• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Microsoft Acquires Havok Physics from Intel

FordGT90Concept

"I go fast!1!11!1!"
Joined
Oct 13, 2008
Messages
26,259 (4.65/day)
Location
IA, USA
System Name BY-2021
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (65w eco profile)
Motherboard MSI B550 Gaming Plus
Cooling Scythe Mugen (rev 5)
Memory 2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
Storage Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X20 TB 7200 RPM
Display(s) Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI)
Case Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay + USB 3.2 (A+C) 3.5" bay
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+
Power Supply Enermax Platimax 850w
Mouse Nixeus REVEL-X
Keyboard Tesoro Excalibur
Software Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare.
Which is blatantly stupid. PhysX's problem is the lack of AMD support. That's truly not hard to fix.

Again, FleX is a subset of PhysX; it doesn't appear poised to replace it at all. From what I gather, it's just more eye candy but performed live instead of through modeling. It's more of the same fad/niche PhysX has already been relegated to and, yet again, why would any developer use it when they can use the tools they already have available (like Maya) to do the same damn thing and have work identically on AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA? NVIDIA might as well put PhysX out to pasture.

This move by Microsoft likely proves that NVIDIA won't cooperate with anyone on hardware physics. Microsoft's only option was to approach Intel and luckily Intel agreed.
 
Joined
Sep 15, 2011
Messages
6,457 (1.41/day)
Processor Intel® Core™ i7-13700K
Motherboard Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX
Cooling Noctua NH-D15
Memory 32GB(2x16) DDR5@6600MHz G-Skill Trident Z5
Video Card(s) ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 3080 AMP Holo
Storage 2TB SK Platinum P41 SSD + 4TB SanDisk Ultra SSD + 500GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD
Display(s) Acer Predator X34 3440x1440@100Hz G-Sync
Case NZXT PHANTOM410-BK
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi Titanium PCIe
Power Supply Corsair 850W
Mouse Logitech Hero G502 SE
Software Windows 11 Pro - 64bit
Benchmark Scores 30FPS in NFS:Rivals
here is to hoping that this will become an free api module of directx (like direct3d, dirctinput, directsound, etc), having a directcollision or something, even if not gpu accelerated by default, would certainly help.
and if this turns out to be a flop, developers can always start to adopt vulkan + bullet (at least for the pc crowd)

I'm afraid this will go the way of Direct Sound 3D.....
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2013
Messages
543 (0.14/day)
Before Intel bought Havok, they were working on GPU-assisted physics with AMD as the premier partner for a more open platform that could include others.

Then Intel bought them and that was dead.

Remember those rumors for not so long ago that Microsoft was about to buy AMD? And Microsoft buys their old partner.

Ipso Facto, MICROSOFT IS BUYING AMD TO BECOME A GPU MAKER!

Microsoft Rage Fury MAXX 128 Extreme Pro XL incoming.
 
Joined
Sep 7, 2011
Messages
2,785 (0.61/day)
Location
New Zealand
System Name MoneySink
Processor 2600K @ 4.8
Motherboard P8Z77-V
Cooling AC NexXxos XT45 360, RayStorm, D5T+XSPC tank, Tygon R-3603, Bitspower
Memory 16GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3-1600C8
Video Card(s) GTX 780 SLI (EVGA SC ACX + Giga GHz Ed.)
Storage Kingston HyperX SSD (128) OS, WD RE4 (1TB), RE2 (1TB), Cav. Black (2 x 500GB), Red (4TB)
Display(s) Achieva Shimian QH270-IPSMS (2560x1440) S-IPS
Case NZXT Switch 810
Audio Device(s) onboard Realtek yawn edition
Power Supply Seasonic X-1050
Software Win8.1 Pro
Benchmark Scores 3.5 litres of Pale Ale in 18 minutes.
Again, FleX is a subset of PhysX; it doesn't appear poised to replace it at all.
Maybe poor choice of words on my part. I meant Flex is folded into PhysX (along with just about everything else, VXGI etc) under the GameWorks banner.
This move by Microsoft likely proves that NVIDIA won't cooperate with anyone on hardware physics. Microsoft's only option was to approach Intel and luckily Intel agreed.
Microsoft don't have a record of licensing software from third parties if they can buy/steal it outright, and there's a good possibility that Microsoft's plans are great deal larger than Nvidia's - so buying Havok would be cheaper and offer a better tailored product. I doubt Intel put much of a price on Havok.
Microsoft Rage Fury MAXX 128 Extreme Pro XL incoming.
Wrong branding I think...
MICROSOFT Rage Fury MAXX Professional Edition.....MICROSOFT Rage Fury Nano Home Edition....MICROSOFT FirePro Office 365....

Maybe they'll charge you 10% less if you opt for the OEM version. Hopefully they don't tie Windows reactivation/reinstall with the original hardware.
 
