Dual Radeon HD 6990 + GTX 590 Hybrid PhysX?

[Andriko_08]

Hey, my friend and I are planning on building an "Über-system". Don't tell me this is expensive cause I don't care...

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled across Hybrid PhysX: http://physxinfo.com/wiki/Hybrid_PhysX

Since being a gamer, choosing between 4gb of vram and 3gb and physx is most probably the hardest choice I'll ever make in my life... so I'm really thinking about Hybrid PhysX

Is anyone experienced/knows about this topic? Will this work with 2 Radeon HD 6990s and a single GTX 590? with both gpus on the 590 working on physx? If not, will this work with dual Radeon HD 6990s and a single GTX 580?

 

[rolli59]

GTX580 or GTX590 is a large investment for the few games that support PhysX!
What motherboard are you planning on using? (either card will be stupid in a slot at X4 speed)

 

[Timop]

Über-system deserves 4 6970s on phase-chage OCed at 1Ghz.

Though with your setup it would work, just the 590 would be dormant for ~99% of the time as even a GTX460 can handle GPU PhysX well in the three games (okay, maybe 5) that support it.

IMO, if you really can't choose, get a Hydra board and run a pair of 6990s with a pair of 590s.

 

[Tamz_msc]

I believe Toms did a test on PhysX and if I remember correctly, beyond a GTS 250(which was tested by Toms, in Batman AA, most probably), everything else is a waste for dedicated PhysX.

Also, unless you game on 30 inch monitors with Eyefinity, those HD 6990s will never be pushed to their maximum. A single HD 6990 is all you need to max out everything @ 2560 x 1600.

 

[Embra]

*nods*

 

[gerchokas]

Dunno if they've already found a way, but in the article posted above it says that Nvidia's latest drivers prevent you from doing hybrid physx...

 

[Tamz_msc]

You can always get hacked drivers.

 

[Andriko_08]

So... would the 6990 and gtx 590 work together in hybrid physx? Or does the 590 not work because it has 2 gpus? If they don't would it work with a gtx 580 and 6990?

Also, what are the risks in doing this, my friend wants to be sure that this is safe

 

[Tamz_msc]

There is not much risk, but the GTX 590 will lie un-utilized 99% of the time.

 

[browsingtheworld]

Is your friend using a LGA 1366 motherboard? You need dual PCIe x16 lanes to fully utilize quad GPUs such as dual 6990s or 590s. Each card needs a full x16 lane or they will bottleneck.

The VRAM is only 2GB or 1.5GB since each GPU needs half the RAM and the same data is loaded onto the RAM for each GPU.

It's pretty overkill and stupid to get such a system unless he's running 6 monitors for flight sim or something. Even on a 30" 2560 x 1600 monitor a single 6990/590 will perform almost identically to dual 6990s/590s and will cost less and produce less heat and noise.

As mentioned above, if he want a PhysX card he should just get a single GPU and a cheap nvidia card like a GTX 550 Ti.

As for the main GPU I'd recommend the 590 over the 6990 because it's significantly quieter.

 

[bystander]

I don't believe a 590 would work, at least, it won't work in SLI for physX. You'd get better results with a gtx580, since you'd only get to use one of the gpu's on the 590. However, by the reviews I've seen with dedicated physX cards, a gtx 260 is about the most power any game will use. Beyond a 260, and performance does not increase.

 

[mdd1963]

No reason to get by with an $80 PhysX solution when one could spend $850, now need a 1600 watt PSU for $600, and, get the same results! /sarcasm off

As for the 4gb of VRAM reference...it's a 2gb framebuffer, no matter how many 6990s you use; I'd recommend a thorough reading on the diminishing returns principle beyond 2 gpus for single monitor, and at most 3 gpus for 3 monitors...

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/05/19/quadgpu_performance_review_nvidia_vs_amd/

 

[Andriko_08]

I heard if you get a physx card slower than your primary card it will slow down your performance, which I dont wan't... which card would best pair with the 6990 for hybrid physx? I'm considering the gtx 580

 

[mdd1963]

As several folks have mentioned, is a severe waste of $400-$500 dollars for dedicating a GTX580 just for PhysX....; if determined to fill some perceived need for a PhysX card, get the GTX260 a few folks have recommended....

Personally, I'd skip PhysX altogether, instead concentrating on:

A pair of 6950s in Crossfire comes very close to matching the performance of a single 6990, but for $480 in GPU cost. A pair of 6970s will exceed the performance, and for $200 less cost with careful shopping/rebates.

