GPU's to use waiting for DirectX11 & use as Physics???

formatuk

formatuk

formatuk

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I'm not well up on this so was wondering. I noticed that DirectX 11 GPU's will be out in the not so distant future and I'm building an i7 rig beginning of may. I was going put a 4870 X2 in with space for another X2 in the future but i might hold out and wait for the new DirectX 11 40nm GPU's to arrive. In the meantime get a decent GFX to get me by but when the time comes, use it as dedicated Physics' Card.

Now obviously I'm going need a motherboard(X58) with 3x Slots for graphics cards to achieve this as i may still want to upgrade in the future with another DirectX 11 GPU . Which ones are best for this?

Also, i don't know which cards can be run a dedicated Physics so need pointing in the right direction, taking note this will be used standalone until the DirectX 11 Cards arrive. I see a lot of people using GF9800's and was wondering also will it work as Physics even with an ATI setup?

I see that the PCI-E slots seem to be 16X/8X/8X on most motherboards? I'm looking for 16X/16X/8X at least with my proposed idea am i?

This is an idea I've just had (1:30am!) so any help and advice would be appreciated and any links to any reading on this subject highly appreciated :)

Thanks in advance again
Ian
 
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Hi there,

Well I think that any of the Nvidia cards can run dedicated physX. Anything from about 9600GT is up to the job, but I think a good way to go to make sure you get the best performance is 8800GT/9800GT. These cards should be very much upto the job. Ive read that it is possible to run Ati cards with Nvidia for PhysX in windows 7 (but not vista) though it is mired with problems and requires a lot of tweaking. If I was you I would try and stick with all Nvidia cards.

As you said you would need a motherboard doing 16x16x8x to run this config, there are some out there if you look round (I think DFI do one among others). If I was you I would just get a 9800GT for now (its still a great card) and when DX11 is out then upgrade to the top of the range Nvidia card that is out at the time (or 2 of them). This will mean you avoid all the software problems.

Hope that helps

Hawker
 
hawker1986 said:
Hi there,

Well I think that any of the Nvidia cards can run dedicated physX. Anything from about 9600GT is up to the job, but I think a good way to go to make sure you get the best performance is 8800GT/9800GT. These cards should be very much upto the job. Ive read that it is possible to run Ati cards with Nvidia for PhysX in windows 7 (but not vista) though it is mired with problems and requires a lot of tweaking. If I was you I would try and stick with all Nvidia cards.

As you said you would need a motherboard doing 16x16x8x to run this config, there are some out there if you look round (I think DFI do one among others). If I was you I would just get a 9800GT for now (its still a great card) and when DX11 is out then upgrade to the top of the range Nvidia card that is out at the time (or 2 of them). This will mean you avoid all the software problems.

Hope that helps

Hawker
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Cheers for that, cleared a few things up. Don't really want go the Nvidia route but seems like im going be forced. Much prefer the X4870's (X4890's soon) for price to performance but o well. Maybe Nvidia's DX-11 cards might be alright..... haha. Fat chance!

So motherboards in X58 capable of at least 16x/16x/8x seem to be a whole 3! And shock horror there also in the top 4 expensive! There listed below.

DFI Lan Party LP UT X58-T3eH8 Intel X58 - £293.24
Asus P6T6 WS Revolution Intel X58 - £331.19
EVGA Classified Intel X58 - £379.49

Any thoughts on these 3 boards? I noticed they all have 16x on at least 3 sockets so would i be OK using something like a GTX260-216 for a bit and then changing it to a physx card when the new DX11 cards are released as there wont be a bottle neck? Or is a 9800GT a better choice?

Thanks again in advance ;)
 
Well theres no reason you cant use the GTX260, but its probably overkill for PhysX. The GTX260 would also run fine on a 8x lane btw. Its only the dual GPU cards like the 4870X2 and GTX295 that need 16x lanes. Because PCI-E 2.0 8x has the same bandwidth as PCI-E 1.1 16x.

