Dedicating GTS250 to PhysX

[_Zod_]

Ok so I'm running a lowly 550Ti and have this GTS250 sitting doing nothing and I thought, why not dedicate it to PhysX for the one lousy game I pay that can use it. Problem is, I'm not sure if this 600 Watt PS is going to be able to handle the load.

Now, let me say that while this PS is basically a no name-er, it is pretty solid, I even had a short on the 12v which took out a hard drive (flames and all) but the PS kept going like a champ. Though I may have to see if I can provide it with more airflow.

Anyway, these are what I am working with:

hec X-Power Pro 600 600W Continuous @ 40°C ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply

MSI N250GTS-2D512-OCv2 GeForce GTS 250 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Plus 3 hard disk drives.

I'm thinking probably no based on the supposed current requirements of te GTS250 but more input would be appreciated.

 

[xxdozer322]

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135891

read up young padawan.

your card is sufficient enough. Adding that second card only draws power and creates heat for something your card is already doing.

 

[_Zod_]

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135891

read up young padawan.

Ok that link had nothing to do with what I was asking, but thanks?

Also, it isn't, I've already tried PhysX on the 550Ti by itself and it cannot handle the added load. The game itself is pretty poorly optimized.

 

[BiggieShady]

your card is sufficient enough.

Not really. Enabling cuda physx on 550 ti hurts frame rate especially in full hd. Dedicated GTX 250 (G92) would be better option (noisier and hotter also). Problem is that often no name PSUs are not as powerful as they are rated.

 

[xxdozer322]

im lost here, you want to add a "dedicated physx card" yet that thread is stickied and meant for questions like this...

I Assume the answer you wanted was that your card is not sufficient enough for the resolution you are playing at. Even with a dedicated physX card.

 

[PHaS3]

Adding the GTS250 will help PhysX, but that PSU will not handle it... I had an HEC power supply in one of my builds for a while, it killed 3 hard drives and a Radeon 3870.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

im lost here, you want to add a "dedicated physx card" yet that thread is stickied and meant for questions like this...

I Assume the answer you wanted was that your card is not sufficient enough for the resolution you are playing at. Even with a dedicated physX card.

No its a question of is this power supply good enough and id say a risky yes but it's edge of spec , thing is physx dosnt load acard that high in most games so you might be ok

 

[Shou Miko]

well u can get better cards then GTS250 now adays even some that have more cuda cores and uses less power and give better physx

 

[_Zod_]

Not really. Enabling cuda physx on 550 ti hurts frame rate especially in full hd. Dedicated GTX 250 (G92) would be better option (noisier and hotter also). Problem is that often no name PSUs are not as powerful as they are rated.

Lets for the moment assume it is in fact not over-rated, lets say it's a Corsair or a PC Power and Cooling at the same 600 watts, what then?

im lost here, you want to add a "dedicated physx card" yet that thread is stickied and meant for questions like this...

I Assume the answer you wanted was that your card is not sufficient enough for the resolution you are playing at. Even with a dedicated physX card.

How about I rephrase the question in a way that doesn't involve PhysX even if that is what I am dealing with:

Can my power supply SLI 2 GTS250's without exploding assuming the spec's of the PS are legit?

 

[_Zod_]

Adding the GTS250 will help PhysX, but that PSU will not handle it... I had an HEC power supply in one of my builds for a while, it killed 3 hard drives and a Radeon 3870.

It's been pretty damn solid, survived a short circuit that took out a hard drive in flames and the PC didn't even shut down (which kinda tells me it has no short circuit protection )

No its a question of is this power supply good enough and id say a risky yes but it's edge of spec , thing is physx dosnt load acard that high in most games so you might be ok

The thing is though that nVidia or MSI, did not add any kind of voltage throttling to the 250, so that sucker is running full bore regardless of load

 

[PHaS3]

Can my power supply SLI 2 GTS250's without exploding assuming the spec's of the PS are legit?

