GTX 580 with GTX 260

[Scooby85]

I just recently came across some posts about people throwing in an older GPU and using it as a dedicated Physics card. Very soon I am looking at buying a GTX 580 for playing Battlefield 3 at 1920X1080. I have a GTX 260 in my current system and am wondering if it would make sense to leave it in and use it as a dedicated Physics card along with the 580?

Rest of my system specs:

Mobo - MSI Z68-GD65 (G3)
CPU - Intel Core i5 2500K
RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24
PSU - Quattro 850 Watt Antec
Case - Coolermaster Cosmos S
SSD - OCZ Vertex 2 90GB
3 data HD's

 

[ilysaml]

First of all, not all the games have the Physx option, Secondly i would have recommended 2 570s with the GTX 260 as a dedicated Physx card.
But anyway, you're good to go )

 

[iam2thecrowe]

why dont you just try it, you have the card. I bet you dont notice any differrence from the single 580 though.

 

[ilysaml]

why dont you just try it, you have the card. I bet you dont notice any differrence from the single 580 though.

Well it really depends on the game, some games like Mafia II, Dark Void are Physx intensive, even a single GTX 580 won't handle it. and the GTX 260 is doing really fine in Physx.

 

[inzone]

It will depend on what settings you want to play at , it does seem like every post I read people want to play at max settings. If you want high or max settings then I would go with the GTX 580 and keep the 260 for physics or even sell it. The 580 is capable of handling physics as well or you can use the cpu for physics. So you have a lot of options and it's whatever works for you.

 

[Scooby85]

I was worried about the 2 X 570 config since it has more heat, is a little more cumbersome, and because of the micro-stuttering SLI can bring. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html

I guess your right, since I have it I will just give it a try to see if it makes a difference. I just thought maybe someone would already have experience with a setup like that and could give me a quick yes or no. Once I have my 580, prolly a couple weeks away, Ill post back with results. The card is worth maybe $50 at best on EBay, so if I hold onto it I'm not out too much.

Whats a good program for monitoring FPS in game with things like min/max and avg?

 

[ilysaml]

Microstuttering is barely noticeable with high end GPUs (GTX 560Ti, HD 6950) and above.
And believe me a single GTX 580 has it's own Physx engine but is not enough for demanding Physx games, that's why you're good with the GTX 260..it's a great card for Physx.

 

[Scooby85]

Best answer selected by Scooby85.