Joined
May 4, 2009
Messages
1,970 (0.36/day)
Location
Bulgaria
System Name penguin
Processor R7 5700G
Motherboard Asrock B450M Pro4
Cooling Some CM tower cooler that will fit my case
Memory 4 x 8GB Kingston HyperX Fury 2666MHz
Video Card(s) IGP
Storage ADATA SU800 512GB
Display(s) 27' LG
Case Zalman
Audio Device(s) stock
Power Supply Seasonic SS-620GM
Software win10
Joined
Dec 13, 2011
Messages
433 (0.10/day)
Processor Core i5 3470 (3.20 GHZ)
Cooling Intel OC27vv
Memory 16 GB DDR3 667mhz
Video Card(s) XFX Radeon HD 5670
Storage Seagate - 500GB | 7200RPM | 32MB Cache | Sata-3G
Display(s) BenQ RL2455
Case Dell Tower
Audio Device(s) On-board
Power Supply Corsair 600w
Could Microsoft somehow make the engine run crappier on the PS4? You know, like Intel did with their compiler.
 

FordGT90Concept

"I go fast!1!11!1!"
Joined
Oct 13, 2008
Messages
26,259 (4.65/day)
Location
IA, USA
System Name BY-2021
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (65w eco profile)
Motherboard MSI B550 Gaming Plus
Cooling Scythe Mugen (rev 5)
Memory 2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
Storage Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X20 TB 7200 RPM
Display(s) Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI)
Case Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay + USB 3.2 (A+C) 3.5" bay
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+
Power Supply Enermax Platimax 850w
Mouse Nixeus REVEL-X
Keyboard Tesoro Excalibur
Software Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare.
It could become abandonware outside of Windows/Xbox because once they integrate the feature set into DirectX, they really have no reason to maintain any other codebases. Ironically, this move may make Sony and Nintendo switch to NVIDIA for GPU unless open source steps up.

All speculation at this point. All I know is that this could (if Microsoft does something instead of just sitting on Havok like Intel did) really shakes up the market.
 
Joined
Dec 9, 2013
Messages
911 (0.24/day)
System Name BlueKnight
Processor Intel Celeron G1610 @ 2.60GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-H61M-S2PH (rev. 1.0)
Memory 1x 4GB DDR3 @ 1333MHz (Kingston KVR13N9S8/4)
Video Card(s) Onboard
Storage 1x 160GB (Western Digital WD1600AAJS-75M0A0)
Display(s) 1x 20" 1600x900 (PHILIPS 200VW9FBJ/78)
Case μATX Case (Generic)
Power Supply 300W (Generic)
Software Debian GNU/Linux 8.7 (jessie)
Microsoft monopolizing everything and the people go happy. As if their monopoly on their operating system arena was not enough.

What's next!? To acquire Google!? :shadedshu:
 
Joined
Sep 6, 2013
Messages
2,973 (0.77/day)
Location
Athens, Greece
System Name 3 desktop systems: Gaming / Internet / HTPC
Processor Ryzen 5 5500 / Ryzen 5 4600G / FX 6300 (12 years latter got to see how bad Bulldozer is)
Motherboard MSI X470 Gaming Plus Max (1) / MSI X470 Gaming Plus Max (2) / Gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3
Cooling Νoctua U12S / Segotep T4 / Snowman M-T6
Memory 16GB G.Skill RIPJAWS 3600 / 16GB G.Skill Aegis 3200 / 16GB Kingston 2400MHz (DDR3)
Video Card(s) ASRock RX 6600 + GT 710 (PhysX)/ Vega 7 integrated / Radeon RX 580
Storage NVMes, NVMes everywhere / NVMes, more NVMes / Various storage, SATA SSD mostly
Display(s) Philips 43PUS8857/12 UHD TV (120Hz, HDR, FreeSync Premium) ---- 19'' HP monitor + BlitzWolf BW-V5
Case Sharkoon Rebel 12 / Sharkoon Rebel 9 / Xigmatek Midguard
Audio Device(s) onboard
Power Supply Chieftec 850W / Silver Power 400W / Sharkoon 650W
Mouse CoolerMaster Devastator III Plus / Coolermaster Devastator / Logitech
Keyboard CoolerMaster Devastator III Plus / Coolermaster Devastator / Logitech
Software Windows 10 / Windows 10 / Windows 7
Microsoft monopolizing everything and the people go happy. As if their monopoly on their operating system arena was not enough.

What's next!? To acquire Google!? :shadedshu:
If you have to choose between two monopolies, one that works on every hardware and one that dictates that you will only buy from ONE manufacturer hardware, what would you choose? By going Windows you are already in Microsoft's ecosystem. By choosing XBOX One you are already in Microsoft's ecosystem. If you want to fight Microsoft's monopoly you go Linux and PS4. Havok is the least of your concerns if you don't like Microsoft's monopoly. And you know something? Maybe Microsoft getting Havok is good for Vulkan and Linux, because it could push Khronos to move in that direction, to try to create an open standard physics engine, if there isn't any, for Vulkan. In the end this move could do good for future Linux gaming.
 
