PhysX SDK Support Comes Back To Linux

[curaga]

AMD does rebrand as well, the low-end mobile parts have gotten that. HD5165 and HD5145 are HD46xx and HD48xx parts.

[blackshard]

AMD does rebrand as well, the low-end mobile parts have gotten that. HD5165 and HD5145 are HD46xx and HD48xx parts.

Yes, but Ati clearly says that those cards are based on hd4xxx series:

http://www.amd.com/us/products/notebook/graphics/ati-mobility-hd-5165/Pages/ati-mobility-hd-5165.aspx

And also it is a minor rebranding for just two precise mobiity models, not an entire false new generation.

[droidhacker]

You're right that NVIDIA's VDPAU implementation is proprietary, but that doesn't make VDPAU *itself* proprietary.

VDPAU is TOTALLY IRRELEVANT without nvidia's proprietary implementation of it. You can call it whatever you like, but if something is USELESS without the proprietary, then it IS proprietary!

I.e., following your argument, the nvidia blob driver itself is NOT PROPRIETARY since the kernel layer is open source. Big whoop!

I'm sorry, I should have clarified... people also like having games not be a slideshow.

A very very tiny fraction of people -- you know, the ones who PLAY GAMES.

I haven't tried an AMD APU because I'd have to replace my whole computer, whereas I can just swap in a different GPU for a fraction of the cost. Also they don't exist yet.

That is precisely my point. You are making judgements on something you can't possibly have experienced.

Really good physics processing absolutely does require a GPU, despite what you might read on SemiAccurate or wherever.

Assuming your statement to be true (which is a huge assumption that runs contrary to everything said by everyone other than nvidia), so what? I.e., what difference does it really make? Will lacking this make you sterile or something?

[droidhacker]

So then when VA-API is used with ATI I guess that is proprietary as well by your logic.

No, because it isn't dependent on a blob.

[droidhacker]

Smolts hardware database shows pretty much the same results.

Wow, you don't think that this might be a result of people still using OLD HARDWARE from back in the days BEFORE Ati had a decent driver? (i.e. before Ati == AMD).

I'm sure you remember the days when it was nvidia-and-nothing-else.

There are also still all the people who just don't understand that THINGS CHANGE -- they are so stuck up and set in their ways that they will spend money on something that will do nothing useful for them just because SOMEBODY ONCE SAID SO.

And then you look around on the internet for comparisons of Ati to nvidia in linux, you see stuff from 2006, don't necessarily THINK that maybe you should find something newer....

And yeah, despite this, nvidia is SO FAR AHEAD of AMD.... 1433 units according to smolt.

[droidhacker]

Also you can look at the steam hardware survey as well. This does represent gamers of course, but that is exactly what Physx is for now isn't it so the stats are somewhat relative. Of all that hardware a vast majority of those Nvidia cards support linux. Lets face it, even in linux people do not go out an buy a intel IGP for gaming.

http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/

Physx isn't used for openssl, it isn't used for websurfing, it isn't used for email, etc etc. It's used for gaming, therefore you have to look at the hardware that gamers use. Target product for a target audience.

This is a very important point.
And actually correct in this case.

GAMERS.
Are a very SMALL minority of computer users.

Most serious gamers use a gaming console, i.e. sony or nintendo.
Most computer users are NOT gamers. Not by a long shot.

And the reason?
Simply because you can get yourself a console for $200 to $300, and it does games way better than a general purpose computer.

You can spend thousands on a general purpose computer and it STILL won't run your games as well as a cheap console.

[md1032]

VDPAU is TOTALLY IRRELEVANT without nvidia's proprietary implementation of it. You can call it whatever you like, but if something is USELESS without the proprietary, then it IS proprietary!

You're using a pretty strange definition of the word "proprietary". Are you sure you know what it means?

That is precisely my point. You are making judgements on something you can't possibly have experienced.

It's possible to make reasoned arguments about things that don't exist yet based on their stated characteristics. By everyone's favorite example, the car analogy, I can reasonably assume that a bunch of lawnmower engines duct taped together won't perform as well as a V6 without actually trying it.

[jmcharron]

Most serious gamers use a gaming console, i.e. sony or nintendo.
Most computer users are NOT gamers. Not by a long shot.

Most of my friends use computers not consoles to do their gaming...

You can spend thousands on a general purpose computer and it STILL won't run your games as well as a cheap console.

Ummm Nooo. I spent about 1000 to build my computer and it strait kicks ass. Starcraft 2 on ultra settings all day long(on Win7)... And it makes the Unigine Engine Demos its bitch on Windows or Linux... Half-Life 2 series definitely looks better on my computer then it did on any console...

I guess your right if you buy a pre-built Alienware POS you'll spend "THOUSANDS". But all the serious gamers I know build/upgrade their own systems...Gamers my be a fraction of the computer market but they are the ones with the deeper pockets and are willing to spend spend spend.

So I wonder who Nvidia is going to cater to...

[yogi_berra]

Assuming your statement to be true (which is a huge assumption that runs contrary to everything said by everyone other than nvidia), so what? I.e., what difference does it really make? Will lacking this make you sterile or something?

nVidia hires ninja midgets to castrate anyone that doesn't use PhysX. So yes, you will be made sterile.

Seriously though, it means the difference between waiting days for your cloth simulation to finish calculating and having it done in real time. That is a huge difference.

[leech]

nVidia hires ninja midgets to castrate anyone that doesn't use PhysX. So yes, you will be made sterile.

Seriously though, it means the difference between waiting days for your cloth simulation to finish calculating and having it done in real time. That is a huge difference.

Beware the ninja midgets!

Oddly, I think out of this entire thread of "nVidia is Evil and AMD is our friend" you have the most sane post.

nVidia supports Linux and everyone cries foul. What the hell is wrong with people?

Shadowgrounds for Linux, by the way supports Physx, and I'd like to see wine support it better (I have Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter working almost perfectly under Wine, but it doesn't utilize physx on my nVidia card.)

I do own an AMD/ATI 3200HD on my HP touchsmart. Guess what? They still suck at making drivers. The open source ones don't work with anything but Compiz or other open source software, and the fglrx most of the time can't release a version that supports the current version of Xorg.

Let's face it, if you play games, and use Linux, or even want dual head to work properly, you use nVidia.

Probably the main reason that the fedora site shows only .7% nvidia and .9% for Intel and ATI are because I have NEVER seen a server with nVidia for a GPU. They are almost always either Intel or those ATI ES1000 chips, though I do have one HP server that had a Matrox G200 in it. Thought that was cool.

I never had an nVidia nor ATI card until after my Matrox G400, I had a radeon 7200 after that, for a short time, 'til the drivers annoyed me so much and the Matrox Parhelia came out. That card was AWESOME, but then performance pretty much sucked for anything newer than when it was released, so I ended up getting an nVidia 6800GT and have been mostly getting nVidia since. If the person I am building a computer for wants to game, I always recommend them.

Sadly the market, along with AMD and Intel, have forced people who want stability and performance to choose nVidia for Linux gaming, or even workstations. Seriously, I have given AMD more than enough chances with my HP touchsmart tablet to make me know that it'll be another decade before I try them again.

So kudos (cuda?) to nVidia to (re)releasing the Physx SDK for Linux.