GTX 460 + 9800GT

[mystery42]

I was wondering would it be a good idea to keep my 9800GT card in my PC as a physx card once i get my GTX 460? Or is it pointless?

 

[mactronix]

No its not pointless, unless you plan to sell it it would b esilly not to.

Mactronix

 

[jyjjy]

It is pointless in all but about 5 games, specifically Mafia 2, Metro 2033, Batman: AA, Mirror's Edge and Sacred 2. Perhaps give those a play through if you haven't already and are interested then sell the card. The regular 9800GT uses 35-40w at idle which is significant. If you are the sort that leaves your computer on 24/7 then it will probably add $2-2.50 a month to your power bill.

 

[mystery42]

I have 2 of these cards i figure keeping one wouldn't hurt. I didn't realize that only 5 games used physx and here i was going to upgrade it to a GTS 250. Guess i'll just save my money and keep one of these in there instead. Another question would a 750W PSU be able to take 2 460s plus this 9800GT plus all the usual stuff that on my PC.

 

[notty22]

I have 2 of these cards i figure keeping one wouldn't hurt. I didn't realize that only 5 games used physx and here i was going to upgrade it to a GTS 250. Guess i'll just save my money and keep one of these in there instead. Another question would a 750W PSU be able to take 2 460s plus this 9800GT plus all the usual stuff that on my PC.

YES, no problems. A gold rated psu is going to be of the highest quality/performing components. Can easily operate near its max rating, which this combination of parts won't hit,especially at normal gaming load.

 

[17seconds]

This is a list of games that support PhysX:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhysX#Games

 

[jyjjy]

I have 2 of these cards i figure keeping one wouldn't hurt. I didn't realize that only 5 games used physx and here i was going to upgrade it to a GTS 250. Guess i'll just save my money and keep one of these in there instead. Another question would a 750W PSU be able to take 2 460s plus this 9800GT plus all the usual stuff that on my PC.

There are more than 5 games that use GPU accelerated Physx. I listed the ones that are both worth playing and where it makes a notable difference. Here is the full list from Nvidia although I don't think it has been updated in about 6 months or so;
http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_physxgames_home.html
For the PSU question it depends on the brand of the PSU. If it is a good brand then it should handle that fine.

 

[jyjjy]

This is a list of games that support PhysX:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhysX#Games

That is the list of games that use the Physx SDK. Only a handful of them use GPU acceleration which is what is relevant to this thread.

 

[swifty_morgan]

There are more than 5 that use physics. I'm more or less only into FPS so I can't name them all. You guys need to get over your hatred of nvidia if that's what the problem is... or it's just ignorance... ???? By all means use your old card. It'll help alleviate the extra stress physx puts on your main card giving you a better gaming experience in the games that do support it.

 

[nativeson8803]

I have the same combo and the only reason I kept my 9800gtx was because I couldn't bear selling it for 40 or 50 bucks. It's good as a card to keep around in case something happens to my 460, but since I have stopped playing the physx games I took it out and if I need it again I'll put it back.

 

[megamanx00]

If it was me, I would keep the 9800GT for physx. Sure there aren't that many games that really use it well, but for those that do it will give you a good boost to have a dedicated physX card rather than having your GTX 460 do double duty.

 

[jyjjy]

I have the same combo and the only reason I kept my 9800gtx was because I couldn't bear selling it for 40 or 50 bucks. It's good as a card to keep around in case something happens to my 460, but since I have stopped playing the physx games I took it out and if I need it again I'll put it back.

This is a decent idea. It's good to have a backup, especially if your motherboard lacks an IGP. I would leave it out of the system most of the time and dust it off and put it back in when a new PhysX game comes around.

 

[nativeson8803]

dust it off and put it back in when a new PhysX game comes around.

True dat!

I actually did this because I figured what the hell, it's only a 50 dollar loss. I found this article, followed the instructions and cleaned my card out. My temps dropped almost ten degrees and I removed a ton of dust. Just thought I'd throw that in there because I was pretty proud of myself. =D


Also, games really do look great, if physx was implemented more broadly, and in some of the more popular games, everyone would want to have a dedicated physx card.

This is what I followed:

http://www.overclock.net/nvidia/434245-how-dismantle-clean-your-9800gtx.html