Please explain havok physics to me!

Hey guys I know a lot of games use the Havok physics engine but I was wondering exactly how it's different from Nvidia Physx? I know that Havok is software based so does this mean that it reduces stress on both the CPU and GPU? or something else? just please explain to me so I don't remain ignorant.

[QUOTE="C2C_Moltar"]Found this post on Toms Hardware. Should help clear it up. One of the first posts gives you a link to a benchmark test between Havok and Nvidia's Physx. Let me know if this helps http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/252971-33-physx-havocUltimateGamer95

as far as I know its entirely up to the developer. Its software to help determine how physics act in games

[QUOTE="C2C_Moltar"]Found this post on Toms Hardware. Should help clear it up. One of the first posts gives you a link to a benchmark test between Havok and Nvidia's Physx. Let me know if this helps http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/252971-33-physx-havocUltimateGamer95

I believe havok is used with the cpu in order to do (Basic) physic. Nvidias physx allows for more advanced physic which require the GPU since it's more powerful than the cpu, and thus they become 2 hard for the cpu to handle. Havok is pretty much Nvidia physx but done on the cpu with very little physic actually occuring. Just think of it as downloading Nvidias physx drivers and running them on the CPU. I am not sure if what I said is correct but I believe it should work like that. The advantage of Havok is that simple physic can be applied into the game by running them off the cpu. In order to do more advanced physic the Nvidia physx card is needed.

Everything originated from software. All the 3D graphics for example, is originated from software (like Parallax Mapping before DX9 cards came out), still today, we do that on software for things are still too new for hardware to handle. There is no real big difference between Havok and PhyX engine in terms of programmability (IMO), the only difference is PhyX has hardware support for it, just like DX games has DX compliant GPU to run it faster. If they make Havok to support GPGPU on DX11 cards, it will automatically be hardware accelerated. And you can actually run PhyX on software, which there are SDK or X360, PS3, and Wii where they don't have the hardware for it.

Hardware acceleration is just using a specialize hardware to run certain task faster than the general purpose CPU. Add: They are just specialized, not entirely faster. It will get crappy performance on GPU if you do conditional branching (if statement, like if true, do A, else do B). Then you will see GPU running like crap.

magicalclick

This

I am by no means an expert, but the physics done by pissX doesn't seem impossible on the cpu. Sure if you run it without pissX it lags a lot, but I am sure that's because the API was only designed with a piss X card in mind.JigglyWiggly_

[QUOTE="JigglyWiggly_"]I am by no means an expert, but the physics done by pissX doesn't seem impossible on the cpu. Sure if you run it without pissX it lags a lot, but I am sure that's because the API was only designed with a piss X card in mind.04dcarraher

[QUOTE="04dcarraher"][QUOTE="JigglyWiggly_"]I am by no means an expert, but the physics done by pissX doesn't seem impossible on the cpu. Sure if you run it without pissX it lags a lot, but I am sure that's because the API was only designed with a piss X card in mind.JigglyWiggly_