Physics Processing For All : BFG Tech AGEIA PhysX Card

by Marco Chiappetta — Friday, May 19, 2006, 11:48 AM EDT

GamePC labs has a review posted this morning of BFG's AGEIA PhysX card. Lots of good information in this review, along with some some insightful opinions and commentary. We've also taken a look at this card. For another reference point, you can read our article right here.

"The problem is not the hardware. After seeing the demos, we know that the hardware is capable of some amazing effects and certainly, physics hardware acceleration will be the next frontier in PC gaming. However, the issue is timing. The cards are here, but there is no killer title to drive sales of the cards. To take an example which has been used a thousand times already, there is no "GLQuake "title to drive GPU sales (famously, this was the title which was launched with the Diamond Voodoo 3dfx accelerator, kick-starting demand for dedicated 3D accelerators). For those who are purchasing these cards as of today, 99% of the time, they will be sitting idle, un-used, waiting for the time when PhysX enabled titles actually start shipping. If AGEIA could have waited for their killer title, they could have got off on a much better foot. At this point, with no major titles to work with, launching a $300 card and telling gamers it's what they need appears laughable to most, insulting to others."

Tags: PhysX, Tech, CES, BFG, Car, physics, process, card, Ageia, BFG Tech, ICS, pro, AG, AR

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com