to play most games it was ignored probably because of the price.

 

[Allsorts]

I'm reluctant to buy an extra card just for the odd game, so hopefully physics processing will be integrated with the gfx card.

I'm all for better gameplay though.

 

[PP Mguire]

I used to be all for the card, but seriously games are giong more physics on the CPU and Havok then anything else. I really dont see it taking off. And GRAW was the only real thing going for it right now and you can make all the physics run off your cpu.

 

[Rastalovich]

Sad fact of the matter is, these PhysX cards do a job that can only be viewed as a plus to whatever sort of game ur dev`ing - IF some1 like Microsoft/AMD/Intel either brought out the card or incorporated it into a cpu, their use, imo, would be widespread.

 

[Hatman]

Wait for unreal tournament 3 before you decide if physx is worth it or not. It could be the make or brake game of physx.

 

[FarFarAway]

Wait for unreal tournament 3 before you decide if physx is worth it or not. It could be the make or brake game of physx.

Indeed