NVIDIA has stopped supporting 32-bit CUDA purposes. Now, many video games, together with Mirror’s Edge, Borderlands 2, and the Batman: Arkham collection, can not use GPU acceleration for PhysX.

This impacts the PhysX function on its RTX 50 collection graphics playing cards. Because of this, these video games now depend on the CPU to deal with PhysX calculations, resulting in a noticeable efficiency drop. Some players are noticing an enormous drop in efficiency after they activate PhysX in sure video games whereas utilizing RTX 50 collection graphics playing cards.

This drawback doesn’t have an effect on RTX 40 collection and older GPUs, which nonetheless help 32-bit CUDA. NVIDIA has acknowledged this modification and defined that it’s resulting from phasing out help for 32-bit CUDA purposes. A Resetera thread highlights the video games not working, together with Murderer’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Borderlands 2, Mirror’s Edge, Unreal Match 3, and others.

The selection to cease supporting 32-bit PhysX possible comes from a number of causes. Retaining older applied sciences working will be costly and take up numerous sources. Plus, the efficiency advantages of utilizing hardware-accelerated PhysX might not be well worth the trouble, particularly because it typically slows down efficiency even on high-end graphics playing cards. These days, many recreation engines present physics options which can be simply nearly as good and even higher however simpler to make use of.

NVIDIA hasn’t talked about 64-bit PhysX help, and since there are not any recognized video games utilizing 64-bit PhysX, it looks as if this know-how is not being developed. If customers need to play older video games that require PhysX on RTX 50 collection playing cards, they could want to make use of an older graphics card from the RTX 40 collection or earlier for PhysX processing.

PhysX itself, a physics engine initially developed by Ageia and later acquired by NVIDIA, was a big development in its time. Nonetheless, its reliance on CUDA and the efficiency limitations it generally imposed possible led to its gradual decline in reputation amongst recreation builders.

The shift in direction of extra versatile and fewer performance-intensive physics options in fashionable recreation engines possible additional accelerated the obsolescence of 32-bit PhysX. The truth that 32-bit PhysX will not be obtainable on the RTX 50 collection reveals that producers imagine it isn’t price it to keep up compatibility, which reveals it is actually outdated.

Supply: Alex Battaglia/Bluesky