9600GT on PCI-E x1 for PhysX?

Brok3n_Halo · Jul 16, 2009, 05:41 PM

So I'm working on setting up a GeForce card as a dedicated PhysX card to set next to my Radeon 4870s since games don't seem to detect my Asus P1E AGEIA PPU unless a Nvidia GPU is present. No worries about getting this setup up and running, I've already done it with a temporary card. The problem comes with lack of PCI-E x16 slots. I only have 2 and I just bought a second 4870 for some hot steamy Crossfire action.

So that leaves me with a PCI-E x1 and a PCI. I tried using the PCI slot, picked up a Sparkle 9500GT which is by far the best PCI based Geforce card I could find, but it had disappointing results, having a hit on framerate in Mirror's Edge when lots of glass shattered. It was still plenty playable at between 35-45 FPS, but I want something a little more future ready then that.

In testing I'd decided the 8800GT was plenty good enough. But I have some constraints to consider, so I can't use a 8800GT. As I said, after today my last PCI-E x16 slot is full so the 8800GT is out. Since all I have left is a PCI-E x1 slot, I'll need to use a x1 to x16 riser card so the card needs to be low profile. Also, the x1 slot is right next to my x16 slot so it needs to be a single slot card. I've read that in real-world gaming benchmarks there is little to no performance difference between a 8800GT and 9600GT as a dedicated PhysX card. This 9600GT is the best card I've seen that meets these requirements. And this is the cheapest adapter I could find.

After all that I have 2 questions:
1. Anyone know of any better options, given my constraints, then the above linked items?
2. How much of a performance hit in PhysX am I going to see, limiting the card to x1 speeds, as compared to x16?

Thanx!

DJ BIG T · Jul 16, 2009, 05:56 PM

you need a sli mobo then windows 7 to get it to work with a ati card...1xpci wont work

**MIG-31** · Jul 16, 2009, 06:02 PM

as far as i know,Windows 7 is the first OS that enables the use of GC from different manufacturers..

But a small point that may help you... Please post your system specs so other can see what you currently have..

Brok3n_Halo · Jul 16, 2009, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ BIG T

you need a sli mobo then windows 7 to get it to work with a ati card...1xpci wont work

Partually correct, don't need a SLI mobo though. As I said, I've had it working with PCI on my Crossfire board. Just PCI isn't quite good enough. My old PPU was PCI x1 so I'd imagine it could keep up with that. As for the card working with the slot, I've seen it on some mod forums. It will work, I just don't have any numbers for it.

Brok3n_Halo · Jul 16, 2009, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MIG-31

as far as i know,Windows 7 is the first OS that enables the use of GC from different manufacturers..

But a small point that may help you... Please post your system specs so other can see what you currently have..

Sure thing, will post specs soon as I get back to the office.

Sorry for the dbl post, out for lunch so I'm on my iPod Touch with no copy and paste.

Brok3n_Halo · Jul 16, 2009, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MIG-31

as far as i know,Windows 7 is the first OS that enables the use of GC from different manufacturers..

But a small point that may help you... Please post your system specs so other can see what you currently have..

System Specs:

Windows 7 RC 64-bit
Core 2 Duo E6600 OCed to 2.884 Ghz
ASUS P5W HD Deluxe MoBo
4 GB DDR2 800 RAM (4 1GB DIMMs)
Sapphire ATI Radeon 4870 w/ 512 MB RAM
(Second similar Radeon but it's not in my system yet)
Creative Labs X-Fi Xtream Gamer FPS soundcard
ASUS P1E AGEIA PhysX PPU
2 Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200 RPM SATA HDD in Scary RAID (aka RAID 0)
Silverstone 750w Modular PSU

blibbax · Jul 16, 2009, 08:49 PM

I've read elsewhere (and perhaps on this forum, can't remember) that Nvidia drivers don't work at all if they detect an ATI GPU in the system.

Also, you might want to consider a CPU upgrade instead - you're sure to be CPU bottleknecking with that much graphics firepower and that CPU, and of course a better CPU will help your framerates even more when complex physics are involved. I believe any current LGA775 CPU will fit that motherboard given the latest bios update, and something like a Q9550 or e8400 could be a really nice upgrade for you.

Additional thought: you could try cutting open the pci-e x1 slot and putting the 9600GT straight in, Apart from the issues already mentioned and the obvious bandwidth starvation, that should work.

