Dedicated physx card idea (should work with any notebook).

So I got the idea from this post:

But instead of using an external GPU, I thought you could just do this:

1. Buy the PE4L + EC2C ($55) from hwtools.net
2. Buy a dedicated physx card like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-New-OEM-M...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_2?hash=item20af87c257

The good parts about having this setup:
1. The card would work great with x1 bandwidth (since it's meant for it).
So you only need to connect it to your express card slot (or use a miniPCIe slot if you dont have an express card slot).

2. You dont need to use an external screen (but you do still have to provide external power).

The question is, will this actually provide a decent performance boost and is there a reason to try it?

Do we even need dedicated physx cards these days?

 

there is probably only like 15 physx games out there that have physx support and only maybe 5 actually require a phsyx card (rough estimates). if you really want to do this then i suggest using a gpu because those physx card are real weak where as an 8800gt for example would trash that dedicated card. not to mention that card isnt really supported anymore since gpu physx makes more sense (pretty much a free add on to current vid cards)

i have a gtx260 in my desktop that uses my old 8800gt for physx and pretty much the only games i have use for it is batman arkham asylum and cryostasis. so basically if i would have bought the 8800gt and not already owned it then i would be pissed at the waste of money. the only other game i can think of that will use physx is the soon to be released metro 2033

 

nice try. i'll let the others let you down gently.

basically:

1. dedicated (ageia) physx cards are WAY obsolete

2. using an nvidia gpu to as a physx / general purpose gpu makes more sense at this point, because nvidia bought ageia and they support their own hardware, and their hardware is better, more powerful, and compatible with new tech (open cl, cuda, direct compute)

3. you can get a 9600 gt for about the same price as the ageia card, and you will get better performance out of the 9600 gt.

4. very few games support physx (you can count the mainstream ones on one hand, and the total without running out of toes), and, to make matters worse (or better?) most of those games run about the same with or without dedicated physx hardware and look about the same too.

5. physx was never intended to increase performance in the same types of games we are already playing. it was all about increasing realism and getting more physics and more dynamic objects in game without making performance suffer TOO much. physx won't help you render faster.

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so, you certainly don't want an ageia ppu, as it's use will be limited to a very few select games that support it, and it doesn't do that much even in those games.

you might want to rig up a gpu with the intent of using it as a dedicated general purpose gpu, for cuda / opencl / directcompute, and, for those few games that support physx.

of course, for a laptop, it would be more hassle than it is worth for such a setup. you don't get that much out of it- i.e. - even for my brand new desktop, i didn't bother getting another graphics card just for physx / opencl / cuda- the one will be just fine.



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physx is also a physics engine. just to add to the confusion, there are a lot of games that leverage that engine. it is just that there are only a very select few that support hardware accelerated physics

 

Ok, thanks. Thats good info.

 

Hey moral hazard, i really like your idea but how did you plan on connecting a big card like that to the inside of a laptop?

I recently started a blog dedicated to video game physics, you can find news and lots of other cool info on it: www.gamephys.com

 

It would be in an external box like this:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=418851