PhysX question in ATI driven system...

[sertz]

Hey there,

I have a bit of a weird question, but with all the issues that people have running hacked drivers to get physx to work in their ati systems with an nvidia card as the physx card... What about the old Ageia dedicated cards? In terms of physx processing performance the Ageia card is right up there with the GT200 nvidia cards, despite its age, but would it work in an ATI driven system?

The reason I'm wondering this is because before the nvidia acquisition of Ageia, it was across both platforms, nvidia and ati that physx would work. And only after the acquisition did nvidia decide to hoop over the ati customers and reserve physx processing for itself, essentially built into its 8xxx series and up. But the old ageia cards are still listed under the supported chipsets in the most recent physx updates on nvidia's site...

You can pick up a dedicated Ageia card now on ebay from as cheap as $35, and if it works in an ATI system without using any hacked drivers then I think I found my solution to the PhysX problem... Anyone have any info on this?

[CMetaphor]

This is an extremely interesting question, one to which i'd like an answer too! I have an Asus PhysX P1 PCI thats hanging around in my spare parts bin that might have a home in Stygian if this could work...

I'll try it myself and see what I can get working after I upgrade

[Lpfan4ever]

To my knowledge, NVIDIA has locked out usage of even the Ageia cards for Physx when it detects an ATI card. I remember looking into them a while ago and I never ended up getting one because of that reason.

[CMetaphor]

Originally Posted by lpfan4ever

To my knowledge, NVIDIA has locked out usage of even the Ageia cards for Physx when it detects an ATI card. I remember looking into them a while ago and I never ended up getting one because of that reason.

But they didn't do so for the older drivers perhaps? Maybe one of the drivers from right after the acquisition will work properly - its worth a shot!

Edit:
This may help get the ball rolling - Installing PPU PhysX cards in Windows 7: Ageia Physx and Windows 7 - Guru3D.com Forums

[_dangtx_]

you have to be pacient for a modded driver release. last i checked they werent that old :)

[sertz]

So after doing some digging, I found out that even with an older Ageia card nVIDIA has employed strong arm tactics and on a driver level, the PhysX card will be disabled if an ATI card is present in the system.

I've always been a big nVIDIA fan but this is one thing I don't agree with, and sent them a complaint on their contact page:


"I don't expect a reply, but I want to express my frustration with nVIDIA over the fact that when using an ATI video card, I am unable to use a nVIDIA card to power PhysX enabled games.

I've always been a huge nVIDIA supporter, and despite the fact that for this generation I switched to a Radeon card for my gaming needs, I feel as though I'm being punished for doing so.

The only reason I switched from a nVIDIA card was the power requirements of the new Fermi are too high for my system... And because of this, I now am completely unable to enjoy the extra PhysX effects in many newer games. Not only that, but even the older Ageia dedicated cards, which were made to be cross platform compatible, don't work with my setup because of imposed limitations your company has made in recent drivers.

From a business standpoint, I suppose I could understand not wanting the opposing teams card powering the systems display while your card handles the physx calculations, but limiting Ageia cards as well? People bought those cards specifically for PhysX regardless of the primary display adapters affinity, be it nVIDIA, ATI or even Matrox or Intel.

Basically, I think this limitation for users of anything but your video cards is ridiculous. I would be more than willing to buy one of your cards for PhysX calculations, or even an Ageia card, but you've lost a sale in me and many other enthusiasts out there with your insistency on punishing PC gamers without your hardware.

PhysX open platform? Yeah right."

I know one response isn't going to change lives, but I wanted to make sure they know that they are losing supporters when they make these decisions. Unless ATI has a major trip up in the coming months/years, I'm firmly planted in the ATI camp until nVIDIA gets its act together. PhysX is an amazing technology, just don't limit it to one sect of gamers. It should be available for everyone to enjoy.

[CMetaphor]

Nice letter, IF they respond it should prove amusing.

On a side note though, we all know that new Nvidia drivers disable PhysX if an ATI card is detected. The big question is, will an Aegia/Asus dedicated PPU work on their older drivers?

[Lpfan4ever]

Originally Posted by CMetaphor

Nice letter, IF they respond it should prove amusing.

On a side note though, we all know that new Nvidia drivers disable PhysX if an ATI card is detected. The big question is, will an Aegia/Asus dedicated PPU work on their older drivers?

I'd say they would work, but doesn't the Physx support for newer games get added into newer Physx drivers? I have no idea if that's right or not, but if it is, then wouldn't you be stuck with whatever was released before those drivers?
Then again, I don't have any NVIDIA cards anymore (except the 8800GS for folding), so I have only a vague clue about how they operate.

[CMetaphor]

Originally Posted by lpfan4ever

I'd say they would work, but doesn't the Physx support for newer games get added into newer Physx drivers? I have no idea if that's right or not, but if it is, then wouldn't you be stuck with whatever was released before those drivers?
Then again, I don't have any NVIDIA cards anymore (except the 8800GS for folding), so I have only a vague clue about how they operate.

For GPU drivers I'd agree with you, but unless the PhysX SDK has been significantly changed since the switching from the PPUs to GPU-PhysX, I don't see why it wouldn't work. In this case, the drivers for the game itself would be handled by Catalyst, and the game engine would then (hopefully) be able to use the PPU on top of that.

[sertz]

Originally Posted by lpfan4ever

I'd say they would work, but doesn't the Physx support for newer games get added into newer Physx drivers? I have no idea if that's right or not, but if it is, then wouldn't you be stuck with whatever was released before those drivers?
Then again, I don't have any NVIDIA cards anymore (except the 8800GS for folding), so I have only a vague clue about how they operate.

This is actually a really good point. If I was able to use an older driver but still have PhysX enabled in the newer games like Batman: AA or Dark Void, I would still buy an Ageia card or an nVIDIA card for PhysX. If I don't need a new driver who cares, so long as the old one works haha.