Summary
The Nvidia RTX 50 series is dropping support for 32-bit PhysX. As a result, some games that launched as recently as 2013, likeAssassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, will look and feel far less dynamic.
As reported byPCGamesN, PhysX is a physics engine that several developers used to implement more realistic debris, cloth, and particles.Borderlands 2was a tentpole showcase for the technology in 2012, showing just how much depth it could bring to a game.
you’re able to see a side-by-side breakdown below to get a clearer idea of what losing PhysX support will look like.
What Games Will Be Affected?
ResetEra user RandomlyRandom67put together an extensive list breaking down every game that uses the 32-bit PhysX engine. We won’t detail them all here, but the following are some of the most notable games that will be impacted:
PhysX in several of these games allows for cloth simulation, improved particle effects, realistic smoke, dynamic fog, destructible environments, spark effects, fluid simulation, and more. So, while games won’t ‘break’ on the RTX 50 series (most games allow you to simply toggle PhysX off), they will look fundamentally worse.
via GIPHY
It’s worth noting that you may still run these games with PhysX using your CPU, but it will likely tank performance. Some games,like Arkham Origins, also don’t support the highest PhysX settings on CPU, so with an RTX 50 series, you can’t play it at maximum quality.
However, Nvidia will continue to support PhysX for older graphics cards, so if you have an RTX 30 or 40 series, you’ll still be able to play these games on max settings for the foreseeable future. Or, asPC Gamerpoints out, you can always plug in a secondary PhysX-supported card, though with the 50 series varying from $500 to $2,000, that’s an expensive workaround.
