Questions on using a new and old GPU

[Aoradon]

Sorry about these questions in advance. They have probably been asked hundreds of time by clueless people like me but I can't find the answer online.

Information: I currently own an nvidia gtx 560ti and am looking to upgrade to the gtx titan.

Questions:

1. Is it possible to link (I think its called SLI) cards that are not the same type? If it is possible would the fact that my gtx 560ti is much worse than the titan actually slow down my computer?

2. I have heard that you can make one gpu run your monitor and the other do the processing. Would it be possible in my situation to make my gtx 560 run my monitor and the titan do the processing?

3. If both of these are possible would it be better to link them together or split them and make one run my monitor and the other process.

I don't know if it matters but here are my current system specifications.

Motherboard: Asus P9X79 Deluxe
CPU: Intel i7-3820
GPU: Nvidia 560ti
Ram: 16 GB Corsair Vengeance

Thanks,
Steve

 

[ThomasJ93]

No to both questions. What you could do is keep the 560Ti as a dedicated Physx card.

 

[Aoradon]

No to both questions. What you could do is keep the 560Ti as a dedicated Physx card.

Sorry I don't really understand what your saying. If I got it right your saying to plug my monitor into the titan and make the gtx 560 the pure processor?

Thanks again

 

[ThomasJ93]

No, what I mean is that you plug your monitor into the Titan. This will also be the main GPU. You can use the Nvidia control panel to set the 560Ti as a dedicated Physx processor. This means that any Physx calculations will be done on the 560Ti.

 

[Fulgurant]

No to both questions. What you could do is keep the 560Ti as a dedicated Physx card.

Sorry I don't really understand what your saying. If I got it right your saying to plug my monitor into the titan and make the gtx 560 the pure processor?

Thanks again

No, he's talking about a specific Nvidia feature that controls the physics' calculations for certain displayed objects in certain games. It's not worth the trouble to make your 560 Ti a dedicated PhysX card, in short. According to the tests I've seen, using an older, slower nvidia GPU as a dedicated PhysX card actually lowers your overall performance.

There is no way to separate the "processing" of the video card from the operation of the display. To put it as simply as possible, the video card's job is to figure out what to display and then feed that information to your monitor.

Bottom line: if you do buy a Titan, then ditch the old card. Personally I'm a little dubious as to whether you should buy a Titan, but that's a wholly different question.

 

[Aoradon]

No to both questions. What you could do is keep the 560Ti as a dedicated Physx card.

Sorry I don't really understand what your saying. If I got it right your saying to plug my monitor into the titan and make the gtx 560 the pure processor?

Thanks again

No, he's talking about a specific Nvidia feature that controls the physics' calculations for certain displayed objects in certain games. It's not worth the trouble to make your 560 Ti a dedicated PhysX card, in short. According to the tests I've seen, using an older, slower nvidia GPU as a dedicated PhysX card actually lowers your overall performance.

There is no way to separate the "processing" of the video card from the operation of the display. To put it as simply as possible, the video card's job is to figure out what to display and then feed that information to your monitor.

Bottom line: if you do buy a Titan, then ditch the old card. Personally I'm a little dubious as to whether you should buy a Titan, but that's a wholly different question.

Ok one last question left then. If I make my 560ti my dedicated physX card, does that mean that the titan cannot help with physX if my 560ti if it gets overloaded?

Thanks once again!

 

[ThomasJ93]

No, it's all in the way it's called. "Dedicated", so it means it will let the 560Ti do the Physx calculations.