Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > 8600 GT as a physix card with a 4870 under vista is it possible?

8600 GT as a physix card with a 4870 under vista is it possible?

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - 8600 GT as a physix card with a 4870 under vista is it possible?

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daryoush   09-19-2008 at 11:31:46 AM

Hi one of my friend has an ATI 4870 and from his old rig he has a 8600 GT he just sold the old rig but kept the 8600 GT.He is using 8600 GT as a physix card in Winxp sp2 with no problem but in vista his 8600 GT is disabled and he can't enable it i wanted to know is it possible to do this under vista sp1 or not and if it is possible then how?

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Maziar   09-19-2008 at 11:39:31 AM
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Salam daryoush jan :)

If he can run it as a PhysX card in XP 32 then he can do it with VISTA too.

------------------------------ Q6600@3.4+ TT V1 Cooler,SAPPHIRE HD 4870X2,ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA,4GB OCZ DDR2 800,LG W2452V 1920x1200
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stridervm   09-19-2008 at 12:05:09 PM
- 1 +

Actually he can't.

Vista doesn't support two active, different display adapters. Sadly, if I remember correctly, there should be a workaround.

Message quoted 1 times
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IndigoMoss   09-19-2008 at 12:14:54 PM
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Hmm I never thought about doing something like that. I'm looking to throw 2 8800GTs in my 680i and I still have room for one more card. That'd be pretty sweet to throw the 8600GT in there for Physx.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't running Physx on the GPU that you are using to play games decrease performance? GPUs are usually always in the max out range when playing games, so wouldn't that be counter-intuitive to use up resources that can be used for more FPS?

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Maziar   09-19-2008 at 12:52:04 PM
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stridervm wrote :

Actually he can't.

Vista doesn't support two active, different display adapters. Sadly, if I remember correctly, there should be a workaround.



are u sure ?

------------------------------ Q6600@3.4+ TT V1 Cooler,SAPPHIRE HD 4870X2,ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA,4GB OCZ DDR2 800,LG W2452V 1920x1200
 Reply to Maziar
mactronix   09-19-2008 at 01:43:18 PM
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I have seen a recent review(Magazine) where just to see if Nvidia's claim that the cards can be used as stand alone Physics cards the reviewer tried to run the Nvidia card (9800GTX) along side the 4870 and to his total lack of amazement it wouldn't do it. So i will go with stridervm on this one but am not so sure if its all down to Vista or if its something to do with Nvidia as well ?
Mactronix

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outlw6669   09-19-2008 at 02:07:38 PM
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Now this is pretty interesting.
Admittedly, I have not searched for any reviews (if there are any to be found) about this.
I also have been bombarded with the nVidia PR claiming that it could be used as a stand alone PPU.
I will have to google this when I get home from work and see if there are any reviews one way or the other.

I guess this could lay to rest my indecision about stuffing my old GTS 640 in with my 4850's for physiX support :??:

------------------------------ If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce today would cost $100, get a million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.
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homerdog   09-19-2008 at 02:44:35 PM
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Quote :

One of the current limitations of WDDM is that it does not support multiple drivers in a multi-adapter, multi-monitor setup. If a multi-monitor system has more than one graphics adapter powering the monitors, both the adaptors must use the same WDDM driver. If more than one driver is used, Windows will disable one of them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windo [...] imitations

 

So the answer to your question is no, your friend cannot run an HD4870 and an 8600GT at the same time, regardless of the fact that he only want to use the 8600 for PhysX. It would be possible on XP though.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by homerdog on 09-19-2008 at 02:52:02 PM
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Slobogob   09-19-2008 at 03:22:16 PM
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homerdog wrote :

It would be possible on XP though.



Oh the irony!

Reply to Slobogob
bydesign   09-19-2008 at 03:29:33 PM
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That WDDM info is correct however if the driver was for a physX card there theoreticly wouldn't be a problem. If that's not possible it isn't going to work.

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to bydesign
huron   09-19-2008 at 03:42:14 PM
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Yep...it's definitely a Vista vs XP thing. In XP you can run both drivers (different companies, different generations). In Vista, they have to be the same exact driver.

So, he could use the 8600 GT if he were to have other 8/9 series nVidia cards, but not ATI cards.

Sorry. I think I may pick up a cheap 8/9 series card after I go for SLI soon.

------------------------------ Antec 900, MSI P7N Diamond, E8400,
4 GB (2 x 2GB) Crucial Ballistix 4-4-4-12, 8800 GTS 512 SLI
 Reply to huron
homerdog   09-19-2008 at 03:42:58 PM
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bydesign wrote :

That WDDM info is correct however if the driver was for a physX card there theoreticly wouldn't be a problem. If that's not possible it isn't going to work.


There is no such thing as a PhysX only driver as far as I know. NVIDIA doesn't really have a whole lot of motivation to make one...

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