Physics Processing Unit (PPU) aka PhysX

What is all the physics processing hype about and is physx really a big part of the gaming future, in short yes and here is what you need know.

Although AGEIA was not the first physics processor they were the first to make a movement into the consumer market eventually being bought out by nvidia which has not been without controversy. Nvidia blocked support for the AGEIA PPU in conjunction with ATI cards and have made an effort to kill off the PPU completely in what can only be an effort to boost Nvidia GPU sales which include Physx processing capabilities.

Physics Processing Unit by Ageia (PPU) - Physx

 

There are still many dedicated fans of the dedicated PPU and efforts are constantly being made to patch nvidia drivers to allow ATI/PPU combinations or improve dedicated physics card support when using Nvidia cards but it should be said that the newer physx games are pushing the dedicated physics processor to its limits and in some cases are not able to sustain playable frame rates so its gaming life may be short lived but the wonderful thing about this world is that somebody will find a nice useful purpose for PPU cards eventually. I would love to see some interesting application of physics processor technology dedicated or GPU based.

In any event if you are not using physics processing in some form you are missing out on a new level of realism in gaming, head over the Nvidias Physx page on youtube to see what you are missing out on by not having physics processing.

 

 

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