Brok3n_Halo · Jul 16, 2009, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blibbax

I've read elsewhere (and perhaps on this forum, can't remember) that Nvidia drivers don't work at all if they detect an ATI GPU in the system.

Pretty much, yeah. It's all GUI tricks though, they just hide the PhysX section if the detect a ATI GPU in the system. I figured out though that you can trick it into showing the option in an old version of the drivers, if you want details I have thread going about my escapades over on Neowin

Quote:

Originally Posted by blibbax

Also, you might want to consider a CPU upgrade instead - you're sure to be CPU bottleknecking with that much graphics firepower and that CPU, and of course a better CPU will help your framerates even more when complex physics are involved. I believe any current LGA775 CPU will fit that motherboard given the latest bios update, and something like a Q9550 or e8400 could be a really nice upgrade for you.

Yeah, early next year I'm looking at picking up a i7, but I haven't really got to a point were I feel the bottleneck my E6600 yet. Plus I have at least another few hundred Mhz of comfortable overclocking room to work with with if I need it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blibbax

Additional thought: you could try cutting open the pci-e x1 slot and putting the 9600GT straight in, Apart from the issues already mentioned and the obvious bandwidth starvation, that should work.

Yeah, I considered it, but figured I'd just spend the $25 and assure I wont break anything since I'd have to spend at least that on the tools to do it anyway.

procupine14 · Jul 16, 2009, 10:18 PM

Well it looks to me like you have it pretty much all figured out. I would say that you are looking at a pretty heavy performance hit with that pcie x1 slot but other than that good luck!

Brok3n_Halo · Jul 30, 2009, 04:49 PM

I ended up picking up the 9600GT and adapter above, the 9600GT works great for hardware PhysX with my ATI card while pluged into my x16 slot, it had about 6 FPS less then the 8800GT in the same setup, negligible as far as I'm concerned.

But there's a problem, switching the card to my x1 slot the older drivers lock up Windows 7 on load. The card runs fine with the newest drivers though. Problem is my PhysX work around only worked with the 181.71. Anyone know a workaround to turn on PhysX with current Nvidia drivers?

Bolletje · Jul 30, 2009, 06:03 PM

[offtopic]Brok3n_Halo, in which country do you live

?[/offtopic]

Brok3n_Halo · Aug 6, 2009, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bolletje

[offtopic]Brok3n_Halo, in which country do you live

?[/offtopic]

I live in the United States. Why do you ask?

Anyone got any ideas on my last post? I still haven't found any working solutions.

CDsDontBurn · Aug 7, 2009, 02:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brok3n_Halo

I ended up picking up the 9600GT and adapter above, the 9600GT works great for hardware PhysX with my ATI card while pluged into my x16 slot, it had about 6 FPS less then the 8800GT in the same setup, negligible as far as I'm concerned.

But there's a problem, switching the card to my x1 slot the older drivers lock up Windows 7 on load. The card runs fine with the newest drivers though. Problem is my PhysX work around only worked with the 181.71. Anyone know a workaround to turn on PhysX with current Nvidia drivers?

Why not try the latest 186.08 (beta - june 3), 186.18 (whql - june 18), or the latest 190.38 (whql - july 21)? those are the latest three driver sets from NVIDIA.

Bolletje · Aug 9, 2009, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brok3n_Halo

I live in the United States. Why do you ask?

Anyone got any ideas on my last post? I still haven't found any working solutions.

Aah, nvm. There was a OC contest in my country (like 100 people participated) where the Sparkle 9500GT was the card to overclock

So it was possible that I could know you etc.

Jul 16, 2009, 05:41 PM	#1
Brok3n_Halo DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 8 Rep Power: 0	9600GT on PCI-E x1 for PhysX? So I'm working on setting up a GeForce card as a dedicated PhysX card to set next to my Radeon 4870s since games don't seem to detect my Asus P1E AGEIA PPU unless a Nvidia GPU is present. No worries about getting this setup up and running, I've already done it with a temporary card. The problem comes with lack of PCI-E x16 slots. I only have 2 and I just bought a second 4870 for some hot steamy Crossfire action. So that leaves me with a PCI-E x1 and a PCI. I tried using the PCI slot, picked up a Sparkle 9500GT which is by far the best PCI based Geforce card I could find, but it had disappointing results, having a hit on framerate in Mirror's Edge when lots of glass shattered. It was still plenty playable at between 35-45 FPS, but I want something a little more future ready then that. In testing I'd decided the 8800GT was plenty good enough. But I have some constraints to consider, so I can't use a 8800GT. As I said, after today my last PCI-E x16 slot is full so the 8800GT is out. Since all I have left is a PCI-E x1 slot, I'll need to use a x1 to x16 riser card so the card needs to be low profile. Also, the x1 slot is right next to my x16 slot so it needs to be a single slot card. I've read that in real-world gaming benchmarks there is little to no performance difference between a 8800GT and 9600GT as a dedicated PhysX card. This 9600GT is the best card I've seen that meets these requirements. And this is the cheapest adapter I could find. After all that I have 2 questions: 1. Anyone know of any better options, given my constraints, then the above linked items? 2. How much of a performance hit in PhysX am I going to see, limiting the card to x1 speeds, as compared to x16? Thanx!

