Do I need a dedicated physX card?

[reignsupreme11]

Hey all!

I just finished a new build in may and as a gift from a friend I got a 140$ gift card to a computer store. My build is as follows:

MSI P67A-GD80 MOBO
Intel i5-2500k CPU
2 x 4GB Patriot S5 RAM
Corsair TX 750W PSU
Sapphire 6950 2GB GPU
Noctua C-14 CPU Cooler

I occasionally overclock the GPU depending on the game, i can easily go to 860 on the core while stable but haven't bothered going further.

My only reason for posting this is simple. I have an AMD video card. Should I use this extra money to buy a dedicated PhysX card (and if so why and any recommendations would be greatly appreciated)?

Thanks!

 

[Pyree]

Can't do amd card for graphics and nvidia card for physx officially.

Need unofficial driver or a patch. Haven't looked into this matter in too much detail. Best of luck finding the solution.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/313872-33-6850-seperate-nvidia-physx

IMO, not many games use physx so I don't think it is worth it. You better put the money on anotehr card for cf.

 

[jitpublisher]

And to add to that, a PhysX card is only good for games that can use it. Do you have any games that it would even work with, and figured out to make it work on your AMD platform. I think there is a driver hack to do it though.

 

[inzone]

You might want to visit the Nvidia web site to see if you can mix and max AMD and Nvidia. I know the Nvidia web site has a registry hack called "coolbits" for cards that don't have the same spec's to be used in sli and that does work because I tried it with two Evga cards. Just type in coolbits in the search box and see what comes up about what you want to do. You might end up just getting another AMD card and doing crossfire.

 

[4745454b]

Your build is solid over all. I'd listen to Jit and Pyree. Perhaps it's time for a fancy keyboard/mouse? Sound card? SSD?

 

[Pyree]

yes, how can i forget, $140, just about the price for a good 60GB ssd.

 

[rahulkadukar]

Get the Logitech G15

 

[reignsupreme11]

i actually just bought a lycosa/deatheradder combo. and i also remembered that i have my old 9600GT sitting in an anti-static bag 5 feet from my PC. do you think it is worth it to install and configure the system using the instructions outlined here:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/nvidia-physx-hack-amd-radeon,review-32051-6.html

i have 2 games that i am pretty sure run Physx, mass effect and just cause 2. i've read that games that do use physics have large improvements when a dedicated card is used.

 

[Archean]

+2 Pyree
Absolutely the best advice, an SSD will make huge difference to overall system performance, though I guess the final decisions is OPs, which was bit different.

 

[amk-aka-Phantom]

i have 2 games that i am pretty sure run Physx, mass effect and just cause 2. i've read that games that do use physics have large improvements when a dedicated card is used.

Mass Effects don't benefit from hardware PhysX, AFAIK. Just Cause 2 (great game, btw) should, and since it's quite consumptive, dedicated PhysX should lighten the load on the CPU. Also, get Mafia 2... it uses PhysX and is a great game

 

[reignsupreme11]

thanks i am thinking that since it won't cost me anything that i am going to try using the 9600GT as a dedicated physics card. also, i have a 120GB agility 3 SSD i just didn't post it in OP because it wasn't relevant to graphics info!