 

[bystander]

I see 1 of two things here. A shopping list is put together for some competition on trying to construct the most expensive machine possible, but it's never actually purchased.

Or he goes out and buys this computer and has a nightmare trying to get everything to work without bugs and being very frustrated by the extreme noise and constant overheating.

 

[rolli59]

At least we can recommend a PSU! http://www.enermax.com/home.php?fn=eng/product_a1_1_1&lv0=1&lv1=43&no=159

 

[Andriko_08]

OK fine then not the 580...I just want something that will speed up the performance greatly, how about the 560 ti?

 

[Tamz_msc]

As I said before, anything above a GTS 250 is a complete waste as a dedicated PhysX card.

 

[Dangerous Beans]

I see 1 of two things here. A shopping list is put together for some competition on trying to construct the most expensive machine possible, but it's never actually purchased.

Or he goes out and buys this computer and has a nightmare trying to get everything to work without bugs and being very frustrated by the extreme noise and constant overheating.

Either way, we should recommend a massive water cooling system to help.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

you obviously have more money than sense if you have to ask this question. Its just a pointless money wasting exercise to even attempt it. you are not achieving anything by using a gtx590 as a physx card, its just stupidity.

 

[benikens]

Screw the nay-sayers! drop that 590 in there with 2x6990's just so you can link pics of it all over the net and have the biggest e-peen.

BTW he clearly said money wasn't a concern so let's stop recommending cheaper alternatives and focus on sinking his hard earned cash into an overpowered monstrosity.

Also watercool that *** not just cause it's probably a good idea, but because it's what someone who's spending 3k on their graphics cards alone should do.

 

[Rizlla]

Screw the nay-sayers! drop that 590 in there with 2x6990's just so you can link pics of it all over the net and have the biggest e-peen.

BTW he clearly said money wasn't a concern so let's stop recommending cheaper alternatives and focus on sinking his hard earned cash into an overpowered monstrosity.

Also watercool that *** not just cause it's probably a good idea, but because it's what someone who's spending 3k on their graphics cards alone should do.

+1, I agree 100% don't forget to post on Youtube that we can see if perform. He wats the bragging rights when going to a LAN and everyone must be drooling over his system. Remember to choose an epic case.

 

[benikens]

Oh yeah totally gotta have a mad case for this, with loads of glass so you can see them sweet graphics cards.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

+1, I agree 100% don't forget to post on Youtube that we can see if perform. He wats the bragging rights when going to a LAN and everyone must be drooling over his system. Remember to choose an epic case.

Noone at a lan would respect that, they would just talk behind his back on how pointless that setup is......... People respect effort, not just dumping a whole lot of cash into a rig for no reason. You may as well just have 1 gtx570 for physx, and cut up a few $100 bills and stick them to your case, or gold plate it or something. you will end up with the same performance and braging rights of how much money you wasted. Or you could just hire a Limo to drop you at the lan party with a HOT escort, or bring some expensive champagne or scotch to drink, or.....well the list goes on, i can think of 100's of ways to better spend the money. Also if you actually bought that to a lan party you would have to run it of a separate circuit or you will blow the power and look like a real try-hard duche bag.

 

[Rizlla]

Noone at a lan would respect that, they would just talk behind his back on how pointless that setup is......... People respect effort, not just dumping a whole lot of cash into a rig for no reason. You may as well just have 1 gtx570 for physx, and cut up a few $100 bills and stick them to your case, or gold plate it or something. you will end up with the same performance and braging rights of how much money you wasted. Or you could just hire a Limo to drop you at the lan party with a HOT escort, or bring some expensive champagne or scotch to drink, or.....well the list goes on, i can think of 100's of ways to better spend the money. Also if you actually bought that to a lan party you would have to run it of a separate circuit or you will blow the power and look like a real try-hard duche bag.

They would only talk behind your back, because they are the jealous ones who can't afford it. So they feel inferior and the only way for them to feel better is to make you look bad like an idiot. I wouldn't build a PC for myself based on what other people might say or think. I will build it the way I want it to be. At the end of the day it is not them who have to live with the PC it is you and you are the one who will be looking at it and think... dam I should have done what I wanted to do and screw the others.

It is not called a PC (Personal Computer) for nothing. It is personal, as in yours. Do with it what you please.