Separate Phisx GPU

[Zoeperzoef]

I was thinking of buying some new games like metro 2033 and mafia 2.

Both of these games support Nvidia's PhysX.

I know it is possible to add another GPU (Geforce 8,9 200 and 400 series) for handling just the Physx part.

I am thinking to buy eiter the 9800gtx+ or the gtx260 to add as the axtra GPU for handling PhysX.

Now I was wondering if someone is having a similar setup and could share some thoughts.

My current setup:

Asus P7P55D-Deluxe

Intel Core i7 860 @3.5 GHz

Gainward GTX295

4 GB RAM

[deathbycrowbar]

I was thinking of buying some new games like metro 2033 and mafia 2.

Both of these games support Nvidia's PhysX.

I know it is possible to add another GPU (Geforce 8,9 200 and 400 series) for handling just the Physx part.

I am thinking to buy eiter the 9800gtx+ or the gtx260 to add as the axtra GPU for handling PhysX.

Now I was wondering if someone is having a similar setup and could share some thoughts.

My current setup:

Asus P7P55D-Deluxe

Intel Core i7 860 @3.5 GHz

Gainward GTX295

4 GB RAM

No, no, no! Your GTX 295 will handle all the work just fine.

[Mayco]

This is completely possible. Any 8000 series card and above can be used for PhysX. I'm currently using a GTX 295 for rendering and my old 8800 GTX for PhysX. Just make sure you get pretty fast card (like the 9800GTX+ or the GTX 260). I once used a 9500 GT for PhysX, and it gave really bad results.

[deathbycrowbar]

This is completely possible. Any 8000 series card and above can be used for PhysX. I'm currently using a GTX 295 for rendering and my old 8800 GTX for PhysX. Just make sure you get pretty fast card (like the 9800GTX+ or the GTX 260). I once used a 9500 GT for PhysX, and it gave really bad results.

But buying one of those cards is gonna cost at least 100 euros. You'd be better off saving your money for something that will give you a genuine performance boost. The speed increase with a third gpu for physx will be negligible. Remember, you already have 2 gpus working on the physx and rendering with your GTX 295, don't bother wasting money on another card just for physx.

[bAsTiNaToR]

A seperate graphic card isn't necessary. Your gtx 295 has enough power for physX so why buyin a card for about 100€ and take a higher energy consumption. Btw, a good quad-core cpu can handle the physX in metro 2033

[Mayco]

This is completely possible. Any 8000 series card and above can be used for PhysX. I'm currently using a GTX 295 for rendering and my old 8800 GTX for PhysX. Just make sure you get pretty fast card (like the 9800GTX+ or the GTX 260). I once used a 9500 GT for PhysX, and it gave really bad results.

But buying one of those cards is gonna cost at least 100 euros. You'd be better off saving your money for something that will give you a genuine performance boost. The speed increase with a third gpu for physx will be negligible. Remember, you already have 2 gpus working on the physx and rendering with your GTX 295, don't bother wasting money on another card just for physx.

Not saying it's a smart investment, just saying it'll work

[Zoeperzoef]

Ok now i've seen the Mafia 2 specs: Apex High: GTX480 + GTX280 for Physx? That even surpasses my setup.

Now the most puzzling i've came across on the www is the new dual gpu from Galaxy.

It is dual gpu card: a gtx480 with a gt240 chip for Physx.

They are claiming this, especially the last sentence is interresting:

The overall specs of the device, as far as the GF100 is concerned, aren't exactly different from the original ones. The amount of memory is unchanged (1536MB) as are the 384-bit interface, the 480 CUDA cores and the rest of the feature set (3D Vision surround support, etc.). The unusual part starts with the GT 240 itself, which has 512MB GDDR5 of its own, as well as a 128-bit interface, 96 CUDA cores and compatibility with DirectCompute 4.1. Basically, this secondary chip should be able to offload all PhysX calculations, leaving the GF100 free to do graphics rendering.

Would this point out that (since the GTX480 is on quite on par with the gtx295) a gt240 does not drag down the performance of the gtx480 (gtx295 in my case)?

I'd like a gt240 to offload my gtx295 so that i can use the whole 295 for rendering alone.

I was going for a heavier gpu but since my PSU is (Coolermaster Real power M700) only 700 Watts, then I'm gonna need a bigger PSU as well. That given only Physx will cost me +- 100 euro for the GTS250 for example and another 120 euros for a 850 Watt PSU or something in that range. So 200+ euro's for just Physx. That is too expensive for just Physx i think.

Something tells me: the heavier ur Physx GPU the better

Edited August 26, 2010 by Zoeperzoef

[Clavus]

God that's some waste of money. Here's me hoping we'll get a decent open standard for GPU calculations, such as OpenCL.

[CarPileUp]

God that's some waste of money. Here's me hoping we'll get a decent open standard for GPU calculations, such as OpenCL.

Agreed.

[MiF]

God that's some waste of money. Here's me hoping we'll get a decent open standard for GPU calculations, such as OpenCL.

Agreed.

+1

I use PhysX with ATI 5808. Crysis and stuff which supports PhysX works better than on my old Nvidia Geforce 9800 GT +Super. Thought real reason i need it is Rayfire plugin for 3ds max, which requires PhysX

I say buying 2 graph cards for other to PhysX and other to normal rendering is waste of money (ofc if you do have old card you can use it) PhysX works fine on single card.

Period.

[Zoeperzoef]

Ok, another point of view: Since there is soo little good info on the internet on this subject I won't go for an dedicated gpu.

If the impact is that glorious with an extra Physx GPU, then sure there was a lot more info to find and a lot more enthousiasm about the subject. Gonna pick up Mafia2 tomorrow and c how it performs.

[CyriusG]

As many other have already said it's just a waste of money buying a gpu for just PhysX since not that many games really use it.