Will adding spare 8800GTS 512 be worth it?

Wolf-R1

[H]ard|Gawd
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I have a GTX260 in my gaming machine and a spare 8800GTS 512 hanging around. While it's alluring to put that into my machine to offload physics processing I can't see a good reason for it. There doesn't appear to be a ton of titles that use PhysX as their physics engine.

Am I missing something? Would there actually be a benefit to adding the 8800 to the mix for general physics support or would this be simply wasted power and added heat?
 
I'm using my old 8800 GTS 512 to play Metro 2033 and Batman AA. After that I'll probably give it to my brother as it just sits there idle 99% of the time, just sucking up electricity.

And I'm not one of those "green freaks" either. I'm just worried about how much money I'm spending each month by leaving it in there.
 
Unless you play games that support it, don't think it's worth it. Aside from PhysX processing, it can also be used to setup multiple displays (3 or more)

Aside from that, if it's just idling, I doubt it's using much power.
 
It will help in games that use GPU PhysX. It will not automagically make physics better in anything else.

FYI, my 9800GT slightly overclocked will handle PhysX on high in Batman:AA at 60fps minimum (HD5870 at 1920x1080). The 8800GTS should do quite well with a GTX260 in PhysX games, but as you already know, there aren't that many big/good titles.

If you have some games where a PhysX GPU will help, might as well toss the card in. If you can use it for other things (folding, multiple monitors, etc.), even better. But you're probably not missing a whole lot without it, especially since you already have an Nvidia GPU that can do PhysX.
 
You could add it as a phsyx card but only games that support it will use it. You could also fold on both cards for a good amount of PPD
 
Well, if you aren't using it at all, might as well put it in, unless you want to sell it.

Without a display connected to it, idling it will consume close to nothing.
 
I have a spare 9800gt, and I was curious how loud it would get. It's been a while since I used it, and I currently run both of my cards under water and noise is a big thing for me.
 
I have a spare 9800gt, and I was curious how loud it would get. It's been a while since I used it, and I currently run both of my cards under water and noise is a big thing for me.

probably not much louder than your current setup :)
 
on small monitor I don't think you will notify the difference.
Maybe physx is for bigger monitor than 22 inch so you can see the difference
 
Almost certainly, an 8800GTS is fairly powerful when compared to a GTX 260!
Also, consider the draw backs, if any.
 
if you have a physx game, its worth it.

I have a gtx480, and putting my 8800gtx in as a physx processor did help smooth out the frames in Dark Void. Though that combo still has problems playing cryostasis at 1920x1080
 
This is the gain I got in Batman with a GTX285 and an 8800GTS doing PhysX:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1505515

Damn, wish my Asus P5K-E hadn't shit the bed; my current motherboard only has one PCI-e slot (965P-S3)

I've got a GTX275 and a spare 8800GT laying around, it would probably make a great PhysX accelerator.

BTW, does anyone know of any PhysX-enabled racing games? You'd think there would be alot of them, but I can't seem to find any.
 
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