Nvidia has removed GPU PhysX support for all 32-bit games in its latest RTX 50 series GPUs, meaning you will no longer be able to enjoy many older games at high frame rates with PhysX enabled. What initially seemed like an error has now been confirmed as the technology's end-of-life status on the Nvidia forums, where a staff member stated, “This is expected behavior as 32-bit CUDA applications are deprecated on GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs.”

PhysX is one of Nvidia's older graphics technologies and was a proprietary physics simulation SDK capable of processing ragdolls, cloth simulation, particles, volumetric fluid simulation, and other physics-focused graphical effects. Older PhysX games like Cryostasis, Batman: Arkham City, and Borderlands 2 were quite demanding, so naturally, those with modern hardware would take advantage of GPU acceleration. However, RTX 50 series GPU owners will no longer be able to run these games with GPU-accelerated PhysX. Instead, they'll have to rely on CPU PhysX, similar to what AMD GPUs have been offering – and spoiler alert: it's not great.

CPU PhysX doesn’t really cut it

To get an idea of the difference between CPU PhysX and GPU PhysX, YouTuber Compusemble put the Batman: Arkham series to the test, which was a showpiece for PhysX back in the day. And in all three titles that support PhysX on the CPU, the results were unsatisfactory. For instance, in Batman: Arkham Asylum, CPU-based PhysX was miles behind the GPU version, with the former outputting just 28 FPS at one point, while the latter managed 149 FPS with PhysX set to High.

Funnily enough, in Batman: Arkham Origins, the PhysX setting defaults to “Normal” when running on the CPU, meaning you miss out on additional effects like enhanced steam and smoke, which the High setting with GPU PhysX provides. So naturally, the CPU-based PhysX takes the lead here, but with limited effects.

RTX 40 and older GPUs still support PhysX for all 32-bit games

Nvidia has also stated that the CUDA driver will continue to support running 32-bit application binaries on GeForce RTX 40, GeForce RTX 30, GeForce RTX 20/GTX 16, GeForce GTX 10, and GeForce GTX 9 series GPUs. This means the RTX 50 series is the only one affected, along with any newer architectures moving forward.

Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t use PhysX in games like Borderlands 2 on an RTX 50 series GPU. In fact, you can force the game to run GPU-based PhysX, similar to how it works on AMD cards. But—and this is a big but—the performance is once again not great, with one user reporting drops below 60 FPS just from standing still and shooting a shock gun at a wall.

That said, Nvidia's decision to officially discontinue support for 32-bit CUDA applications, along with bad load balancing compared to the RTX 50 series, has many gamers feeling like we're moving backward. For those who want to keep playing older PhysX games, sticking with an RTX 40 series GPU is a good idea, as this series also gets some boosts from DLSS 4 despite missing out on Multi Frame Gen. On top of that, price hikes and poor stock level for current 50 series models are good reasons to hold fire on upgrading for now.

About the Author

Hassam Nasir

Hassam boasts over seven years of professional experience as a dedicated PC hardware reviewer and writer.