<![CDATA[Gizmodo: ageia]]> http://tags.gizmodo.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gizmodo.com.png <![CDATA[Gizmodo: ageia]]> http://gizmodo.com/tag/ageia http://gizmodo.com/tag/ageia <![CDATA[NVIDIA and Ageia: GPU Physics Engine Nearly Complete]]> We knew it was coming, and now it appears that NVIDIA's acquisition of PhysX maker Ageia is about to pay off. NVIDIA has told analysts that that the conversion of Ageia's physics application interface to CUDA is nearly complete—so if you are running GeForce 8000+ you will soon be able to enjoy the benefits of a physics accelerator via a simple software download.

PhysX technology has yet to take off, but with GPU integration, it is poised to breakout in a serious way. In fact, there are around 140 games that are supported or currently in development that utilize the technology. It may also go a long way to silence critics that say GPUs may not be necessary in the future given the increasing power of multi-core CPUs. [TG Daily via Slashgear]

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<![CDATA[Dell's "Affordable" XPS 630 Gaming System Starts at $1249, But Will Probably Cost You More]]> Dell wanted to bring its gaming platform down from the $2000 and up arena, and into something average gamers can go and buy, so it's rolling out the previously teased XPS 630.

For build-to-order you start at $1249 and a pre-fab $1299 edition comes with an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 and dual NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB graphics cards with SLI technology. But the expansion possibilities in the standard ATX chassis include overclockable Corsair Dominator memory and Intel Extreme processors, up to three factory installed HDDs (with a fourth bay for your own tinkering) and an optional AGEIA PhysX accelerator.

In other words, reading the fine print, it sounds like no one is going to be satisfied with the base config—even though it will come with pretty LED lighting zones that synchronize with game play. [Dell]

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<![CDATA[What's Next in Graphics Cards: Integrated Physics Processors]]> We suspected this, but now it's clear that NVIDIA's end game when it picked up PhysX-maker AGEIA was to integrate physics processors into graphics cards. Right now, they're porting the PhysX engine over to run on GeForce 8s, and it'll be a simple software download, bringing some additional physics-crunching juice to current cards. The next step is a GPU with an onboard specialized physics processor.

For one, AGEIA's standalone PhysX cards haven't really broken into the mainstream computing. Throwing their chips onto NVIDIA's graphics cards would push adoption, and by Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang's reasoning,

"encourage people to buy even better GPUs. It might—and probably will—encourage people to buy a second GPU for their SLI slot. And for the highest-end gamer, it will encourage them to buy three GPUs. Potentially two for graphics and one for physics, or one for graphics and two for physics."
So yeah, they're definitely coming. [Tech Report via digg]]]>
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<![CDATA[Hands on Dell's Sick XPS M1730 Gaming Laptop]]> Overclocked to 3.2GHz, Dell's XPS M1730 gaming laptop is a smoking machine, listing from $2,999 to a "You have a serious gaming problem" price of $4,486, and we got a hands on at its official unveiling at DigitalLife.

The only laptop currently capable of running the Ageia PhysX engine, and Unreal Tournament 3's dreaded Tornado Mod (shown in the gallery), it's built for an immersive experience. There's sort of an Ambilight effect going on, something that is apparently best enjoyed when playing games in near darkness: all of the LEDs can be programmed to work with the game engine, so that when you take a hit, or pick up a weapon, the lights in speakers, keyboard and outer shell all react, like this:
It's a heavy machine, starting at around 11lbs, but easily up and over 12lbs once you load 'er up. Dual HDD slots can be used in a RAID array, and Blu-ray will be an option, good for the 1920 x 1280 screen that has a sweet 7ms response time. Here it is, from all angles:

[Official Site]


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<![CDATA[Ageia Puts PhysX Gaming Chip into Huge Laptops]]> The standalone physics chip that Ageia released two years ago is making its way into laptops. Don't expect to use the PhysX 100M mobile processors in tiny notebooks though, these are designed for big desktop replacement mofos, and should ship with a Dell machine first before it hits other "laptops". No info on how much added cost this will be, the actual use of PhysX chips is questionable since not all that many games support it for more than a little eye candy. [Extreme Tech]

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