Hybrid PhysX w/6850: What Nvidia card?

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Iyashii

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Greetings!

I am going to try and run a Hybrid PhysX setup with my main card being an AMD 6850. I've been trying to find the right threshold for a dedicated PhysX card, but I can't manage to find the right card.

I'm not really interested in spending $100 on a GPU that will, primarily, only be used for PhysX in Borderlands 2.

So currently my choices I've gotten:
GeForce 9800 GT 1GB - $60
GeForce GT 440 1GB - $50
GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB - $50
GeForce GTX 260 896MB - ?

I'm not really familiar with Nvidia cards so I'm a bit lost here. I don't want to get a card that's too slow and bottleneck my 6850, but I also don't want to spend a whole lot on a secondary card just for Borderlands 2.
 
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I used a 9800 GT with my 6850 and it did well in Batman. (The 8800 GTX is basically the same card, so it'll perform as well.)

Why not get a used one from the forums for cheaper?
 
Melon said:
I used a 9800 GT with my 6850 and it did well in Batman. (The 8800 GTX is basically the same card, so it'll perform as well.)

Why not get a used one from the forums for cheaper?
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I've only just registered here for the valuable input and as such I am unaware of anything else this site may have.

I can get a used GTX 260 in the $45-$70 range and a used GT 440 for $40-$50. Obviously the Newegg 9800 GT is viable as well.

I'm not entirely sure what would be the best card to get. The aforementioned cards are what I've found research on and that is why I listed them. I'm all ears for any suggestions if it can stay in the <$70 range, preferably as close to $50 as possible.
 
You can pick up a used 9800 GT here for about 30-40$ shipped. You'll need 50 posts in order to make a thread in the buy/sell forum, though.
 
Melon said:
You can pick up a used 9800 GT here for about 30-40$ shipped. You'll need 50 posts in order to make a thread in the buy/sell forum, though.
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Would a 9800 GT be the best option? From my understanding GT<GTS<GTX with the first number being less important than the second, so an 8800 GTX should be better than a 9800 GT? Or are they more/less the same?
 
The 8800 is the same GPU as the 9800. And since it's a PhysX card, the 9800 GT/ 8800 GTX would be identical in performance.
 
Melon said:
The 8800 is the same GPU as the 9800. And since it's a PhysX card, the 9800 GT/ 8800 GTX would be identical in performance.
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Would I venture to guess the 9800 GT is suggested due to it's 1GB RAM?
I'll have to start looking around for that, then, at least until I can post a buying thread.

Any issues I should be aware of? Borderlands 2 is using PhysX version 2.8.4, if I'm not mistaken, and is DirectX 11 supported. The 9800 GT is only supports DirectX 10, but that shouldn't matter since it's only going to be running PhysX, right?
 
Iyashii said:
Would I venture to guess the 9800 GT is suggested due to it's 1GB RAM?
I'll have to start looking around for that, then, at least until I can post a buying thread.

Any issues I should be aware of? Borderlands 2 is using PhysX version 2.8.4, if I'm not mistaken, and is DirectX 11 supported. The 9800 GT is only supports DirectX 10, but that shouldn't matter since it's only going to be running PhysX, right?
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VRAM/DirectX doesn't matter since it's a PhysX card.

(The 9800 GT card I used had 512MB VRAM.)
 
Melon said:
VRAM/DirectX doesn't matter since it's a PhysX card.

(The 9800 GT card I used had 512MB VRAM.)
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That's interesting. Is PhysX purely based on the amount of CUDA Cores?

Is there any real difference between, say, a 9800 GT and a 9800 GTX?
 
A GTX 460 or possible even a 200 series card is going to be better for PhysX.

I have a GTS250 I was using when I had my 4850. I did some benching with it and with my GTX 460 and the GTS250 simply had lower FPS in PhysX stuff than with the GTX 460 when run along side the 4850.
 
cyclone3d said:
A GTX 460 or possible even a 200 series card is going to be better for PhysX.

