question about running PhysX in a mixed card config

[faxon]

question is pretty straightforward. I have a friend who is welling to give me his 9800GTX if i buy a TRUE and lap it for him, which would be about $80 for TRUE + paper, and i have been wanting to lap another cooler again. I currently can afford a much better card, but i dont really NEED the extra performance right now, and i want to have the option of getting a reasonable upgrade out of a larrabee to play POS (yea i know that's a horrible acronym for project offset) when they launch. so, if i were to get the card now, and get something else non nvidia later, could i still use the 9800GTX for GPU accelerated PhysX later on if i were to pick up whatever is in the $250 price range +/- 50 bucks for bang/buck when larrabee launches

 

[geokilla]

So you'll get a 9800GTX for $80 from your friend if you buy him a TRUE and lap it for him? No deal. A brand new GTS250 or aka 9800GTX+ brand new costs around $150 USD AR. Convince him to get a OCZ Vendetta 2 and then you're talking.

Back on topic. PhysX is really not worth it atm as it's been pointed out http://forums.anandtech.com/me...id=31&threadid=2291418

 

[dev0lution]

Depends on a few things. First, what card do you have now or what were you looking to purchase? 9800GTX is slightly overkill if all you plan to use it for is as a dedicated PhysX card. Also, down the road you'd have to be using XP or Windows 7 if you wanted to dedicate that card to PhysX but were running another non-NV GPU since you'd need both drivers and Vista doesn't allow for 2 display drivers to run concurrently AFAIK.

If you think the 9800GTX is enough power for the games you're playing now, go ahead. But if you could use a bit more power graphics-wise, there's no reason you couldn't get a GXT 260 or GTX 275 which would give you plenty of performance now (and do PhysX+Graphics on a single card) and still use it as a PhysX card down the road.

 

[faxon]

i have a vanilla HD2900PRO 1GB (sapphire), i was going to get a Vapor-X HD4870 1GB (i want the cooler on it). PhysX isnt worth crap really, i know. i just figured i would ask. yes i know it's an overkill card just for PhysX. I also might be building another comp down the road around the same time i get the Larrabee or equiv of the time, quad core for video encoding, so a 9800GTX would be a nice card to have in my secondary comp for a year or 2. as for it being enough, yea it would be enough to satisfy me. i want a card that can play Crysis, Warhead, and FC2, at at least medium with 2xAA and "gamer" quality shaders at 1680x1050. on the flip side, i could still benefit NOW from the extra performance, but if im going to upgrade again in 4-6 months i dont want to pay a whole lot.

btw geokilla i wasnt saying it would cost me $80 + true + lap job. i was saying i would buy the true, lap it, and get the card in return. TRUE + paper = ~$80, and the lap job is something i can do while im watching TV. The cost of shipping isnt being factored into this, since i'm also ordering like 10 fans and some case lights with it (from frozencpu.com).

thx for the info devo. i didnt know you couldnt have more than one display driver running concurrently in vista/win7. will start sending bad feedback in to see if they fix it.


end thoughts: deal isnt bad however i look at it. sure, it's not the best i can afford, but it makes sense where i am now. chances are it wont matter anyway, with OpenCL Havok around the corner for all GPUs, and (maybe) with Lucid chips in the near future as well for multicard setups

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: faxon
thx for the info devo. i didnt know you couldnt have more than one display driver running concurrently in vista/win7. will start sending bad feedback in to see if they fix it.

I think you misinterpreted that a bit. Vista (Windows Display Driver Model 1.0) can only have 1 display driver running. Windows 7 (WDDM 1.1) supports concurrent display drivers. So you'll be able to use the 9800 as a PhysX/CUDA card under W7, but not Vista.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

You might as well sell the 9800 if you take the offer. Wait until (if) PhysX becomes meaningful before "investing" in it as prices on video cards will be lower and there will probably exist a 9800GTX-equivalent-or-better that uses much less power.

I don't see any reason for you to take the 9800GTX now and barely even use it, if at all.