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Physx On An Amd Card?


flawlesssai
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AMD cards cannot run Apex PhysX effects because they don't have CUDA cores (there are special hardware based instructions within CUDA cores that Apex PhysX effects utilize to process data, operational codes and values which execute at the hardware logic level). Basically, Apex PhysX effects require specialized hardware to run, hardware that only Nvidia has the patents for.

 

Other games that have PhysX special effects are almost always executed on the CPU (a lot of these effects can be run easily on the current generation of CPUs), unless an Nvidia card is present in which case a lot of the workload is offloaded to the GPU; these effects are software based effects.

 

The main effect that Warframe uses, however, is Turbulence Fields, an effect which requires a massive quantity of floating point operations--specifically floating point multiplies, divides, roots and exponent functions. Although these can be processed by a CPU, they can't be processed well enough or fast enough to compete with CUDA cores. In essence, the CPU is a "Jack of all trades, master of none" while the GPU, by default, is designed to handle and process complex arithmetic functions at a high speed for processing vector graphics... as it turns out the same arithmetic functions used in the processing of graphics can also apply to physics simulations (ergo Apex PhysX effects).

 

It's also for this same reason that many high-performance-computers (HPCs) and Supercomputers are essentially a huge array of GPUs managed by a processor.

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sometimes i think you have 15 different flavor of answers to these common questions on sticky notes and paste a random flavor in whenever someone asks these questions for the Xth time :D

Nah, I'm pretty passionate when it comes to GPU hardware and design, being a computer engineer who's obsessed with digital system and logic design and synthesis. I usually write these sorts of responses on the spot.

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I've heard of something called Mantle for AMD which from my understanding, it makes your GPU work more rather than your CPU which opens up for more power but i dont think that would have anything to do with PhysX. I'm currantly using a R7850 and can't aford an upgrade atm.

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