Can Ageia's PhysX Card Bring Real-World Physics to Games?

Ageia Hardware In Action

The PhysX accelerator stands out when it comes to rendering debris, splinters and sparks. Since the differences are best seen in a moving, dynamic scene, Tom's Hardware Guide labs produced some in-game video footage to demonstrate the benefits. These videos have a resolution of 1024x768 and are encoded using the Xvid codec.

Video demo1 without Ageia

Video demo1 with AgeiaExplosions send more debris flying when the Ageia card is used. But although there are now more pieces of wreckage, they are not persistent and vanish into thin air after a short time.

Video demo2 without Ageia

Video demo2 with AgeiaThe PhysX card renders more smoking wreckage. The end of the explosion is also accompanied by a shower of debris.

Video demo3 without Ageia

Video demo3 with AgeiaShooting at the tree causes little splinters to fly from the trunk when the Ageia card is installed.

Video demo4 without Ageia

Video demo4 with AgeiaEnabling hardware PhysX causes additional pebbles to be flung from the asphalt. Additionally, flat tufts of smoke creep across the ground. Bullets striking vehicles cause sparks. Supported by the accelerator card, these sparks fly farther, bounce off the ground and slowly die down.