Joined
Jul 9, 2015
Messages
3,413 (1.07/day)
System Name M3401 notebook
Processor 5600H
Motherboard NA
Memory 16GB
Video Card(s) 3050
Storage 500GB SSD
Display(s) 14" OLED screen of the laptop
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores 3050 scores good 15-20% lower than average, despite ASUS's claims that it has uber cooling.
I love to read these Nvidia hater comments, about pretty much everything Nvidia does from physx to 3D glasses. There was no widespreadly used accelerated physics engine for PC gamers, so Nvidia put in time and effort and decided to bring life to their "own" solution using the stuff Ageia had to offer, and yes, they made it with their hardware in mind. They did not chop of the hands of the guys at AMD or Intel or Microsoft, etc.. to do the same. How is that a bad thing is simply beyond my comprehension.

Get your facts straight dude.
nVidia BOUGHT a company that created PhysX and changed its code not to run on competitor's product, effectively, to leverage market position to ban competitor.
"time and effort" my arse.

Some "time and effort" was put into gsync, and that was MOSTLY about how to have something that AMD could not use. Luckily, FreeSync is a cheap (included in all popular upscaler chips = can be had "for free") yet superior (slight performance increase vs decrease in nvidias, no limitations like "only one port" etc) alternative. Oh, and FreeSync is loyalty free and open to use by anyone.
 
Joined
Jul 9, 2015
Messages
3,413 (1.07/day)
System Name M3401 notebook
Processor 5600H
Motherboard NA
Memory 16GB
Video Card(s) 3050
Storage 500GB SSD
Display(s) 14" OLED screen of the laptop
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores 3050 scores good 15-20% lower than average, despite ASUS's claims that it has uber cooling.
Microsoft monopolizing everything and the people go happy. As if their monopoly on their operating system arena was not enough.

What's next!? To acquire Google!? :shadedshu:

Microsoft Windows is already a monopoly as a gaming platform.
On the other hand, pumping up DirectX and including physics engine could help with getting rid of anti-compettive PhysX dependency.

So I'd sure welcome that.
 

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast
Supporter
Joined
Jul 25, 2008
Messages
13,909 (2.43/day)
Location
Louisiana -Laissez les bons temps rouler!
System Name Bayou Phantom
Processor Core i7-8700k 4.4Ghz @ 1.18v
Motherboard ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6
Cooling All air: 2x140mm Fractal exhaust; 3x 140mm Cougar Intake; Enermax T40F Black CPU cooler
Memory 2x 16GB Mushkin Redline DDR-4 3200
Video Card(s) EVGA RTX 2080 Ti Xc
Storage 1x 500 MX500 SSD; 2x 6TB WD Black; 1x 4TB WD Black; 1x400GB VelRptr; 1x 4TB WD Blue storage (eSATA)
Display(s) HP 27q 27" IPS @ 2560 x 1440
Case Fractal Design Define R4 Black w/Titanium front -windowed
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster Z
Power Supply Seasonic X-850
Mouse Coolermaster Sentinel III (large palm grip!)
Keyboard Logitech G610 Orion mechanical (Cherry Brown switches)
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Start10 & Fences 3.0 installed)
As a mostly (80%) Nvidia user over the years, I have to say I am pleased by the possibility of Havok being THE dominant form of physics in games. I've always found Havok to be more "realistic". Phys-X I never run on the GPU, because it just feels over the top and wrong to me. Thus I always set mine to run off the CPU. Since this feature set is more limited, it feels to me more realistic, like Havok always has.

So yeah, I would be pleased by the death of Phys-X because of this move.
 
Joined
Feb 18, 2011
Messages
1,259 (0.26/day)
Get your facts straight dude.
nVidia BOUGHT a company that created PhysX and changed its code not to run on competitor's product, effectively, to leverage market position to ban competitor.
"time and effort" my arse.

Some "time and effort" was put into gsync, and that was MOSTLY about how to have something that AMD could not use. Luckily, FreeSync is a cheap (included in all popular upscaler chips = can be had "for free") yet superior (slight performance increase vs decrease in nvidias, no limitations like "only one port" etc) alternative. Oh, and FreeSync is loyalty free and open to use by anyone.
I do check my facts just fine thanks "dude" (o_O)
Yes they actually put in time and effort because they did marketing for it which needs a lot of money and they also brought it to developers who impemented it into games for the players (for only those who had nvidia cards indeed, but this is how the market works, you see the same shit happening with airplanes, cars, and pretty much everything).
Physx was always an utter shit and if you ask me it's still the same (even Flex is far from convincing in my book tbh), but at least we -who had an Nvidia hardware - had something, and it was good to have something instead of nothing. I understand if somebody says that they don't want to buy Nvidia products because of this and that, but nobody forces them to do so, it's simply an option... if you like that they offer physx, gsync, 3d vision, sli, shadowplay, gameworks, Nvlink, cuda, whatever...etc... you buy from them and if you don't like those you buy something else. End of story.
 
Last edited:
Top