I wouldn't try it... See my post above. I will never ever trust an HEC or other "no name" power supply again. I lost too much with the terrible one I had. it was a 550W model iirc, and it managed to kill a single 3870, and later a bunch of drives in another PC.

 

[de.das.dude]

you wont see any performance benefits as the 5 series is enough to do physx by himself.

but still worth a try...

 

[erocker]

According to the specs of the PSU you should be good to go. It's up to you if you want to trust it or not.

 

[PLAfiller]

I watched that guy Linus while he was doing PhysiX card testing and basically he came to the conclusion that in order for the PhysiX card to add to the experince it has to be the same generation. What I mean is like you have 550ti, then let's say GT520 or something of the sort. But don't quot me on that.
Final words: try it for the science and for the experince - I for one wouldn't want to discourage you or kill the enthusiasm. Have fun. But I personally wouldn't keep it probably on the long run.

P.S

I went back to check the video, so that I refresh my memory and not tarnish his/mine reputation. Here's a link. I got it wrong- he said "something fast enough". I had only remembered his very last word of the video that has the word last-generation, but it doesn't refer to the whole idea. That's why I added, don't quote me on it. I stand corrected, appolgies.

 

[erocker]

I watched that guy Linus while he was doing PhysiX card testing and basically he came to the conclusion that in order for the PhysiX card to add to the experince it has to be the same generation. What I mean is like you have 550ti, then let's say GT520 or something of the sort. But don't quot me on that.
Final words: try it for the science and for the experince - I for one wouldn't want to discourage you or kill the enthusiasm. Have fun. But I personally wouldn't keep it probably on the long run.

Well I'm quoting you but if Linus did say that he is wrong. As for your final words, I completely agree with you.

 

[de.das.dude]

dont trust linus. he seems like just a pretty face to me sometimes. his video skills seem better than his geek skills.
he does good reviews on cases and stuff though.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Well I'm quoting you but if Linus did say that he is wrong. As for your final words, I completely agree with you.

Yes. the card just needs to be from about the 8800GT/9800GT cards or higher for PhysX to be done on the GPU.

That is probably the first time ive seen Linus wrong too. Usually he is right in a lot of cases, hes been in this business for quite some time.

 

[KingPing]

I do use a GTS250 for PhysX with my GTX570. It runs all the PhysX game without issues, even the new ones like Hawken and Warframe.

Is my GTX570 enough to do everything? Probably yes, but since i already had the GTS250 and it seems to be doing a pretty good job, i'll keep using it as a PPU.

If your PSU can handle both cards go ahead with it.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

I do use a GTS250 for PhysX with my GTX570. It runs all the PhysX game without issues, even the new ones like Hawken and Warframe.

Is my GTX570 enough to do everything? Probably yes, but since i already had the GTS250 and it seems to be doing a pretty good job, i'll keep using it as a PPU.

If your PSU can handle both cards go ahead with it.

Well that's what he is questioning. If his PSU could handle it if he went ahead and did it.

 

[BiggieShady]

... that PSU will not handle it... I had an HEC power supply in one of my builds for a while, it killed 3 hard drives and a Radeon 3870.

Lets for the moment assume it is in fact not over-rated, lets say it's a Corsair or a PC Power and Cooling at the same 600 watts, what then?

Let's not assume, let's trust PHaS3 who owned it.

 

[EarthDog]

Adding the GTS250 will help PhysX, but that PSU will not handle it... I had an HEC power supply in one of my builds for a while, it killed 3 hard drives and a Radeon 3870.

If the PSU could handle what it was rated for, it would be fine...

550 Ti = 115W
GTS 250 = 150W
CPU = 125W
Other = 50W

Total = 430W if everything was running 100% load (stress testing).

That said, most HEC PSUs are dubious at best and if you start having problems, that is the first place I would look. If you have the money for a quality 600W PSU to replace I would do that, but in the meantime you should be fine if you want to take the risk.