PhysX NVidia

[ExpertLayman]

Hello,

Is it worth spending that little extra to get an nVidia card so I can have PhysX enabled gameplay? What I am trying to say do you notice any major difference in the game.

Thx

 

[AMDFTW]

only a few games support physX mate some good ones but only a few.

folding is the best reason to go nvid mate

 

[JezEngland]

yes. mafia 2 APEX PhysX helps incredible satisfaction. For performance info look at my review on the 9800gt dedicated to PhysX in the members review section at the top

i've seen a list of PhysX games and there is alot, loads. Some games don't give an option to turn it off in-game. There may be a settings file for it

 

[ExpertLayman]

Thanks,

AMDFTW,

I was hoping the answer with be a straight no. I have no clue what folding is, and I did a google and still have no clue. Something about placing dozens of cards. I assure, if I could afford that I want be making a fuss.

Jerome,

Nice review, but it seems Apex physx really kills frame rate (64fps -> 37fps). So does that mean I need a physx graphic card to utilitise it best?

It seems really expensive. Would a GTX 470 play all games I want to play at 1280*1024, Shall we say for the next upcoming year and maybe later on add another GTX 470 beside it?

My first card of choice was going to be similarly priced Radeon 6950, which is better than the GTX 470 in benchmark, just without physx.

Damn nvidia and there proprietary tech. Really games should utilise open technology for this.

Have you tried to get Radeon working with Physx?

 

[Scubasage]

Your 470 should be able to destroy games in 1280x1024 resolution. Most benchmarks are done at 1920x1080, which is a MUCH higher strain on the card, and it still produces decent numbers.

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2010-gaming-graphics-charts-high-quality/compare,2478.html?prod[4506]=on

 

[JezEngland]

to utilise it best yes you need a physx card. thanks

there are other enhancements in games that are produced only with NVIDIA.

To play safe I advise you get NVIDIA stuff. They work well with game developers and achieve a stable performance. I have read about alot of problems with AMD stuff and NVIDIA doesn't have them, and problems that all hardware has NVIDIA has the least of, usualy

 

[CRAZYCAP]

Green all the way at the moment mate. I have just gone the GTX 570 and OH MY GOD!. I am not loyal to red or green its just who ever gives best bang for my hard earned.

 

[Tortuga]

Yeah I would go for the gtx 570 also. Its a great deal, even if it didn't have physx (but it does). I don't think people really have physx in mind when gpu shopping, I usually don't anyway, could be wrong. I look for the bang/buck factor

 

[Stryker64]

Mate if you're going to play games at 1280x1024 you can get a 450 for crying out loud, that graphics card is designed for gamers at that resolution, a 470 will be idling at those resolutions.

 

[oneseraph]

Hello,

Is it worth spending that little extra to get an nVidia card so I can have PhysX enabled gameplay?

Well, The long and short of it is, "no PhysX is not a good feature to spend extra money on". Now please bear with with me, while I explain. I know I just really upset the green team fanboys and fangirls. So here is my reasoning.

1. PhysX is proprietary to Nvidia, it is not supported on x86 CPU's nor is it supported on non Nvidia GPU's. The result being that very few game development companies invest resources into supporting PhysX, because of how few systems can take advantage of it.

(So, very few games use it.)

2. There are competing physics API's that are GPU Independent that run on X86 the CPU. Havoc's implementation comes to mind. Though it is not quite as feature rich as PhysX it will run on any X86 system. Most of them can be compiled for XBOX, PS3 and other game consoles.

(Most games use physics API's that don't require a Nvidia card.)

3. In the very near future OpenCL "Open Compute Language" will be used for implementing physics and particle simulations. This has many advantages over Nvidia's PhysX. One it can operate on any OpenCL capable GPU, that is to say Nvidia or ATI. Because OpenCL is device Independent it will likely get wide adoption from game developers.

(Game middle-ware development companies are looking to OpenCL for more broadly useful physics implementations.

In short they want to give every gamer a great physics experience not just the ones with a Nvidia card.)

So at the end of the day, buy whatever card suits your needs and budget. In my opinion the "PhysX feature" is just not worth considering when buying a graphics card.

Hope this helped, OneSeraph

 

[JezEngland]

mm. PhysX games that don't have the option to turn it off are not demanding for the PhysX. Mafia2 and Metro have an advanced PhysX option to turn off and maby they still process basic PhysX.

A link to a PhysX games list: http://physxinfo.com/?f=pc#games

Another bonus from NVIDIA: I like Nvidia's Control Pannel and it enhances alot more than PhysX, the image is constantly enhanced ofc. There are issues, when I set AA in the Control Pannel with some games it doesn't render the AA. Turn it off because the GPU still processes it I think.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1280...07mhz-shader-1215mhz-448-cores-2xdvimini-hdmi

Gettin 1 card now and pairing it later is a great idea, upgrading at given oportunity. I built like that. First a 480 on a 768 15" monitor, then a 22" 1920x180 monitor and a second 480 later. I learnt alot building over a long time.

GL Luddite, i recommend to you save another £80-£130 and get a 480 or 570

 

[ExpertLayman]

Thanks for the advice

Mate if you're going to play games at 1280x1024 you can get a 450 for crying out loud, that graphics card is designed for gamers at that resolution, a 470 will be idling at those resolutions.

LOL I agree but I do eventually plan to get a new monitor from ebay, when I can get a deal. Hopefully not long after I build my new PC. Currently my 17" seems rubbish compared to others.

3. In the very near future OpenCL "Open Compute Language" will be used for implementing physics and particle simulations. This has many advantages over Nvidia's PhysX. One it can operate on any OpenCL capable GPU, that is to say Nvidia or ATI. Because OpenCL is device Independent it will likely get wide adoption from game developers.

So at the end of the day, buy whatever card suits your needs and budget. In my opinion the "PhysX feature" is just not worth considering when buying a graphics card.

I couldn't agree with you more. But they seem to have monopolised the market and pushing their tech on developers more and more.

Another bonus from NVIDIA: I like Nvidia's Control Pannel and it enhances alot more than PhysX, the image is constantly enhanced ofc. There are issues, when I set AA in the Control Pannel with some games it doesn't render the AA. Turn it off because the GPU still processes it I think.

http://www.scan.co.u...-2xdvimini-hdmi

Gettin 1 card now and pairing it later is a great idea, upgrading at given oportunity. I built like that. First a 480 on a 768 15" monitor, then a 22" 1920x180 monitor and a second 480 later. I learnt alot building over a long time.

GL Luddite, i recommend to you save another £80-£130 and get a 480 or 570

My first inclination was nVidia, as my last few cards have been nVidia based. They have great drivers and support. But after reading info on Radeon I switched. Now I am back to nVidia due to a particular online game that is going to utilitise it more and more.

Thanks everyone

 

[murphy7801]

Thanks for the advice

LOL I agree but I do eventually plan to get a new monitor from ebay, when I can get a deal. Hopefully not long after I build my new PC. Currently my 17" seems rubbish compared to others.

I couldn't agree with you more. But they seem to have monopolised the market and pushing their tech on developers more and more.

My first inclination was nVidia, as my last few cards have been nVidia based. They have great drivers and support. But after reading info on Radeon I switched. Now I am back to nVidia due to a particular online game that is going to utilitise it more and more.

Thanks everyone

I really wouldnt buy a montitor from ebay since wont have any warranty. Also both AMD and Nvidia screw up all the time merely favour certain products like the 570 is good on the other hand current gen 6900 series are just bit weak since you can buy a 5870 for £190 or a gtx 570 for £280 and there gap fillers arent great.