what is nvidia physx?

and will i miss out on features if i buy an ati card?

Forgive me if this sounds a bit noobish but let me explain it somewhat like this

Nvidia physx is basically an method developed by nvidia to make physics accelerated particles in video games, such as rock chipping off walls when you shoot at it and stuff like that. Nvidia Cards have dedicated hardware to perform these processes. This doesn't mean you out of luck if you buy an ATI card, as the physX processes will be handled by the CPU in that case. However the demands vary alot from game to game. my rig for instance could barely even run Batman Arkham Asylum at a tolerable framerate with physX on, but without, it ran steadily without a single slowdown. On metro 2033 however on DX11, maximum physX barely even put a dent in the framerate.

Forgive me if this sounds a bit noobish but let me explain it somewhat like this

Nvidia physx is basically an method developed by nvidia to make physics accelerated particles in video games, such as rock chipping off walls when you shoot at it and stuff like that. Nvidia Cards have dedicated hardware to perform these processes. This doesn't mean you out of luck if you buy an ATI card, as the physX processes will be handled by the CPU in that case. However the demands vary alot from game to game. my rig for instance could barely even run Batman Arkham Asylum at a tolerable framerate with physX on, but without, it ran steadily without a single slowdown. On metro 2033 however on DX11, maximum physX barely even put a dent in the framerate.

DoomZaW

physx was originally developed by a different company that wanted to produce physx only cards, they projected them to cost $250 and it would work similarly to the early days of 3d accelleration where you'd have a 2d card and a 3d card. They wanted you to have a graphics card and a physx card. Well, it became very apparent that no one was going to buy a physx add in card just to run extra boxes falling and what not, but the idea of dedicated physx was pretty awesome. So nvidia bought the company and added the capabilities to their cards.

Physx just makes it so you have dedicated hardware running all the physics in game, which sometimes takes a lot of horsepower.

If your GPU isn't nVidia, the PhysX duties will be offloaded onto the CPU resulting in hella slow gameplay. I use GTX 470 in SLI and in Batman:AA it runs silky smooth with PhysX maxed. PhysX is nVidia's proprietary motion simulator. It is resource demanding but enhances games greatly.covertgamer78

A fellow northern californian!

Yeah, don't bother with it. Not enough games support it and the overall difference it makes is minimal.

A fellow northern californian!NailedGR

[QUOTE="NailedGR"]A fellow northern californian!covertgamer78

I live about 20 minutes north of Austin. You are nearby... :shock:

I live about 20 minutes north of Austin. You are nearby... :shock:

hartsickdiscipl

[QUOTE="hartsickdiscipl"]

I live about 20 minutes north of Austin. You are nearby... :shock:

covertgamer78

This area is great for everything but skiing and mountain climbing.

[QUOTE="NailedGR"]A fellow northern californian!covertgamer78

Ah, well, nice to see other areas picking up our lingo. I guess it'd be like seeing a non texan saying y'all.

I also wouldn't worry too much about PhysX. Having an Nvidia card doesn't guarantee good PhysX performance; many lower-end Nvidia users actually turn the PhysX effects to medium or even low in order to free up resources in other areas. On the low setting it performs just fine without an Nvidia card, and it is because of this brand division that games that use physics as a central component of gameplay (Crysis, Red Faction: Guerilla, etc.) always use Havok/Bullet/etc. instead of PhysX. These games' software physics are more impressive than anything PhysX's hardware physics has ever demonstrated, and things are only going to get better in the future; as DirectX 11 hardware gains increasing acceptance the sequels of such games will make use of newer versions of Havok/Bullet/etc. that feature optional hardware acceleration for DirectX 11+ GPUs, providing all the advantages of PhysX without the brand restriction.

I also wouldn't worry too much about PhysX. Having an Nvidia card doesn't guarantee good PhysX performance; many lower-end Nvidia users actually turn the PhysX effects to medium or even low in order to free up resources in other areas. On the low setting it performs just fine without an Nvidia card, and it is because of this brand division that games that use physics as a central component of gameplay (Crysis, Red Faction: Guerilla, etc.) always use Havok/Bullet/etc. instead of PhysX. These games' software physics are more impressive than anything PhysX's hardware physics has ever demonstrated, and things are only going to get better in the future; as DirectX 11 hardware gains increasing acceptance the sequels of such games will make use of newer versions of Havok/Bullet/etc. that feature optional hardware acceleration for DirectX 11+ GPUs, providing all the advantages of PhysX without the brand restriction.

garrett_daniels

I have to agree. I've played some Physx titles with my GTX 460, which has no trouble handling the physx and the graphics load.. but it's just not that impressive in most cases. It generally just adds a few touches to a game, like in Batman: AA, and Frontlines- Fuel of War. The most impressive in-game physics that I've seen were those of Red Faction Guerrilla and Half-life 2.

Ah, well, nice to see other areas picking up our lingo. I guess it'd be like seeing a non texan saying y'all.

NailedGR

Ah, well, nice to see other areas picking up our lingo. I guess it'd be like seeing a non texan saying y'all.

[QUOTE="NailedGR"]

Ah, well, nice to see other areas picking up our lingo. I guess it'd be like seeing a non texan saying y'all.

covertgamer78

Here in norcal we put hella into everything. "That tastes hella good" "You're hella dumb" "The Giants hella beat the rangers" "Dude, your internet is hella slow"

And the young children do not say hella because it is a bad word and say hecka instead.

Last night my dvr didn't record dexter, but instead a bunch of blackness. I was hella pissed.

and will i miss out on features if i buy an ati card?

Clipper591

See,it goes like this-Real-time physics are the set of instructions that cause effects in games like disintegration of debris after a blast,response of a flag to the wind,floating of paper bits in air and basically reaction of most in-game objects to the force/movement they are subjected to.In earlier games,these instructions were handled by the CPU until Nvidia bought their Physx software which enables the GPU itself to handle these effects rather than the CPU.Now that's a cool thing undeniably but Nvidia did not share this technology with the other GPU manufacturer.Instead it owned Aegia physx and renamed it Nvidia physx which enables only Nvidia GPU's to use the exclusive features esoterically created for them.

It is not that the ATI cards would not handle those Physx programming if given chance.But at this point of time only Nvidia cards are able to use 'em.

Now all some PC gamers are ATi cards owners (me including) ,and are in no mood to switch to the green camp.Game developers understand this,so they use that PHysx stuff very little so as not to alienate the ATi user base.As long as Nvidia monopolizes this Physx stuff majority of the game developers will be totally lackdaisical and reluctant in applying Physx in their games.

The bottomline-Until Physx is made a common standard for both GPU manufacturers you are not missing much if you are owning a non-physx card( i.e-an ATi card).Go for the card that gives the most bang for buck irrespective of the manufacturer.ATi cards (HD 4000 and HD5000 series) have been the most cost-effective solutions in recent past and the HD 6800 series ones are looking mighty impressive too,in fact you might get a killer deal once the 6900 series releases.However if you think you need Physx absolutely then feel free to buy an Nvidia card like the upper-mid range/high-end cards like GTX 460/470/480 as only these can handle physx smoothly and even the lower end Nvidia cards fail to handle physx smoothly.

P.S-I am not a fanboy of neither Ati or Nvidia but have been very impressed by the p/p ratio of ATi cards lately.Saving up for a ATi HD6970.