Physics add in card using a CPU

[Dutch Guy]

Recently I have upgraded to a AMD dual core so have a A64 3700+ spare and that got me thinking.

Why isn't there an add in PCI/PCIe card with a socket designed to use a separate/spare CPU to do physics calculation?

There is the possibility to use a separate videocard or a PhysX card but why not a CPU

 

[BillytheImpaler]

Add-in processors do exist but I've not seen one that used an x86 processor since they had them for PowerMacs in the early 90s so they could run Win 16/32 code.

Usually they're for exotic workstations, not casual gaming machines. It's also important to note that there's really no API for pysics yet so PPUs have not become common.

 

[semi-pro waster]

I don't know as it doesn't sound like a bad idea at all, I'd probably guess that the official line would be there isn't a market for it. You would also need the add-in card to cater for at least 3 different sockets (939, AM2 and 775) as the most likely to be spare plus adding a heatsink onto the chip would make the card unwieldy. GPUs are also better at parallel processing I think which is important in physics calculations. Add to that the fact the card would have to be fairly cheap to encourage take-up and I don't think any manufacturer would go with it even though it is a good idea. Oh and there may be a problem with Windows recognising it as a second CPU which wouldn't work in XP Home.