Jul 16, 2009, 05:56 PM	#2
DJ BIG T DH FaN BoY Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: ORLANDO,FL Posts: 930 Rep Power: 69 System Specs	Re: 9600GT on PCI-E x1 for PhysX? you need a sli mobo then windows 7 to get it to work with a ati card...1xpci wont work __________________

Jul 16, 2009, 06:02 PM	#3
MIG-31 HardwareHeaven News Mod Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Nottingham,UK Posts: 56,818 Rep Power: 471 System Specs	Re: 9600GT on PCI-E x1 for PhysX? as far as i know,Windows 7 is the first OS that enables the use of GC from different manufacturers.. But a small point that may help you... Please post your system specs so other can see what you currently have.. __________________ Please Post Your News Submissions Here

Jul 16, 2009, 08:49 PM	#7
blibbax What does this do? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 4,220 Rep Power: 251 System Specs	Re: 9600GT on PCI-E x1 for PhysX? I've read elsewhere (and perhaps on this forum, can't remember) that Nvidia drivers don't work at all if they detect an ATI GPU in the system. Also, you might want to consider a CPU upgrade instead - you're sure to be CPU bottleknecking with that much graphics firepower and that CPU, and of course a better CPU will help your framerates even more when complex physics are involved. I believe any current LGA775 CPU will fit that motherboard given the latest bios update, and something like a Q9550 or e8400 could be a really nice upgrade for you. Additional thought: you could try cutting open the pci-e x1 slot and putting the 9600GT straight in, Apart from the issues already mentioned and the obvious bandwidth starvation, that should work. __________________ Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure Alzheimer's, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!

Jul 16, 2009, 10:18 PM	#9
procupine14 Why is it Beeping!?!?! Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: USA, Missouri Posts: 1,400 Rep Power: 58 System Specs	Re: 9600GT on PCI-E x1 for PhysX? Well it looks to me like you have it pretty much all figured out. I would say that you are looking at a pretty heavy performance hit with that pcie x1 slot but other than that good luck! __________________ HTPC/file server: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom x4 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 800 (2x2GB) - 1TB WD Black - 4 x 1TB Hitachi DeskStar in RAID 5 - ATi TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner - HIS Raedon 4850 512MB - ASRock N68C-S UCC mobo - OCZ ModExtreme Pro 500W PSU GF's Gaming PC: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 1066 - 500GB Western Digital GP - HIS Raedon 5770 1GB - ASUS M3A78-EM - Zalman 650W PSU Media Streamer: Win 7 Pro 64-bit - AMD Athlon x2 3200+ - 4GB SuperTalent DDR2 800 - 250GB SeaGate Barracuda - MSI K9N6PGM2-V2 - ASUS Raedon 5450 SILENT - FSP group 250W PSU

Jul 30, 2009, 04:49 PM	Thread Starter #10
Brok3n_Halo DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 8 Rep Power: 0	Re: 9600GT on PCI-E x1 for PhysX? I ended up picking up the 9600GT and adapter above, the 9600GT works great for hardware PhysX with my ATI card while pluged into my x16 slot, it had about 6 FPS less then the 8800GT in the same setup, negligible as far as I'm concerned. But there's a problem, switching the card to my x1 slot the older drivers lock up Windows 7 on load. The card runs fine with the newest drivers though. Problem is my PhysX work around only worked with the 181.71. Anyone know a workaround to turn on PhysX with current Nvidia drivers?

Jul 30, 2009, 06:03 PM	#11
Bolletje HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 1,224 Rep Power: 79 System Specs	Re: 9600GT on PCI-E x1 for PhysX? [offtopic]Brok3n_Halo, in which country do you live ?[/offtopic]