with two GTX 280 and a phyics card

[john19055]

how does that work .could you use a cheaper card just to run the physics part of the game.with two GTX280 and a 9800 for the physics.would I see a benifit or it that just possible on certain motherboads.Can you even run two GTX 280 in SLI and have a single card to run just the physics .would I see a performance in games or is the two GTX 280 powerful enough to do it all.I guess the simple question I am trying to ask is it woth while to do this.

[john19055]

If you have two GTX 280 running in SLI ,do you not need a phyics card.Or would a dedicated card help out,like a 9800gtx.Or would I not even see any help since I am running two GTX280 in SLI.

[ChrisRay]

The way Nvidia drivers work with SLI and identical cards and PhysX is.

1) SLI Enabled + PhysX enabled

First GPU does PhysX Workload + Rendering workload. Second GPU does all Rendering workload.

2) SLI Disabled

First GPU does rendering workload, Second GPU does physics workload.


If you were to add a 9800GTX to the mix.

You'd now have the option to set its own seperate PhysX device. Keep in mind this cannot be done with 3 identical cards due to the limitation of the driver currently. You will need an card with a different deviceID/type.

3) SLI cards do full rendering workload and 9800GTX does PhysX.

[john19055]

would putting a 9800GTX in there just for the physics be worth it ,like in the newer games.would I need a 512mb card or do I really need a 1gig card.would a 9800GT with 112 shaders and 512mb of memory be enough for the physics.what do you mean by the ID would a GTX 260 work.

[john19055]

Is there anyone here running two GTX 260's or two GTX 280's in SLI with another card running just the phyics.and was it a big help in games that used it.

[ChrisRay]

Using a 9800GTX as a PhysX card would depend greatly on the resolution your running. If you were doing 2560x1600 with 16xAA/16xAF and playing Mirrors edge. Having a 9800GTX + would benefit your performance a great deal. Physics processing does use GPU resources. So you need to consider your bottlenecks already.

[john19055]

I would be running it off a overclock i7 920 and a Gigabyte EX58-UD5 with 6 gigs of DDR3 1600 memory.I want be running at 2560x1600 since I just have a Dell 24" monitor.

[Anzial]

I think, in terms of physics 9800gtx doesn't offer much over 9800gt, there's just not that much load in physics only. 9600gt to 9800gt does yield some benefits, at least according to Firesquad

[ChrisRay]

I would be running it off a overclock i7 920 and a Gigabyte EX58-UD5 with 6 gigs of DDR3 1600 memory.I want be running at 2560x1600 since I just have a Dell 24" monitor.


At that resolution you probably would see a benefit in Mirrors edge using a 9800GTX as a physx card.

[Sazar]

At that resolution you probably would see a benefit in Mirrors edge using a 9800GTX as a physx card.

Ohi Chris

*wave*

[john19055]

What is this Mirrors edge,a game.So a 9800 Gt would do just as good as a 9800GTX ,I am really looking for a single slot card.Plus do I need a 1gig card or would 512mb do just fine.

[john19055]

I now there has to be someone useing two GTX 260,280 or the 285 in SLI and useing a 9800GT or 9600GT for dedicated physics.Does the drivers support running 2 GTX 280 and a dedicated card just for the physics.I have looked at some reviews but they are not much help ,but from what I have seen a 9600GT is just as good as a 9800GT.

[john19055]

I fineally just said the heck with a dedicated phyics card when newegg put a BFG GTX 280 with a Free game Call of Duty : World at war for $259 and free shipping..I know it want help much in older games but it does seem to help in the new games comeing out.Please don't scold me for bumbing up this thread .I just could'nt get a answer that satified me and I know TRI SLI should help more then just a dedicated phyics card.