Ageia PhysX review (Videos added)

[McArra]

I've reviewed this great card. Really impressed, but graphic card becomes a big limiting factor.

Have a look at it here

http://www.mod-pc.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=18

EDIT: it is on Spanish

EDIT2: Videos added on the lasta page of the review

 

[nitromullet]

Nice job... wish I read Spanish.

In English, what did you think of the card in general?

 

[McArra]

I like it a lot. But I think this is not the Ageia time, I believe the Ageia time is to come when new gen video cards arrive. Cell Factor demo was so impresive, but my 7900GT (520/1500) couldn't play it maxed out, it would run at 3fps, there are so many objects. Anyway fluids, cloths and explossions where superb. Today I'll try to upload a video for the review for everybody to see it in real action

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: McArra
I like it a lot. But I think this is not the Ageia time, I believe the Ageia time is to come when new gen video cards arrive. Cell Factor demo was so impresive, but my 7900GT (520/1500) couldn't play it maxed out, it would run at 3fps, there are so many objects. Anyway fluids, cloths and explossions where superb. Today I'll try to upload a video for the review for everybody to see it in real action

how is cellfactor?

it looks incredibly fun.

What resolution are you trying to play at where you are getting 3fps?

 

[McArra]

I'm uploading the video right now
I get 3fps where lots of objects appear and in huge explossions. As soon as I up load GRAW and Cell factor videos I'll post again
Cell factor is an incredible game.
EDIT: plying at 800x600 I get 3fps in some places LOL

 

[Praxis1452]

holy ******.... 3 fps at 800x600...

in my opinion Ageia is in trouble. They need a great game but it seems they didn't take into account that the graphics cards couldn't handle all that debris... heh

 

[TanisHalfElven]

really adding more flying objects should not be wjhat ppu is all about. we need more interactive game play. like gta with fully destructibler enviorments.

 

[McArra]

I don't think that AGeia is in trouble. I think that as they did in GRAW they have to administrate the power with the graphic tech in the moment. And yes 3fps is crap LOL

 

[McArra]

Originally posted by: tanishalfelven
really adding more flying objects should not be wjhat ppu is all about. we need more interactive game play. like gta with fully destructibler enviorments.

Cloths are there also, fluids... anyway it will be time until we can see the full potential of the PPU
I would really like to see a racing game with this technologie

 

[TheRyuu]

Translation

Suprised no one else posted this yet.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: McArra
I've reviewed this great card. Really impressed, but graphic card becomes a big limiting factor.

Havok and nv disagree with your conclusion that the vid card is the limiting factor amigo, at least for GRAW.

 

[McArra]

Havok and Nv are the ones that compete with them, no surprise there. Maybe a driver issue? could be, but still and from what I've seem it looks like a GPU problem, maybe they have some kind of conflict.

 

[Dethfrumbelo]

Originally posted by: McArra

Originally posted by: tanishalfelven
really adding more flying objects should not be wjhat ppu is all about. we need more interactive game play. like gta with fully destructibler enviorments.

Cloths are there also, fluids... anyway it will be time until we can see the full potential of the PPU
I would really like to see a racing game with this technologie

Yeah, cloth/hair are very physics intensive. So far all we've seen in games regarding cloth are some low-poly capes, etc.

 

[McArra]

I have some problems to upload the videos, in two days or so I hope to have them up. Cloths are greatly simulated, you'll see

Also about particle effects I can't trust Nvidia. In Xpand Rally for example when you go to the water there's a huge fps drop caused by particles, and there are nowhere as much particles as with Ageia Dapunisher

 

[Munky]

I call BS on the gpu limitation. At least until someone can show conclusive evidence. I mean, even 3dmark05 has well over 1 million polygons per frame, and that runs heck a lot faster than 3fps on modern graphic cards, and at a higher resolution too. I wish there was some way of measuring what exactly does the ppu do in games ike GRAW, or a custom benchmark with and without a ppu, but so far I get the impression that the ppu is performing like a fx5200 trying to run DX9 code.

