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GTX 780 as Physx?

KingDazza

KingDazza

KingDazza

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Joined
30 Dec 2013
Posts
542
Location
England
Hi,

I'm going to be upgrading my GTX 780 Phantom to a GTX 980. As the 780 is likely only worth between £150 and £200 second hand. Would it be a good idea to not keep it and run it as a dedicated Physx card instead? Seems a shame to be getting rid of such a great card for such little money.

Thoughts?

Cheers. :)
 
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Thats a good idea and one I did think about. My concerns are/were that SLI maybe problematic compared to a primary single card set up and also it would be £300 for my specific 780, which I would feel is money on old tech. My current 780 is also a 2.5 slot card, where as I'm moving to a 2 slot card for better future flexibility. If that make sense...

There's also one other problem, I've already pressed the buy button! ;)
 
KingDazza said:
Thats a good idea and one I did think about. My concerns are/were that SLI maybe problematic compared to a primary single card set up and also it would be £300 for my specific 780, which I would feel is money on old tech. My current 780 is also a 2.5 slot card, where as I'm moving to a 2 slot card for better future flexibility. If that make sense...

There's also one other problem, I've already pressed the buy button! ;)
Click to expand...
IMO you should just cancel the order on the 980, and brave on on the 780, and keep saving money and upgrade when the proper fat Maxwell card is out.

I honestly see no reason at all going from the 780 to the 980 for such a small increase in performance at such a high cost!
 
Marine-RX179 said:
Or just grab another 780, and you will have the flexibility between SLI and PhysX?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-044-KF&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1341

...or a 2nd hand 780 with blower/titan cooler as the bottom card so the heat would get recycled into the cooler of the top card?

GTX780 SLI would destroy the 980 in performance. Though you would have to lower some texture level for some of the latest games due to the 3GB vram probably.
Click to expand...

Enough already !

Agree with the rest though.
 
It might be worth looking for a 2nd hand 780 for SLI for they are less than half what you pay for a 980. Phantoms do pop up from time to time.

Or buy a matching pair of 780s and then sell your phantom. Just putting some ideas out there.
 
Two of my favourite franchises are Total War and Far Cry. Both of those would see a 40% to 50% increase. That's not small imo. I agree other games aren't so impressive, but still... Also to get hold of my specific 780 for sli is pretty hard.
 
Would SLI be problematic? I tried crossfire a few years ago and found it more trouble than it was worth... there's also all the extra heat and noise, potentially. Decisions, decisions.

EDIT: too late now my order is on its way. So now I could return it, but I think I'll stick to my original game plan of the 980. So back to the original question, would it be pretty good with Physx games to keep the 780. or do I sell it?

I have found a 780 Phantom for £293, but tbh I dont really want to be investing any more money on the 780's.

Thanks for all your thoughts anyway on SLI :) If I do go SLI I'd prefer to with 2 lower heat/quieter, smaller profile 980's anyway I think.
 
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I wouldn't use the 780 for physx. I tried using a 680 (before I sold it) as a physx card for my 780 in borderlands 2 and found that it made a negligible difference in all but a few case where I went crazy with physx. Even then the frame dips were very noticeable.

Sell it or keep it as a backup card.
 
Here is a good comparison of different PhysX options and real world benefit:

mainchart_fnl.jpg
 
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Thanks ubersonic, interesting set of figures. :)

To everyone saying SLI. I think I will go SLI, but it will be 980 SLI, once a second card has dropped in price. So some months down the road. The 980's draw less power, less heat are quicker and the particular one I'm getting tomorrow is a 2 slot cooler too (current 780 is 2.5), so less space and a bigger gap between cards.

I know I should just return the 980 and get another 780 from a sensible finance perspective (I located a new 780 of same type for £293 btw). But I have to face reality, once that 980 baby is in my hands, it will instantly become my precious. No one will pry it from my mits. And that ladies and gentlemen is the truth I/we have to admit! ;)
 
Been watching 2nd hand 780 prices and it seems a lot of people at the electronic beach have not got the memo regarding the £200 780 as cards are easily selling for £200+
 
Well I'm going to try for £200 and take it from there. I noticed some guy trying to get £280 for my same card and just thought he cant be on planet reality. You can get them brand new for £293 as mentioned before.
 
Hi all, just wanted to update that I have already sold the 780 for £200! So all is well and I'm now in a comfortable position for SLI 980's at some point in the future (maybe before Christmas).

Cheers :)
 
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