Dedicating a GPU to Physics

Gorman

Author Level
So i keep hearing on boards etc that theres a lot to be gained from having a second GPU and dedicating it as Physx card. This has obvious benefits if your using an ATI card and can be bothered with the hack.

But what about if you already have an Nvidia GPU? Will offloading physx to another card increase the performance of your gaming card? Lets find out.


The card im going to use is a GTS 250. This is because the most common card ive heard being used is peoples old 8/9XXX series nvidia GPU's and the GTS 250 is pretty much a rebranded 9800GT.

DSCF3082.JPG


And heres it fitted and good to go:

DSCF3084.JPG


So for refeance heres the overclocked score i got the other day:

28001.JPG







So using the same clocks and setting the drivers to use the GTS 250 as a Physx card, does it improve performance in the eyes of Vantage?


















physx.JPG






No.


That is all.
 

MiRc34

Silver Level Poster
Thanks for the info ;D

God, I love your watercooling loop system :F

Can you post more pics of your PC? It's so sexy.
 

PaulH

Bright Spark
Had a feeling that was the case dude, maybe SLI with a card dedicated for Physx? best go buy another 480 and test quick :)
 

Gorman

Author Level
No chance. The Physx on the 480 is obvioulsy independant and far better than anything below it. Which is everything Nvidia make.
 

MiRc34

Silver Level Poster
Damn, your PC is like a Goddess, beautiful and powerful :333
How much was it in total?
 

Gorman

Author Level
I honestly have no idea. And im not going to add it up because i will cry.

The watercooling was easily £300, the 800D case £220, the fan controller £70.....you get the idea.
 

Zeplini

Moderator
Moderator
yer he a nerd lol, im upset at that score i was thinking the 30k could be on, dare you push the cpu to 4.5? im sure ive seen lots on the net with the 920 pushed to it and you have the rig to do it - would be cool if you it the 30k bud
 

LDUK

Master Poster
Lols nice job dude. i've seen a few benchmarks with an extra Nvidia card used for PhysX and they've all been pretty much the same.
From my research, the reason is because the newer cards and process PhysX fast than older ones, and it makes no difference to the rest of the processing.
Heres and easy way to look at it:
Lets say the GTX 480 is split in two and the older Nvidia Card is also split into two. One side for PhysX, the other for everything else. If we were to use an older card, it would use the PhysX side to process the PhysX, but leaves the other side doing nothing. And the same goes for the GTX 480. The "non-PhysX" side will be processing everything else, but the PhysX side is left doing nothing. Obviously, the PhysX side of the GTX 480 is better than the PhysX side of the older Nvidia Card.
 

PaulH

Bright Spark
A nice insight, had a feeling that the 480 wouldnt need a dedicated card, however, people running ATI cards / lower end Nvidias - this could be the ticket :)
 

Gorman

Author Level
surely if theyre using low end nvidias the test shows theyre just better off buying a better nvid. The physx capability scales with the model of the card and detracts nothing from performance
 

LDUK

Master Poster
No no. I think this is good news for the ATI gamers. ATI cards don't process PhysX at all. Having the old Nvidia card to render PhysX would definatly benifit the ATI user. But yeah, it's true, games with PhysX will always perform better on a new Nvidia card.
 

Gorman

Author Level
yep like i say if you can be bothered with the hack as its not officially supported, ATI owners win with a dedicated card deffo.
 

Meds

Moderator
Moderator
How difficult is it to hack the ATI drivers then? It might be worth while for me with a measly Q6600 & 5850. Might run a vantage bm this aft and post it for you all to have a chuckle :p
 

LDUK

Master Poster
How difficult is it to hack the ATI drivers then? It might be worth while for me with a measly Q6600 & 5850. Might run a vantage bm this aft and post it for you all to have a chuckle :p

I'm not sure on how easy it is, but I've heard it can crash games and PCs. And you might get odd gaming experiences that have PhysX enabled. I wouldn't risk it personally. Wouldn't want to be half way through a mission and have the game crash. Grrr.
 
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