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BFG AGEIA PhysX Accelerator 128MB Review |
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Written by Mavke
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Tuesday, 09 May 2006 |
HotHardware shares a review on the BFG AGEIA PhysX Accelerator 128MB graphics card. Without question, one of the hottest topics throughout the industry this year has been the advent of the discrete physics processor or PPU. Developed by a new startup company called AGEIA, this new physics processor gives game developers the opportunity to create entirely new game play characteristics that were not considered possible using standard hardware. Since its original inception, both CPU and GPU vendors have come to the spotlight to showcase the ability to process physics on their respective hardware. However, the AGEIA PhysX PPU is the only viable solution which is readily available to consumers.
 BFG AGEIA PhysX Accelerator 128MB Review
For the foreseeable future, the only vendors which will be manufacturing and selling physics processors based on the AGEIA PhysX PPU are ASUS and BFG. With ASUS primarily focusing on the OEM market, BFG will enjoy a monopoly of sorts within the retail channel, as they will comprise the vast majority of all available cards on store shelves. Today, we will be running a retail sample of BFG's first ever physics processor through its paces. Judging from the packaging alone, you can tell that this box contains something out of the ordinary.
In terms of ranking this product, we feel the need to make separate judgments on the chipset vendor and retail card vendor. BFG has done themselves proud by offering hardcore gaming enthusiasts the bleeding-edge hardware they demand. In terms of who BFG aims to address with the launch of their PhysX based card, they have certainly hit the mark as their target demographic is being offered the absolute latest and greatest hardware. Unfortunately for those early adopters however, the game industry is nowhere near up to speed in terms of fully utilizing a discrete PPU.
Make no mistake, we are avid fans of the idea of a dedicated physics processor and the potential it has to revolutionize gameplay. However, every aspect of this product seems a bit premature as there are no real titles which can utilize the hardware today beyond a few subtle changes here and there in a handful of games. In an ideal scenario where investors didn't demand results as soon as possible, we would have seen AGEIA work with developers to get a compelling list of games that fully utilized the PhysX card before they began selling the card in the retail channel.
For this reason, we both criticize and commend AGEIA. On one hand, they are selling a product that is largely useless in the short term. However, you have to respect the small company for having the guts and the vision to make such a dramatic effort towards improving the quality and realism of today's games. Were we rating AGEIA as a company, we would be compelled to give them at an outstanding if for no other reason than respect of their immense innovation in technology. Unfortunately, our job is to rate this actual product and help you determine whether it is worth your hard earned cash.
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