3 card question

[733subvet]

hey to all,


hope this hasnt been asked before, if it has forgive my ignorance !

i have heard about people using 2 cards in an SLI setup with one dedicated for Physx & was wondering on how to set this up ?

i currently have 2 Nvidia 295's in sli on an EVGA classified, would it benefit me to get a a 9800 ( or whatever ) to use for the physx?

i know my board supports 3 way sli but would it really benefit when it comes to gaming - primarily FPS ?

THANKS

[BobbyBubblehead]

unless it happens to be another 295 it wont sli anyhow.

im using a 280 and 260 for physx.

try running the 295`s without any physx enabled to get an idea of performance increase then minus that result a little for having a dedicated physx card.

you get better smoke, particle, water and erm physics with a dedicated card oh and more heat to deal with :)

I think you just have to have another card myself... Im over my GPU fetish because im out of places to stick another (no suggestions needed!)

[MattNo5ss]

I would say no. The 2xGTX295s can handle GPU + PhysX just fine. You have 4 GPUs already, you should be able to max every game with PhysX (if it's available) and have great FPS.

[BobbyBubblehead]

I susspect anything less than a 260 would slow it down anyhow.

my first dedicated physx card was a pimped WC`ed and thrashed 8400GS which did the job but your getting 60fps and the objects bouncing off in some explosive arc are like flick book animated with not enough updates in location to work with 60fps.

lookin at your system sig the slow spot on that system will be your hard drives... theres something to save for :D

[733subvet]

thanks guys - gonna try just the 2 295's once i get the system up & running - waiting on parts from N*W*GG now - should have everything i need by tuesday

as far as heat - SHOULDN'T BE an issue - system is built in HAF932 with 8 Noctua 120mm fans - 1 drawing air in from bottom, 1 drawing air in from front, 4 drawing air in from side & 2 blowing out the top - may go to 3 up top

[BobbyBubblehead]

comedy fans set up... (im using 27 myself)

you just have to work out whats best round the GPU`s... (im moving to a climate thats about 25`c hotter in summer, hence the overkill fans in place)

[jason4207]

When I tried to use my 8800GTS-512 for Physx all it did was create more heat and lower my max OC. My single GTX280 can render graphics and Physx quite well all by itself.

Oh, and if you plan on OCing that CPU you might find that using all 6 memory slots will hold you back significantly. 6GB is really enough for most people, and games will not benefit from anymore.