 

[concernedsophist]

When will we find out how many extra polygons are actually being rendered with the PPU in use? Can a patch or driver update make an apples to apples comparison possible in GRAW?

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: Praxis1452
holy ******.... 3 fps at 800x600...

in my opinion Ageia is in trouble. They need a great game but it seems they didn't take into account that the graphics cards couldn't handle all that debris... heh

Its the 1st gen, GR:AW is horribly optimised like almost all ubisoft ports.

Cellfactors 3fps issue is alarming though, you dont see that at all in the demo videos.

Have you tried updated drivers? Do they have betas available?

 

[ronnn]

Originally posted by: Praxis1452
holy ******.... 3 fps at 800x600...

in my opinion Ageia is in trouble. They need a great game but it seems they didn't take into account that the graphics cards couldn't handle all that debris... heh

:laugh:

 

[McArra]

Originally posted by: Acanthus

Originally posted by: Praxis1452
holy ******.... 3 fps at 800x600...

in my opinion Ageia is in trouble. They need a great game but it seems they didn't take into account that the graphics cards couldn't handle all that debris... heh

Its the 1st gen, GR:AW is horribly optimised like almost all ubisoft ports.

Cellfactors 3fps issue is alarming though, you dont see that at all in the demo videos.

Have you tried updated drivers? Do they have betas available?

Will try to reinstall everything and report back.

 

[McArra]

Fpund the way for nice gameplay in Cell factor: Low Graphics setting (which actually looks very nice) and updated drivers from Ageia (2.4.3 Beta) and Nvidia (87.08).

 

[McArra]

Originally posted by: munky
I call BS on the gpu limitation. At least until someone can show conclusive evidence. I mean, even 3dmark05 has well over 1 million polygons per frame, and that runs heck a lot faster than 3fps on modern graphic cards, and at a higher resolution too. I wish there was some way of measuring what exactly does the ppu do in games ike GRAW, or a custom benchmark with and without a ppu, but so far I get the impression that the ppu is performing like a fx5200 trying to run DX9 code.

Then how can you explain that games with lot's of particles like Xpand Rally while going throw water half the fps? It doesn't use Ageia, only GPU and Ageia delivers a lot more particles.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: McArra
Fpund the way for nice gameplay in Cell factor: Low Graphics setting (which actually looks very nice) and updated drivers from Ageia (2.4.3 Beta) and Nvidia (87.08).

Hmm, thats odd.

Could it be you're running out of graphics memory on a 256MB card?

 

[McArra]

Could be, strange, maybe 512mb help with all that objects and particles in the screen :S

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: McArra

Originally posted by: munky
I call BS on the gpu limitation. At least until someone can show conclusive evidence. I mean, even 3dmark05 has well over 1 million polygons per frame, and that runs heck a lot faster than 3fps on modern graphic cards, and at a higher resolution too. I wish there was some way of measuring what exactly does the ppu do in games ike GRAW, or a custom benchmark with and without a ppu, but so far I get the impression that the ppu is performing like a fx5200 trying to run DX9 code.

Then how can you explain that games with lot's of particles like Xpand Rally while going throw water half the fps? It doesn't use Ageia, only GPU and Ageia delivers a lot more particles.

It depends on how many particles there are, and the method in which they're being rendered. I was refering more to geometric data that the ppu should be able to manipulate faster than the cpu. Until there's some benchmark that isolates the ppu and measures its performance it's hard to tell just how well does the ppu run.

 

[T2k]

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER

Originally posted by: McArra
I've reviewed this great card. Really impressed, but graphic card becomes a big limiting factor.

Havok and nv disagree with your conclusion that the vid card is the limiting factor amigo, at least for GRAW.

Havok has totally different interest in this "game" (= future physics acc. business) and GPU vendors have no chance to compete with AGEIA unless they'll use a dedicated solution too.

BTW Sweeney thinks the same: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2380206503518140992

PS: I know, the nvnews guy with the mic is horrible... a typical gum-chewin' boor... but Sweeney is worth the story and it's not that long.