Ppu

[BbBoS]

I have a HD4870, and for processing Physics its pretty poor imo, I was wondering if I can get a card to process physics alone and where I can buy one from and how much it costs (in £'s please )

And also if I bought one would I see an increase in performance in games that require physics?

 

[thestepster]

go with nvidia cards for that mate, whats your main card and more specs on ur pc would be good

if ur main cards an ATI i heard the new nvidia drivers stop them being used as physics cards with ati

 

[BbBoS]

Core 2 Duo E8400 (Stock)

HD4870 1GB

4GB Ram

MSI P45 Platinum

But is there another way around a card dedicated for physics if I have an ATi Card or do I have to have a Nvidia card?

 

[thestepster]

u have 2 4870's then? never thot of crossfire? you might be able to run older drivers for the nvidia card then u can get like an 8800gt or an 9800gt or the 9800gt thats rebranded as an gts250 (scan.co.uk were selling the XFX one for £55 last week)

 

[BbBoS]

I only got 1 4870, and I thought running old drivers was bad cause eventually I will need to update them won't I?

A while ago wern't Ageia selling dedicated Physx cards?

Would one of those now make a difference in performance?

 

[thestepster]

oh your wanting a card to use for physics! sorry my bad, if they ageia cards are nvidia cards then they will all work on the same principle for disabling there physics use when installed with an ATI card unless its older drivers u install with it and those cards depends what the specs are might be worthwhile to take the ati card out sell it and go gtx260+8800gt for physics

 

[siravarice]

How does this actually all work? I've pondered getting a physics card but was never sure how it worked. Seems like the right thread to ask.

 

[BbBoS]

Ok then, I might consider it, but how much do you think I will get for it?

 

[thestepster]

Ok then, I might consider it, but how much do you think I will get for it?

the new cards? well a gtx 260 will set you back about £110 and an 8800gt second hand about £50 but its worth checking scan and that to see if they have deals on the 250 since its a rebranded 9800gt and the last one was a great price at £55

siravarice, im not totally sure how it works as ive never done it myself ive just seen a lot about with ppl using them and i heard online that the new nvidia drivers stop ATI cards using them as physics cards

 

[BbBoS]

Ok, I am going to see about getting a GTX260 and a 8800

I will keep the GTX260 so I can use that to do Physx when the 4xx series comes out

But do you think I should get the XFX GTX260 XXX 896mb which has 680Mhz Core and 2000Mhz Memory or a Gainwood GTX260 1792mb but core only at 585Mhz and 1998Mhz Memory, will higher core speed be better for processing Physx or will extra memory do much?

Edit - Also I have a 620w PSU, will that cope with both cards?

 

[thestepster]

im not sure what one would be the better option but i know for a fact u want it to have the 55nm chip and a 216 core and not a 192 and u should be fine, and the 8800 will deal with the physics

http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/ << use that to work it out it doesnt have the option of selecting 2 different cards just use 2x216 core gtx260's there in SLI that should kinda sort it out, but that isnt the most accurate it says i need about about a 640w when im overclocked to 3.5 but i have it all running smoothly from a 530w

but to be honest im not totally sure if it till be enuff its all dependant on the quality of the psu cause crap quality ones might sat 700w but there is no way they are capable of that

 

[BbBoS]

I got 520w with a GTX260 Core 216 Setup (I have a 620w PSU) , and both the XFX and Gainwood cards mentioned earlier are both Core 216 editions, but I am going to go for the XFX because it will process Physx better when I upgrade the video card