PhysX

Physx card PhysX is an open-source realtime physics engine middleware SDK developed by Nvidia as part of the Nvidia GameWorks software suite. Initially, video games supporting PhysX were meant to be accelerated by PhysX PPU (expansion cards designed by Ageia). However, after Ageia's acquisition by Nvidia, dedicated PhysX cards have been discontinued in favor of the API being run on CUDA-enabled GeForce GPUs. In both cases, hardware acceleration allowed for the offloading of certain physics calculations from the CPU, allowing it to perform other tasks instead. PhysX and other middleware physics engines are used in many video games today because they allow game developers to save development time by not having to write their own code that implements classical mechanics (Newtonian physics) to do, for example, soft body dynamics.

Physx card]] PhysX is an open-source realtime physics engine middleware SDK developed by Nvidia as part of the Nvidia GameWorks software suite. Initially, video games supporting PhysX were meant to be accelerated by PhysX PPU (expansion cards designed by Ageia). However, after Ageia's acquisition by Nvidia, dedicated PhysX cards have been discontinued in favor of the API being run on CUDA-enabled GeForce GPUs. In both cases, hardware acceleration allowed for the offloading of certain physics calculations from the CPU, allowing it to perform other tasks instead. PhysX and other middleware physics engines are used in many video games today because they allow game developers to save development time by not having to write their own code that implements classical mechanics (Newtonian physics) to do, for example, soft body dynamics. ==History== ==Features== The PhysX engine and SDK are available for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii, iOS and Android. PhysX is a multi-threaded physics simulation SDK. It supports rigid body dynamics, soft body dynamics (like cloth simulation, including tearing and pressurized cloth), ragdolls and character controllers, vehicle dynamics, particles and volumetric fluid simulation. ==Hardware acceleration== .|The top screenshot shows how debris is simulated in the original PC release of Mafia II when PhysX is turned to the highest level in the game settings. The bottom screenshot shows a similar scene with PhysX turned to the lowest level.]] ===PPU=== A physics processing unit (PPU) is a processor specially designed to alleviate the calculation burden on the CPU, specifically calculations involving physics. PhysX PPUs were offered to consumers in the forms of PCI or PCIe cards by ASUS, BFG Technologies, Dell and ELSA Technology. Beginning with version 2.8.3 of the PhysX SDK, support for PPU cards was dropped, and PPU cards are no longer manufactured. The last incarnation of PhysX PPU standalone card designed by Ageia had roughly the same PhysX performance as a dedicated 9800GTX. ===GPU=== After Nvidia's acquisition of Ageia, PhysX development turned away from PPU expansion cards and focused instead on the GPGPU capabilities of modern GPUs. Modern GPUs are very efficient at manipulating and displaying computer graphics, and their highly parallel structure makes them more effective than general-purpose CPUs for accelerating physical simulations using PhysX. Any CUDA-ready GeForce graphics card (8-series or later GPU with a minimum of 32 cores and a minimum of 256 MB dedicated graphics memory ) can take advantage of PhysX without the need to install a dedicated PhysX card. ==APEX== Nvidia APEX technology is a multi-platform scalable dynamics framework build around the PhysX SDK. It was first introduced in Mafia II in August 2010. Nvidia's APEX comprises the following modules: APEX Destruction, APEX Clothing, APEX Particles, APEX Turbulence, APEX ForceField and formerly APEX Vegetation which was suspended in 2011. From version 1.4.1 APEX SDK is deprecated. ==Nvidia FleX== FleX is a particle based simulation technique for real-time visual effects. Traditionally, visual effects are made using a combination of elements created using specialized solvers for rigid bodies, fluids, clothing, etc. Because FleX uses a unified particle representation for all object types, it enables new effects where different simulated substances can interact with each other seamlessly. Such unified physics solvers are a staple of the offline computer graphics world, where tools such as Autodesk Maya's nCloth, and Softimage's Lagoa are widely used. The goal for FleX is to use the power of GPUs to bring the capabilities of these offline applications to real-time computer graphics. ==Usage== ==See also== DirectX NovodeX physics (The foundational predecessor to PhysX) Bullet (software) Havok (software) Open Dynamics Engine Newton Game Dynamics OpenGL Vortex (software) AGX Multiphysics ==References== ==External links== Official Product Site Techgage: AGEIA PhysX.. First Impressions Techgage: NVIDIA's PhysX: Performance and Status Report

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