Dedicated GPU for physex, is it worth it?

[DjKraid]

I just got an old GPU, Club 3D GeForce GT220 (CGNX-G222YLI) so I was wondering that is it worth using this as a dedicated physex GPU and if it is then how should I do that?

Just to save your time I'll add my system specs here:
MOBO: Asus P6T SE
CPU: Intel i7-920 @3GHz
GPU: XFX HD7790
PSU: Chieftec 750W

 

[GhostRyder]

Well first of all naturally you cannot put an AMD GPU and an Nvidia GPU together and use the Physx (Well dedicate it to the GPU). Nvidia disables that technology when it detects an AMD card (as the primary) and you can only use the CPU bound version.

Now then, you can do something called Hybrid PhysX which uses a mod and old driver that allows this idea (AMD main GPU and Nvidia PhysX GPU) to work.

Hybrid PhysX

 

[St1ckM4n]

It's good for you because you can get GPU physX with a hack. It's pretty much not good if you have NVIDIA GPU's though.

 

[red1776]

I tried it for a time last year with a 3 x 7970 + GT 650. It turned out (for me) to not be very useful and more trouble than it was worth. If you look up the list of games that actually make use of PhysX, how many of them do you actually play. that might be a good indicator of weather it is worth it for you.
Another issue is that they are constantly having to work around (hack) to keep up, and if you want certain benchmarks to work, you have to use a very old driver set.
You can try it here
http://www.ngohq.com/graphic-cards/17706-hybrid-physx-mod-v1-03-v1-05ff.html
*** opinion coming up*** it really is more maintenance than it's worth and if you read the comment in the support forum below, you can se that there is an awful lot that that can go wrong, and exceptions that do not work with this kind of setup.
here is a list of PhysX enabled games
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_with_hardware-accelerated_PhysX_support

Not trying to be a downer, but if you have not yet purchased a card yet, you may want to do some reading and look at other folks experiences before investing.
There is an alternative called 'Hybridz', but this comes with a list of exceptions, and non-compatibilities as well.
http://www.ngohq.com/graphic-cards/...with-latest-physx-and-geforce-285-solved.html

If you do decide to go with it, on a AMD hybrid system A GT640/650 (or the equivalent) is enough to handle the PhysX. You do not need a 770 lets say. It is at least inexpensive if not very flexible and inclusive .
Good luck

 

[DjKraid]

Thanks for all the advice, I think that I'll just sell the spare GPU or save it as a backup for my backup GPU... Also as far as the games go there's actually a bunch that I play and love...and one that I can't wait to get to try (Borderlands)
To run physex properly and without any trollin' around I guess that I'll have to jump back to nVidia however what GPU would you recommend? -one that would be something around 150€ or so.
...or are AMD GPUs better in that "price range"...haven't checked the market in a while...

 

[GhostRyder]

Thanks for all the advice, I think that I'll just sell the spare GPU or save it as a backup for my backup GPU... Also as far as the games go there's actually a bunch that I play and love...and one that I can't wait to get to try (Borderlands)
To run physex properly and without any trollin' around I guess that I'll have to jump back to nVidia however what GPU would you recommend? -one that would be something around 150€ or so.
...or are AMD GPUs better in that "price range"...haven't checked the market in a while...

Truthfully when it comes to bang to performance AMD just has it cut especially right now. In all honesty hybrid does work as I used it in borderlands 2 however as of recently the number of PhysX titles is dwindling down (Lower than it was before) hence why I finally took mine out (Running Hybrid).

I am not saying I would not base a purchase exclusively off that and more look towards what gives you the best performance for value. Run Hybrid if you go AMD if you really must have it (Running Borderlands 2 on the dedicated to CPU still works for the most part) or if you buy a higher Nvidia card do not worry about it.

For 150€ I would recommend this:
Sapphire R9 280

Mostly because its power to performance ratio is top notch and a big step up from an HD 7790 (Its a rebranded HD 7950).

 

[Jad Chaar]

I tried it for a time last year with a 3 x 7970 + GT 650. It turned out (for me) to not be very useful and more trouble than it was worth. If you look up the list of games that actually make use of PhysX, how many of them do you actually play. that might be a good indicator of weather it is worth it for you.
Another issue is that they are constantly having to work around (hack) to keep up, and if you want certain benchmarks to work, you have to use a very old driver set.
You can try it here
http://www.ngohq.com/graphic-cards/17706-hybrid-physx-mod-v1-03-v1-05ff.html
*** opinion coming up*** it really is more maintenance than it's worth and if you read the comment in the support forum below, you can se that there is an awful lot that that can go wrong, and exceptions that do not work with this kind of setup.
here is a list of PhysX enabled games
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_with_hardware-accelerated_PhysX_support

Not trying to be a downer, but if you have not yet purchased a card yet, you may want to do some reading and look at other folks experiences before investing.
There is an alternative called 'Hybridz', but this comes with a list of exceptions, and non-compatibilities as well.
http://www.ngohq.com/graphic-cards/...with-latest-physx-and-geforce-285-solved.html

If you do decide to go with it, on a AMD hybrid system A GT640/650 (or the equivalent) is enough to handle the PhysX. You do not need a 770 lets say. It is at least inexpensive if not very flexible and inclusive .
Good luck

Thanks for the note Red. I didn't know that you needed a hack. I thought it was built in.

 

[Nero7]

Ok since the case is clear for people with a primary AMD gpu what about those with one from nvidia?

There isn't much info around on this matter. some threads in the nvidia forum and some videos and articles like from PC Games Hardware. Some people swear on it. Like 780 + 460 and so on. Since maxwell has such a low power requirement I thought about adding a 750 to my 770 but am unsure if its worth it. A mate of mine paired a 780ti with a 750ti and he told me he gets marginally better results. I guess since the 780ti is pretty much overkill for all games out today he can't benefit much from it.

its an interesting topic for sure!

 

[GhostRyder]

Ok since the case is clear for people with a primary AMD gpu what about those with one from nvidia?

There isn't much info around on this matter. some threads in the nvidia forum and some videos and articles like from PC Games Hardware. Some people swear on it. Like 780 + 460 and so on. Since maxwell has such a low power requirement I thought about adding a 750 to my 770 but am unsure if its worth it. A mate of mine paired a 780ti with a 750ti and he told me he gets marginally better results. I guess since the 780ti is pretty much overkill for all games out today he can't benefit much from it.

its an interesting topic for sure!

Its really not, there is so little talk anymore because it has become kinda a moot point with cards at this point. The cards normally have more than enough power for everything where its such a small difference if any in a small market of games that it becomes a waste. Since you have a 770, I would not run a dedicated PhysX card.

Its just become a little dated at this point to do so except for hybrid with an AMD machine or if you just want bragging rights. It really would just make more sense to grab a second card for SLI over a dedicated PhysX card as you would probably see some real performance numbers.