Physics geared system.

Unity Engine
1

Hi,

we have an app with a lot of ragdolls and we need to buy a computer that can run as many of them as possible - where should we put the money?

Cpu and RAM right? Is one more important than the other? Other things to consider?

(It needs to be a windows machine as we have an input device that only works under that OS)

Thanks, Patrik

2

I’m guessing (and this is only a guess) the answer would be CPU. I’ve noticed that when I’m running a lot of physics intensive functions on my MBP the cpu fan starts running at full bore, so I’m guessing a faster processor would help.

3

Thanks bigkahuna.

Guess the only way to really know is to test it so I’ll pester all my friends who have gaming-PC’s this week :slight_smile:

/P

4

Basically the way I understand it (highly over simplified and I’m sure someone will jump in and correct me where I’m wrong):

System RAM - increasing this reduces how much the system needs to access the HD. The OS manages this, so I don’t think you’ll find a direct correlation to RAM / HD operations during a game.

CPU - a faster cpu should process all math functions faster, including things like physics calculations.

GPU - a faster gpu should result in faster graphics frame rates / more enhanced shaders.

Graphics RAM - larger / more textures can be loaded / supported at higher screen resolutions / higher color depths.

5

Memory speed, type and bus sizes likely should be considered as well in your case.

Also, provided that PhysX is nicely multi-threaded, a multi-core CPU may also help.

Edit: It’s also important to get a good motherboard, preferably one designed for gaming like the nForce boards, etc.

-Jeremy

6

Great, now I have a bit more factors to look at.

thanks,
P

7

Is PhysX offloaded to its own thread? Not sure. At any rate, buying more than two cores will likely not give you better performance. I’d get a dual core system which a high clocking.