Dedicated PhysX Card

[broadbandaddict]

So I just ordered a 680 and I'm super excited to get it and mess around with it. I've been looking around and it seems like adding a dedicated GPU that will do Physx will add some performance gain. I run 2 monitors, a Dell U3011 and a U2410. I have them both plugged into my current card, a GTX 570, and they seem to do fine. My only complaint is that the card never returns to its "idle state" and always runs at max clock. This adds a lot of heat to the card and kinda bothers me. I was looking and it seems like a 460 Superclocked or 550TI would fit my budget for a PhysX card. I've got some questions though:

Will having the U3011 plugged into the 680 and U2410 into the 550TI/460 let both cards idle lower? Would the 460 or the 550Ti be better for PhysX or is there another card that would better suit my needs? I'd like to keep the power draw to a minimum so the 550TI is looking better to me. Thanks.

460: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130750
550TI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130625

 

[jryan388]

Physx is pretty overrated. The vast majority of games don't have any physx support whatsoever. It can add some nice effects in a select few games, though. You should research physx support in your target games before dropping $150 on a dedicated physx card and decide if it really matters enough to you.

Also, those cards might be overkill for physx. If you can get them cheap, great, but otherwise I'd get a cheaper card if I were you.

I'd plug them both into the main 680. I don't think it's possible to run a monitor off of a physx card, but I could be wrong. Anyways it won't matter for power draw.

 

[MMO Fan]

With a powerful card a dedicated Physx card can actually slow things down the GTX 680 is fine as it is and it does not need any help.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbww3dhzK0M

 

[broadbandaddict]

Physx is pretty overrated. The vast majority of games don't have any physx support whatsoever. It can add some nice effects in a select few games, though. You should research physx support in your target games before dropping $150 on a dedicated physx card and decide if it really matters enough to you.

Also, those cards might be overkill for physx. If you can get them cheap, great, but otherwise I'd get a cheaper card if I were you.

I'd plug them both into the main 680. I don't think it's possible to run a monitor off of a physx card, but I could be wrong. Anyways it won't matter for power draw.

Hmmm. I hadn't thought about it disabling the card when set to PhysX mode.... I'll have to look into that. Are you sure the power draw wouldn't change because for example my 570 sits at 770Mhz with two monitors hooked up and goes down to only 55Mhz (I think...) when one monitor is hooked up and I'm idling on the desktop which I always assumed was saving power. It also idles a lot cooler (30C vs 45C)... if I pick up one of these cards I would probably try to get a used one to save some cash. Thanks.

 

[MMO Fan]

How many games you play even have physx

 

[broadbandaddict]

question, are your two monitors now running on the GTX 570 (U3011 and U2410) are they the same resolutions (or running them the same)
and are they both running the same output (DVI or VGA).?
I ask because running two different resolutions as well as running two different outputs will cause the GPU
to work harder and run at a higher temp constantly, up to 10-15C more.

depending on your motherboard I don't recommend PhysX at x8/x8/.
if running it at all the on lesser boards it should be x16/x4 and of course the more optimal board are x16/x16 and x16/x8.

as for running a separate monitor off the PhysX card, you can do that..
and with your set-up will probably lower temps and idle of GPU's (independently..)

also you really don't need anything more than 100 CUDA cores or so for PhysX gains.
the GTX 550Ti will do fine and even a lesser GTS 450 will do and save a few more dollars.
I once ran PhysX with a GT 240.
it's still a waste .

best bet is to sell your GTX 570 and SLi the GTX 680's......
even if your board runs x8/x8 it will be beastly.
so PhysX = NO
SLi = YES.

think of this, how many games you run and then how many are PhysX games.?
and then what about the rest of the time, are you gonna be benching PhysX software......?
odds are no.
so more times than not it will be a waste.
and then with different monitors on different GPU's I'm certain you will get confused
and wonder how come you can't get a window to pop up on the primary GPU...
it happens.

The two monitors are running on the same 570 right now. I've got the U2410 running @ 1920x1200 on HDMI and the U3011 running @ 2560x1600 on DVI. The card does idle 10-15C above its normal idle speed. I have an MSI Z68A-GD65 (G3) ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130611 ) that has 2 PCIe 3.0 x16 lanes but if I remember correctly Sandy Bridge doesn't support 3.0. I can't afford to buy another 680 at the moment, the 570 paid for most of the first one.

I wont exclusively be using the card for Physx but it would be nice to have my monitor on the second card so that the primary card can run cooler. It would just be an advantage when I'm playing games with PhysX. Will any card work for a second monitor? I have a 5450 laying around that I could install.