Hawker
 
I believe that the next generation of AMD cards will have built in support for Havok physics.

Not sure how far away they are though :(
 
No they dont have full DX11 support, they will work with DX11 software, as will any DX10 card, but some features will not function as far as im aware.

Hawker
 
There probably wont really be much of a noticeable difference in gaming unless you need the very best.
Just get a good card for now and resell when DX11 gaming support is actually being used.

DX11 will be out soon, but whether or not companies bother to optimise games to take advantage is another thing. =/
 
Erm, after some research i see that only 2 boards support 3 way X16 (i need X16/X16/X8 i believe)

Asus P6T6 WS Revolution Intel X58 - £331.19

EVGA Classified Intel X58 - £379.49

Typical they have to be the most expensive!!!

I think I'll get a GTX260 for now and then use it for a dedicated PhysX card when i get a X2 DX11 card in the future. By doing this it gives me the option of adding another X2 DX11 card in the future and wont lose any performance due to splitting a X16 slot to 2 X8 slots.

I am correct here am i not?

Thanks
 
I run a 9500GT in a PCIe 4x lane, and it's perfectly fine for physx.

I've just played through Mirror's Edge, and noticed no slowdown at all.
 
uvmain said:
I run a 9500GT in a PCIe 4x lane, and it's perfectly fine for physx.

I've just played through Mirror's Edge, and noticed no slowdown at all.
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Yes but i'm trying to future proof it as much as i can. If i have a GTX260 as a Physx card in a 16X slot (only need 8 but...) then i'm covered for a while. I can see Physx disapearing in the future also but just in case :) Plus i can add an X2 card also. £330 is a lot for a motherboard but it may pay dividends in the future when needing to add a little more oooomph!

Physx going effect anything but games? Encoding/video editing or adobe after effects etc etc?
 
You can use a Nvidia card doing PhsyX alongside your ATi card, so you won't lose out, but it only works in XP, and the upcoming Windows 7. :)
 
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If you're trying to future proof, then you do know there is no defacto standard in Physics as yet and you might end up wasting your money. There's not much out there that supports PhysX really....
 
LoadsaMoney said:
You can use a Nvidia card doing PhsyX alongside your ATi card, so you won't lose out, but it only works in XP, and the upcoming Windows 7. :)
Click to expand...

Thats cool as Windows 7 will be out about the same time as the DX11 cards. This as gone from a £1500 build to about a £2,000 build with getting cards at later date and prices of SSD's/Ram & Motherboards! But what the hell, it's going be a sweet setup when done :)
 
rafster said:
If you're trying to future proof, then you do know there is no defacto standard in Physics as yet and you might end up wasting your money. There's not much out there that supports PhysX really....
Click to expand...

Yes, i realise that but i want to wait for the DX11 cards so getting a fairly basic card to tide me by until then gives me the opportunity to use it as a physx card when the time comes. Better than it just sitting there doing nothing when its only about 6 months old :)
 
formatuk said:
Yes, i realise that but i want to wait for the DX11 cards so getting a fairly basic card to tide me by until then gives me the opportunity to use it as a physx card when the time comes. Better than it just sitting there doing nothing when its only about 6 months old :)
Click to expand...

You'd be hedging your bets on it becoming the standard though, the biggest threat to PhysX is incidentally owned by someone way more powerful than Nvidia, Intel....
 
rafster said:
You'd be hedging your bets on it becoming the standard though, the biggest threat to PhysX is incidentally owned by someone way more powerful than Nvidia, Intel....
Click to expand...

Yes, very true. I'm no fan of nvidia at all, neither intel/ATI or AMD to be honest, there all corporate companys which says it all really but we dont have much choice do we :(

I go with whats best at the time and i think waiting for the DX11 cards is the best idea, so get a simple card for now, then get a DX11 when it comes around. But if i can use the simple card for something i may as well really, although im going be spending an extra £50+ on a motherboard now... :confused:

haha, technology!!! Got a love hate relationship, i love it, it hates me :)
 
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