I have a GTS250 I was using when I had my 4850. I did some benching with it and with my GTX 460 and the GTS250 simply had lower FPS in PhysX stuff than with the GTX 460 when run along side the 4850.
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So a GTX 275 for $60 would be a better choice than a 9800 GT for around $40?
 
Iyashii said:
So a GTX 275 for $60 would be a better choice than a 9800 GT for around $40?
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It should be quite a bit better depending on the game. You get over double the number of CUDA cores.

The 8800/9800 series aren't all the same. the GT/GTS had different number of cores. Max they had was 112 CUDA cores.

The 9800GTX is basically the same as the GTS250, but the GTS250 generally runs cooler due to optimizations/smaller process. Both of these cards have 128 CUDA Cores.

The GTX 275 has 240 CUDA Cores.

Shader speed also makes a difference IIRC. So if you want even more performance, you can up the shader speed as well.
 
cyclone3d said:
It should be quite a bit better depending on the game. You get over double the number of CUDA cores.

The 8800/9800 series aren't all the same. the GT/GTS had different number of cores. Max they had was 112 CUDA cores.

The 9800GTX is basically the same as the GTS250, but the GTS250 generally runs cooler due to optimizations/smaller process. Both of these cards have 128 CUDA Cores.

The GTX 275 has 240 CUDA Cores.

Shader speed also makes a difference IIRC. So if you want even more performance, you can up the shader speed as well.
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That helps a lot. So the amount of CUDA Cores and shader speed makes the biggest difference for PhysX; not VRAM, but what about graphics/processing clock speeds?

More than likely I'll try to grab a GTX 275 or a GTX 460 (depending on price range) with a preference on the 460. I doubt I can find a 460 in the price range I want, so I think the 275 will be the minimum I'll look into.
 
Iyashii said:
That helps a lot. So the amount of CUDA Cores and shader speed makes the biggest difference for PhysX; not VRAM, but what about graphics/processing clock speeds?

More than likely I'll try to grab a GTX 275 or a GTX 460 (depending on price range) with a preference on the 460. I doubt I can find a 460 in the price range I want, so I think the 275 will be the minimum I'll look into.
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If you are paitent and use a snipe using Gixen, you shoul dbe able to nab a 460 for about $60 if you are willing to let it take up to about a week of sniping before you are able to snag one for what you are willing to pay.

The 768MB vs 1GB on a 460 really shouldn't make a different for PhysX.

Just doing a quick look on Ebay shows the 275 and 460 having about the same auction starting price of about $50.

Looking at the finished listings, it looks like quite a few of both the 275 and 460 go for 50-65.
 
cyclone3d said:
If you are paitent and use a snipe using Gixen, you shoul dbe able to nab a 460 for about $60 if you are willing to let it take up to about a week of sniping before you are able to snag one for what you are willing to pay.

The 768MB vs 1GB on a 460 really shouldn't make a different for PhysX.

Just doing a quick look on Ebay shows the 275 and 460 having about the same auction starting price of about $50.

Looking at the finished listings, it looks like quite a few of both the 275 and 460 go for 50-65.
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I found somebody who will sell me their GTX 460 for $70 shipped so I'm going to jump on that. Beats hunting on Ebay where it easily gets to $85.
 
Quick question: I now have a GTX 460 768MB card. Does it require both 6pin connectors if I'm using it as a dedicated PhysX?

It came with two 6pin<molex and to connect both 6pin it will take four molex connectors. I mean that isn't a problem, but do I really need to?
 
Iyashii said:
Quick question: I now have a GTX 460 768MB card. Does it require both 6pin connectors if I'm using it as a dedicated PhysX?

It came with two 6pin<molex and to connect both 6pin it will take four molex connectors. I mean that isn't a problem, but do I really need to?
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You'd be starving the card of adequate power if you didn't use both, so.. I'd say yes. :eek:
 
I have a Radeon 7970 and I just bought a Zotac GT 545 to make a hybrid Physx setup. It's working wonderfully in Borderlands 2. I'm running at 2560x1440 with everything maxed out and using an SMAA injector for antialiasing. I've ran Afterburner in the background and I see the GT 545 running at most around 70% load under heavy Physx situations.

