How do i use one GPU for PhysX?

Hogzy

Hey folks,
Just bought a GTX 460 the other day and its nearly on my doorstep. I have been trying to sell my old 8800gtx's on adverts but its getting absolutly no interest (which i thought was odd).

Im about given up selling the two of them so im going to use one for my PhysX card. Iv been looking at some guides on Google and nothing explains it fully.

1. My board is crossfire enabled but NOT SLi enabled. Is this a problem?
2. Would someone explain how exactly i install one 8800gtx as a PhysX unit?

Venom

Hogzy wrote: »

Hey folks,
Just bought a GTX 460 the other day and its nearly on my doorstep. I have been trying to sell my old 8800gtx's on adverts but its getting absolutly no interest (which i thought was odd).

Im about given up selling the two of them so im going to use one for my PhysX card. Iv been looking at some guides on Google and nothing explains it fully.

1. My board is crossfire enabled but NOT SLi enabled. Is this a problem?
2. Would someone explain how exactly i install one 8800gtx as a PhysX unit?

1. Wont matter as SLI/Crossfire can only be used for linking 2 of the same cards together not 2 different types of card as in 2x460 is fine but a 460+8800 will not work.

2. From what Iv read this is only really done when using an ATI card as main GPU as these don't have PHYSX so you use hacked drivers to add a Nvidia card to the mix for PHYSX. Never heard of it being done when using a Nvidia GPU as main card tho but I could be wrong.

Hogzy

Venom wrote: »

1. Wont matter as SLI/Crossfire can only be used for linking 2 of the same cards together not 2 different types of card as in 2x460 is fine but a 460+8800 will not work.

Is this a typo? Do you mean 460+8800 is ok but 2x460's wouldnt work?
Sorry for the confusion.

2. From what Iv read this is only really done when using an ATI card as main GPU as these don't have PHYSX so you use hacked drivers to add a Nvidia card to the mix for PHYSX. Never heard of it being done when using a Nvidia GPU as main card tho but I could be wrong.

Thats what was reading on the guides but then on another guide i saw a screen shot of the nvidia control panel with the ability to select which Nvidia card could be used for PhysX. In the screen shot one card was a 260 and the other was a 8800GT

here

Venom

No typo. You cant mix and match the cards you wish to link (SLI in your case as both Nvidia) as they must be the same series of GPU such as 5870x2 in Crossfire or 8800GTx2 in SLI. However want you want to do in using just the 8800GT for PHYSX is not a SLI/Crossfire setup.

Can't comment on the Nvida stuff in your second question I'm afraid.

Hogzy

Venom wrote: »

No typo. You cant mix and match the cards you wish to link (SLI in your case as both Nvidia) as they must be the same series of GPU such as 5870x2 in Crossfire or 8800GTx2 in SLI.

Misread your post. I though you were saying that for a physx card it must be the same model.

Tea_Bag

subbing to the thread.

im very much interested in the same thing.

Solitaire

Not 100% sure but I think you just make your GTX460 the default display adapter on the desktop and configure the 8800GTX in the other slot as the PhysX card through the driver control panel.

Overheal

Your 8800s probably aren't moving because the 8-series is precisely how Nvidia's public image took a nosedive about 3 years ago. Especially a second hand card: what guarantee does the faceless buyer have that you arent just trying to get rid of a defective batch from the fiasco.

Hogzy

Overheal wrote: »

Your 8800s probably aren't moving because the 8-series is precisely how Nvidia's public image took a nosedive about 3 years ago. Especially a second hand card: what guarantee does the faceless buyer have that you arent just trying to get rid of a defective batch from the fiasco.

People have no guarantee that they are working perfectly. The same way they have no guarantee the PS3 game they buy on adverts is actually a PS3 game and not a parcel full of newspaper. Maybe the fact that i have tested the GFX cards on my system and the fact i have a perfect track record on adverts for selling will reasure them.

There are plenty other 8800's getting offers on adverts. Ill probably just keep them anyway unless i get near asking. I dont really need the money.

EDIT: This is the first time iv ever heard someone saying the 8800gtx was the card where Nvidia took a nose dive. I think they were great cards for the time they served me.

Solitaire

They weren't bad cards; they were bad silicon. Everything from the 7800GT onward was IIRC. Short version: They weren't built sturdily enough to withstand constant hot-cold-hot-cold and it caused defective solder joints to kill the cards randomly after ~18 months moderate use. Look for the oven threads on this forum for examples

Overheal

exactly. I didnt mean the 8800 gtx wasn't an insanely popular or bestselling card, but nvidia's entire manufacturing process was called into question for a while there.

Hogzy

Just read up on the issues. Can't believe some people resorted to sticking the card in an oven. I assure any potential buyers that my cards have not taken the Sylvia plath route in life

Overheal

Not that the oven method didn't work for many.

Venom

Before my current 5870 I got the best part of 4 years solid use from my 8800GT without any hassle at all so the cards weren't that bad

Out of interest what's the benefit of using 1 out of 2 Nvidia cards as a dedicated PHYSX card?

lmimmfn

ewww,8800GTX is a bit power hungry to run it as a Physx card, much better to have a lower powered 8800GT.

* EDIT * - Oops forgot to say the following only applies to ATI + Nvidia setups( stupid me, wrote the below in a rush ). The following does NOT need to be done for Nvidia + Nvidia cards for Physx. The 2nd Nvidia card is a computational card therefore it can be used on a crossfire mobo

Ive an 8800GT for Physx with my 5850, download this - http://physxinfo.com/news/3334/new-hybrid-physx-mod-1-04ff-is-out/
but Always match it with a supported nvidia driver, i.e. latest physx crack works with GeForce 257.21 drivers.
Install nvidia drivers, then the crack, then restart and set the gpu as physx card in the nvidia control panel.

This will NOT work in Vista, it needs WDDM 1.1 support which is Windows 7 only, however i think its ment to work with XP( i cant confirm ), but 100% will not work on Vista

I certainly remember a setting in the old PhysX control panel to dedicate a particular card to PhysX acceleration. Not sure about now since it was moved into the main NVIDIA control panel.

About the failing GeForce 8s, I tried the oven trick twice, once with an 8400M GS (MXM card) and a second time with an 8800GT. Didn't work on the 8400M but did work on the 8800GT. I have a 9800 sitting about which I'm tempted to try it on, same symptoms.

lmimmfn

Karsini wrote: »

I certainly remember a setting in the old PhysX control panel to dedicate a particular card to PhysX acceleration. Not sure about now since it was moved into the main NVIDIA control panel.

Oh, yeah i forgot to mention that, in the past 4-5 months Nvidia has moved the physx gpu option in the control panel, it is now in "Manage 3D Settings/Global Settings", make sure CUDA - GPUs is set to "ALL"

Also, sometimes installing the Nvidia drivers will hang when its installing the Physx part, quit that part of the install if this happens and manually install Physx( it will be in the directory where the Nvidia drivers were extracted to )

Yeah, its a bit of a pain, but worth it.

*EDIT* for 2 nvidia cards, only tick the card you want to assign for Physx in CUDA - GPUs