GTX 550 Ti physX and GTX 570 SLi

[Riftkiller126]

hello, I'm wondering how much power a PSU I need to run a GTX 550 Ti as a PhysX processor and a GTX 570 as a main card in SLI mode, I currently have a Thermaltake TR2 850W PSU, just need to know if its not enough. it has 69A on the +12V rail!

 

[17seconds]

That is way more than plenty of horsepower for those two GPU's, overclocking included.

What PhysX games do you intend to play?

 

[cuecuemore]

^^ Yeah, you're good to go, even with OC.

 

[jitpublisher]

One of the 570's will handle physx far better than the 550ti. Just run the 570's in SLI, and set the physx option to auto under nVidia control panel, you are good to go. You don't need no stinking 550ti added in!

 

[17seconds]

One of the 570's will handle physx far better than the 550ti. Just run the 570's in SLI, and set the physx option to auto under nVidia control panel, you are good to go. You don't need no stinking 550ti added in!

Good point, except I don't think its two 570's, just one. In any event, the rule of thumb for the PhysX performance hit with a dedicated card vs. a single card is roughly 25%.

I'm wondering about which games are going to be played because a lot of people think they need a dedicated PhysX card, and then realize they don't play any PhysX games.

 

[jitpublisher]

Right, only one card will be used to run physx when needed, but it does not effect the SLI mode. An another good point, when you need physx, most people will never need it.

 

[swifty_morgan]

if you're running to 570's i don't think there would be a need for a separate physx card. And if things weren't running to expectations you could off load the physx to the processor.

 

[DM186]

I tell everybody this when I see that they are thinking about using the GTX 550 Ti's.
I use two of them in sli but I am very dissapointed in them Heck a GTX 460 is beter than them. If you can aford the GTX 570's then go for it. Just don't do the 550's. The GTX 560 Ti's are good. Two of them would be better than one GTX 570 or 580. Good luck

 

[Riftkiller126]

That is way more than plenty of horsepower for those two GPU's, overclocking included.

What PhysX games do you intend to play?

Currently I am wanting to do Arkham City, but the other problem is the power supply isn't SLI certified, nor does it have (At least I dont think it does) enough wires to support that. I was thinking of going with a 580, but I see that the driver's are having some issues and I dont need that headache, especially when I'm spending just under 500 bucks.

 

[Riftkiller126]

I appologize for not asking this as well, I do not have a SLI motherboard and don't know if a sub $100 mobo is good enuf for it, any comments on that? ASUS or GIGABYTE are my thoughts!

 

[17seconds]

Currently I am wanting to do Arkham City, but the other problem is the power supply isn't SLI certified, nor does it have (At least I dont think it does) enough wires to support that. I was thinking of going with a 580, but I see that the driver's are having some issues and I dont need that headache, especially when I'm spending just under 500 bucks.

Your power supply doesn't have to be SLI certified, and the one you have is a pretty good one. I'm sure it has all the cables you need. The GTX 550 doesn't require a lot of power.

To be clear, with a single 570 or 580 with a dedicated GTX 550 as a PhysX card, you are NOT doing SLI. SLI is two of the same cards working in tandem giving you double the performance. With a single 570/580 you are still just doing single card graphics. The extra dedicated PhysX card is for PhysX only. Even a cheap motherboard should be able to support a single card with a single PhysX card. It does not have to be SLI certified and you do not need a SLI bridge. All the same, a single GTX 570 or 580 alone is enough for Batman Arkham City with full details and full PhysX enabled.

 

[Riftkiller126]

Your power supply doesn't have to be SLI certified, and the one you have is a pretty good one. I'm sure it has all the cables you need. The GTX 550 doesn't require a lot of power.

To be clear, with a single 570 or 580 with a dedicated GTX 550 as a PhysX card, you are NOT doing SLI. SLI is two of the same cards working in tandem giving you double the performance. With a single 570/580 you are still just doing single card graphics. The extra dedicated PhysX card is for PhysX only. Even a cheap motherboard should be able to support a single card with a single PhysX card. It does not have to be SLI certified and you do not need a SLI bridge. All the same, a single GTX 570 or 580 alone is enough for Batman Arkham City with full details and full PhysX enabled.

thanks for the info. Also, I have this sucker hooked up to a 25" 1920 x1080 TV that is capable of "technically" 60Hz, though it has been known to hit 75, I would like to have all the eye candy on and STILL have over 30-40 FPS. On a side note, I am planning on pairing it with a AMD Phenom 2 X4 975 3.6 GHz Black edition quad. (Motherboard is an ASUS M4A78LT-M). I would like to spend as little as possible, yet have enough power to run most games. Presently I play RIFT on Ultra with Supersampling on 1920 x1080 and manage about 25-21 FPS! not bad, but you notice the tearing at times. And I believe the 570 OC editions are alittle bit slower then a 580, tho not by much.

 

[Riftkiller126]

Best answer selected by Riftkiller126.