The GT 545 stays quiet and the fan never ramps up...I'm really happy with the decision. I paid about $70 shipped getting a manufacture refurbed version off of Ebay.

Z700-0545-mfg02-jh.jpg
 
Being that the 6850 is a lower end card, why spend half the price of it on a dedicated physx card? I would get a GT240 for around $30.
 
I bought a PNY GT 630 today at Best Buy for $75. GT 610 can be had there for around $45.
 
aznative said:
I have a Radeon 7970 and I just bought a Zotac GT 545 to make a hybrid Physx setup. It's working wonderfully in Borderlands 2. I'm running at 2560x1440 with everything maxed out and using an SMAA injector for antialiasing. I've ran Afterburner in the background and I see the GT 545 running at most around 70% load under heavy Physx situations.

The GT 545 stays quiet and the fan never ramps up...I'm really happy with the decision. I paid about $70 shipped getting a manufacture refurbed version off of Ebay.
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How many fps are you getting with your setup?
 
What I have done is run MSI afterburner in the background to allow it to graph and log the usage of both GPUs. At 2540x1440, with all graphics maxed out, the ATI 7970 is pegged at 100% usage, while the Nvidia card for Physx runs anywhere from 0 to ~70%. So in my particular setup the physx card is fast enough to not be the bottleneck...my main GPU is the bottleneck.

I just don't have the time right now to set up a proper benchmark :( School and work limits my time to play as it is :(

Iyashii said:
How many fps are you getting with your setup?
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aznative said:
What I have done is run MSI afterburner in the background to allow it to graph and log the usage of both GPUs. At 2540x1440, with all graphics maxed out, the ATI 7970 is pegged at 100% usage, while the Nvidia card for Physx runs anywhere from 0 to ~70%. So in my particular setup the physx card is fast enough to not be the bottleneck...my main GPU is the bottleneck.

I just don't have the time right now to set up a proper benchmark :( School and work limits my time to play as it is :(
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Interesting. The GTX 460 is great but I think I would be more interested in a single slot card instead so I might look into it a bit more.
 
i am using a gt 430 in hybrid physx with 2 6850's, i used the batman AC benchmark to test out my set up and the gt430 never got above 80% GPU usage. my advice to anyone looking to spend money on a physx card is to not spend more than $40-50. the 430 was $35 on clearance at staples and is single slot. don't spend too much people!
 
Something I've noticed when testing a hybrid Physx setup is they all cap out at 80% when they are at max load. I tested a 550 ti, a 545, and a 650 in FluidMark. When you crank up the load high enough that they max out, it was always at 80%. Maybe there's some overhead in the Hybrid Physx setup, but I think it is important to look at the load on the main GPUs also.

When the physx card capped out at 80%, I would see the GPU load on the graphics rendering card start to drop, indicating that it was no longer the bottleneck.

These are just my observations :) Maybe I'll have to scavenge some video cards from my wife's PC and do some more testing (work and school be damned)! :cool:

bigted said:
i am using a gt 430 in hybrid physx with 2 6850's, i used the batman AC benchmark to test out my set up and the gt430 never got above 80% GPU usage. my advice to anyone looking to spend money on a physx card is to not spend more than $40-50. the 430 was $35 on clearance at staples and is single slot. don't spend too much people!
Click to expand...
 
aznative said:
Something I've noticed when testing a hybrid Physx setup is they all cap out at 80% when they are at max load. I tested a 550 ti, a 545, and a 650 in FluidMark. When you crank up the load high enough that they max out, it was always at 80%. Maybe there's some overhead in the Hybrid Physx setup, but I think it is important to look at the load on the main GPUs also.

When the physx card capped out at 80%, I would see the GPU load on the graphics rendering card start to drop, indicating that it was no longer the bottleneck.

These are just my observations :) Maybe I'll have to scavenge some video cards from my wife's PC and do some more testing (work and school be damned)! :cool:
Click to expand...

I was curious what my GTX 680 and GTX 660 combo would cap at so I ran a few tests. I can't seem to push the dedicated card past 64% no matter what settings I use. It didn't matter if the load on the main GPU was at 97% or 48%. :confused:
 
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