4870x2 or gtx280 -does Physx support mean anything?

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Aegeas

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When it comes time to make your purchase of a video card, are any of you letting the inclusion of Physx support into the new line of Nvidia cards and drivers carry any weight with regards to making a purchasing decision?

I want the 4870x2, but I can't help but think that the addition of Physx support to the new Nvidia drivers may actually make something I play more fun.

I use a Dell 30" monitor at 2560x1600 thus my reason to pursue the card with the most RAM and horsepower, even though my 8800GT is pretty good about keeping up most of the time.

Thoughts?
 
Physx support means literally nothing IMHO. Get the 4870x2 and never look back.
 
Are games (the few) that previously supported the Physx cards going to be able to leverage the new drivers or is the addition of the Physx support only for new games going forward?
 
Get the 4870X2 and keep the 8800GT for PhysX processing.
 
PhysX is the best, PC gaming world will change because of it but for now, there are not enough games to justify PhysX over HD4870 X2.
 
Well, first thought is to agree and say don't look back, however for those of us who currently have an Nvidia card it is annoying to not be able to keep it for physx and go to ATI for gpu...currently no way to do this in VISTA...as a matter of fact it might be annoying enough for me to wait a few months and see what Nvidia comes out with next just so I can keep my 8800 as a ppu. On the other hand if I didnt have an nvidia card already I would get the x2 and not look back.

I think the real issue for me is that in VISTA you cannot have both an Nvidia card , (for ppu) and an ATI card (gpu) at the same time. SO oddly in this debate between ATI and Nvidia the real villain is MICROSOFT...heh. I hear this isn't a problem in Windows XP.

BTW Physx works great on my 8800 in previous Physx games. I have also been playing with a 9600gt as ppu and 8800 ultra as gpu in the same rig, so far no problems in the demos or in GRAW 2. (See the PPU bulletin board here at [H] forums)
 
The issue is that physics requiring a specific piece of hardware will be irrelevant down the road anyways. Since DX11 and OpenCL all allow people to compute using shaders as a universal standard of that API, eventually Havok and others can push that information to shaders on any DX11 (or OpenCL) compatible card
 
I thought the new drivers that enable Physx on 8800s just came out. I must be behind the curve.

How many games have you tried it in?

I can't help but think that at the resolution I play at that it is better to just get the 4870 and let the PhysX titles wither on the vine.
 
Yet another +1 for not worrying about the Physx support and just going with the 4870x2. Superb card for the resolution at which you play. It's a beast!
 
By the time PhyX becomes important in games either ati will support it on their own cards or you will be able to buy a cheapo card to take advantage of it. Game developers won't use it if the mass users don't have it: extra development time for only a small selection of users, what's the point? Also reducing yourself to one gpu maker would also destroy sales.
 
I think NGOHQ managed to run physxn ati card. It was dirty hack to get it done but it did work.

You might find that suddenly ati cards will have some sort of unofficial support for physx.

I dont think this should be a factor in your buying decision yet, until the game market either goes with havoc or physx. Actually since havoc is already implemented on the cpu side, it has more of an acceptance than nvidia's physx.
 
So far what's being done with PhysX in games isn't very worth while. I've been running it on my GTX 280's and I don't think I am going to miss it when I switch to my 4870 X2.
 
dont get the 4870 x2 cause it still suffers from microstuttering......i would suggest to stick with 1 single gpu cards.....of course if you dont mind microstuttering and just want to have high fps, then go ahead and buy the 4870 x2

check this out.....

Mikroruckler = Microstuttering ;)

http://translate.google.com/transla...adeon_hd_4870_x2/24&hl=nl&ie=UTF8&sl=de&tl=en

and

http://www.cluboverclocker.com/reviews/video/sapphire/hd4870x2_2GB/page8.asp#Power

Now, a word on something else that is rarely mentioned in reviews: microstuttering. It has long been the bane of many multi-GPU users, and has been one of the many barriers for myself. Does microstuttering exist on the X2? Unfortunately, yes. Again, the lack of a unified frame buffer is no doubt the cause for this.
Click to expand...
 
I just played about 8 hours of gameplay last night with my 4870X2. GRAW2, RB6:Vegas 2, Stalker, and a few others at max settings 1920 x 1200 and did not notice ANY microstuttering at all for what it's worth.
 
I really want a 4870x2...the numbers just look amazing and the price isn't all that bad. There are a few things holding me back tho.

First I really prefer the nvidia partners (I like replacing my heatsink and keeping my warranty, thanks EVGA).

Second my friend has a 4850 which has a few issues in games I play. Namely LOTRO, using any driver version it crashes while using DX10 and AA...defeating the purpose of a decent card. He's run into a few other issues with older and second tier games that I'm sure are attributed to ATI drivers but if they have issues with a single card I can't imagine crossfire will make them better.

Lastly I'm worried about microstuttering (I hated my 7800gt SLI setup for this reason, even tho I had no idea what it was back then just that games felt so much slower than the FPS they were displaying) and "poor" performance in games where crossfire isn't supported.

All that being said...I still want one =/
 
I can't believe that SLI and Crossfire are still buggy like this. 3dfx had SLI configurations how long ago? And they worked damn near perfectly. I remember my buddy having 2x12MB cards and running damn near anything at 1024x768, with no issues.
 
PhysX is nothing more than NV marketing something worthless to try and steal some thunder from AMD and the 4800 series.

Not to mention current cards will be a faint memory by the time Physics is usable in games.
 
slamcmy said:
dont get the 4870 x2 cause it still suffers from microstuttering......i would suggest to stick with 1 single gpu cards.....of course if you dont mind microstuttering and just want to have high fps, then go ahead and buy the 4870 x2
Click to expand...
Not sure why you chose to leave out the rest of the quote from Club Overclocker. The rest of it is:

"However, there is good news. On the X2 [microstuttering] really isn't that bad. It happens typically within the first minute of loading a map or save game, and then it is gone for good. So, while not perfect, it is an improvement."
 
R1ckCa1n said:
PhysX is nothing more than NV marketing something worthless to try and steal some thunder from AMD and the 4800 series.

Not to mention current cards will be a faint memory by the time Physics is usable in games.
Click to expand...
exactly and that ms seems the other one suddenly everybody remembered that there was ms with multi gpus :p
 
physx is nice, but the 4870x2 is alot faster, which is nicer.
the only real argument in favor of the gtx 280 is that it's cheaper.
or if you have a board that supports SLI, you get access to an upgrade path that scales pretty well. or if you use an app with cuda support alot.
my friend is an engineer, and he uses some app that goes ridiculously fast on his 8800gt vs a regular quad core cpu.
 
This issue of "microstuttering" is really bugging me now. Thanks for all of your replies and let's hope someone gives us a definitive answer on the issue of microstuttering.
 
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