Is it worth switching from a Radeon 5870 to nVidia for Physx?

humanji · 12-04-2011 08:29PM #1

This is probably a considerably stupid question for those who know what they're talking about, but I think I've more money than sense.

I have a Radeon 5870. It's fantastic, not too old and suits almost all my gaming needs. The thing is, I used to have an nVida card and loved the PhysX effects, partcularly in the likes of Arkham Asylum and Mafia 2. It's kind of jarring now, playing either of them and missing the effects.

So I was wondering if anyone had an opinion on wether it's worth forking out for an nVidia card, or does it make sense to stick with the 5870 and just man up about not having fancy effects? Or is there even a solution to cheat PhysX with a AMD card?

Money isn't really an issue, although it is something I take into account.

Solitaire · 12-04-2011 08:35PM

IIRC there are hacked drivers that let CF-capable mobos use an AMD card for graphics and a weaker nVidia card solely for GPGPU use such as PhysX...

Overheal · 12-04-2011 09:04PM

PhysX used to be a wonderful idea but ultimately it's just an umbrella now for a set of niceties that nvidia gives kickbacks to developers to implement into their games.

For similar reasons I dont like intel products because for years they gave kickbacks to dell and other companies on the condition they sold few to zero AMD-processor models in their product lines.

My thinking is if they have to be that underhanded to keep their edge, their actual products probably aren't all that strong to begin with.

marco_polo · 12-04-2011 09:32PM

No way is is worth it just for a couple of games, there are a grand total of four future games in development with Physx GPU hardware acceleration support, none of which exactly set the pulses racing.

http://www.physxinfo.com/index.php?p=gam&f=gpu

I must admit the days it finally dies for good I won't be shedding any tears.

Solitaire · 13-04-2011 12:56AM

It was only any good in Arkham Asylum anyway

humanji · 13-04-2011 07:58AM

Thanks guys. Yeah, I fully agree that it's sh*tty for nVidia to shut out ATI like they have and it'd be great for it to stop. But let's face it, it's not going to happen anytime soon. And even though there's not a huge amount of PhysX games, my thinking is that a good card will play all games at a level that my current card plays, plus I'll get the bonus of a few games that look particularly brilliant.

I might have a look at those hacked drivers. It'd be the best of both worlds and wouldn't cost me anything substantial.

PogMoThoin · 13-04-2011 08:03AM

Solitaire wrote: »

IIRC there are hacked drivers that let CF-capable mobos use an AMD card for graphics and a weaker nVidia card solely for GPGPU use such as PhysX...

I've not bothered to try it as very few games support it, I've the perfect card in my sig if anyone feels like making an offer, shameless plug

lmimmfn · 18-04-2011 02:09PM

i have a 6970 card and an 8800GT for physx, its not worth it tbh and only a bit of fun to mess with, only a few games use it and none of those use it for gameplay, only just to have more shattered glass and character clothes moving around limbs as you walk/run( Mafia 2 ), or batmans cape in Batman AA. In Metro 2033 it makes the game perform smoother overall( i.e. less huge drops in FPS in areas using physx ) but thats only when physx is on high.

Most games use software Physx( especially ports ) and if its software implemented even if you have the hardware you cant run the physx on the hardware( Mass Effect 1 & 2 are an example of this )

PogMoThoin · 19-04-2011 05:54PM

Can I get a link to the hack you used as I intend playing Metro again soon

jme2010 · 20-04-2011 08:20AM

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Can I get a link to the hack you used as I intend playing Metro again soon

Mee too.

I'd like to try an ATI/nVidia combo. :cool:

lmimmfn · 20-04-2011 12:37PM

here ya go - http://physxinfo.com/news/3334/new-hybrid-physx-mod-1-04ff-is-out/

jme2010 · 20-04-2011 01:03PM

Any offical benchmarks for this hack?

Overheal · 20-04-2011 03:09PM

lmimmfn wrote: »

here ya go - http://physxinfo.com/news/3334/new-hybrid-physx-mod-1-04ff-is-out/

SLi or Crossfire?

lmimmfn · 21-04-2011 12:39AM

jme2010 wrote: »

Any offical benchmarks for this hack?

Overheal wrote: »

SLi or Crossfire?

WTF????? you people confuse me man
1. Theres no official benchies, its using an Nvidia card, so whatever benchies for that are all there is, the hack is to allow nvidia drivers to be installed along with ati drivers, nothing else, as physx requires low usage from a gfx card, an 8800GT will cover all physx processing( buy one and see its cpu usage doesnt go anywhere neat 100% ever with physx )
2. SLI or Crossfire? i dont get you, its hybrid physx its an ATI card mixed with an Nvidia card for physx. The ATI config can be a crossfire setup( trifire if you have 4 PCIE slots ), it doesnt matter. The nvidia gpu is treated simply as a computational device. You can of course use the output of it etc.

Overheal · 22-04-2011 02:19AM

that was my question: i didnt know whether the mod was specific to you having a SLi, or a crossfire motherboard. Or whether it would work on either.

BlastedGlute · 22-04-2011 02:25AM

Go nvidia for physx and 3D.

Solitaire · 22-04-2011 03:57AM

Go AMD for actual gaming :pac:

lmimmfn · 22-04-2011 11:25PM

Overheal wrote: »

that was my question: i didnt know whether the mod was specific to you having a SLi, or a crossfire motherboard. Or whether it would work on either.

ahh ok, no it works on both, as i said its not treated like a normal gfx card( of course it can be used as a display device also if its required, but not for generating gfx along with the ATI card )

Is it worth switching from a Radeon 5870 to nVidia for Physx?

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