PhysX?

RainDownMyBlues

New Member
This is just one of a few thoughts that are buzzing around my head as I'm building a new rig for some games.

But seeing as how I'm running a Radeon video card, amongst other AMD/ATI hardware, would I see a worthwhile performance increase by purchasing a dedicated lower level Nvidia card to use dedicated solely for PhysX?

I remember hearing about this awhile back, but forgot all about it/links. How would I go about having one dedicated to PhysX, performance returns etc.?
 

RainDownMyBlues

New Member
Or would it simply be more advantegeous to add a second Radeon 4870 in crossfire? I realize it isn't the bleeding edge in graphics cards, but it handles nearly everything that's out, and the only real difference in it and the 58xx series cards is the lack of direct X 11.
 

mphhot2

New Member
Physx

The reason NVDIA is still the king of GPU is because they have PhysX! get gtx 460 or wait for 560.
 

Russ88765

Active Member
Last I remember, Nvidia made a company decision to deactivate the PhysX engine in any system with an Ati/Radeon card present. They simply won't go together. Nvidia might have better drivers or PhysX/Tessellation but Radeon's new 6xxx series has that tessellation along with superior clock speeds, lower power usage and improved crossfire scaling. I also got a hint that their 6970 will be made into a mobile gpu, so without a doubt they are gonna dominate that market very soon once crossfired 6970m's become available.

Nvidia deactivates physX
 
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mrjack

VIP Member
Last I remember, Nvidia made a company decision to deactivate the PhysX engine in any system with an Ati/Radeon card present.

Yes...

They simply won't go together.

...not quite.

There is software out there to activate PhysX with an AMD/nVidia combination (with very recent drivers from nVidia). But most people don't want to go through the hassle associated with doing that.

PhysX is quite marginal, a few games make use of it and even fewer require it (usually nVidia's free tech demos/games).
 
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Russ88765

Active Member
Yes...



...and no.

There is software out there to activate PhysX with an AMD/nVidia combination (with very recent drivers from nVidia).

PhysX is quite marginal, a few games make use of it and even fewer require it (usually nVidia's free tech demos/games).

What? I thought they scrapped it on any of the drivers after version 186? Part of their feud with AMD? Is it a legal software?
 

Aastii

VIP Member
The reason NVDIA is still the king of GPU is because they have PhysX! get gtx 460 or wait for 560.

Not at all, they have the fastest cards because they have the fastest architecture. In games without Physx support, their top end (GTX580) is faster than AMD's (HD5870), and not because Nvidia are 1 generation ahead, because the 480, even with its heat and power issues, was much quicker than the 5870.

What? I thought they scrapped it on any of the drivers after version 186? Part of their feud with AMD? Is it a legal software?

It is a grey area. Because it is Nvidia's software that has been altered, software which Nvidia have intelectual rights to, it is a no no to use the hacked drivers. You can use the older drivers still though, that is perfectly alright.

@OP In games which support Physx, the performance increase and the "extras" that come with it (for example cloth physics) are massive compared to processing physics on the CPU, but in games which don't support it, you won't notice any difference, because Physx isn't being used.

There aren't that many games that support Physx though, and that doesn't seem set to change, but if there are titles that you do, or will, play a lot, it could be a major factor in your decision
 

RainDownMyBlues

New Member
So essentially screw it. I would be better served by waiting a month or two and get a new GFX card. Is there much difference in the 4870 and the 6xxx series equivelent aside from heat, direct x 11, and power consumption? I know that there is little difference in processing power in the 4xxx and 5xxx series.

My goal is probably to get a MOBO with two 16X PCIE slots and get a new GFX card in two-three months, and maybe another 3 months later is to get another and crossfire.

Right now my GFX card will run pretty much everything, so I'm going to build a new system that eliminates my other bottlenecks, CPU, Ram, MOBO. And go from there. Can't drop a bunch of money all at once. Out of the Army and working on my law degree. Army didn't pay crap, and law school eats up 60k a year :eek:
 
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