Upgrading to newer-generation hardware should equal more performance in-game. That is the expectation. But owners of NVIDIA's new beast, the RTX 5090, are seeing an awkward situation with older games that rely on NVIDIA's PhysX technology. These older titles can perform worse than one would expect. It is quite a head-scratcher.
The Unexpected Performance Bottleneck Explained
The culprit is NVIDIA's RTX 50 series. It has completely dropped support for 32-bit PhysX. For nowadays standards, that is fine. But for oldies like Batman: Arkham Asylum, Borderlands 2, and Mirror's Edge, it is a problem. These are games many of us shared fond memories with. For such an RTX 5090 to be lugging around in low frame rates is an unheard-of shock.
The Ingenious Dual-GPU Solution Emerges
Reddit user u/jerubedo had a nifty workaround. Instead of just putting up with bad performance, why not fight it with old hardware. Their hack involved putting a second, older NVIDIA GPU, in this case, an RTX 3050, into the machine, together with the RTX 5090.
The working trick was dedicating the RTX 3050 solely to handling PhysX calculations via the NVIDIA Control Panel. The RTX 5090 would take charge of everything else. The physics of PhysX are routed to the older GPU.
Dramatic Performance Gains Demonstrated
The results are amazing. u/jerubedo tested a few PhysX-heavy games. The performance differential is night and day. Check out the numbers:
| Game | RTX 5090 Only | RTX 5090 + RTX 3050 (PhysX) | Performance Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mafia II Classic | 28.8 FPS | 157.1 FPS | +545% |
| Batman Arkham Asylum | 61 FPS | 390 FPS | +639% |
| Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag | 62 FPS | 62 FPS | 0% (CPU PhysX) |
| Borderlands 2 | N/A (PhysX Disabled) | 122 FPS | N/A (PhysX Enabled) |
| Mirror's Edge | 12 FPS | 171 FPS | +1425% |
In games like Mirror's Edge, the performance jump is a staggering 1425%. Batman Arkham Asylum sees a great deal of improvement as well. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag shows no change since PhysX in this title is likely handled sufficiently by CPU. In Borderlands 2, before the RTX 3050 was available, there was no activation option for PhysX.
Consider Dusting Off Your Old GPUs
This smart workaround represents a somewhat unforeseen problem with contemporary high-end video cards and backward compatibility for older software. It makes an amusing point. Could it be that NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang's oft-quoted phrase, "the more you buy, the more you save," may have unwittingly become true in this case of dual-GPU setup? Two GPUs are needed for old-school games. In that sense, the measure of ingenuity displayed by PC gamers is astonishing. If you are planning to upgrade to an RTX 50 series card anytime soon and have a library of PhysX-celebrating classics you still enjoy, you might want to hold on to that old GPU. It just might be the key to getting smooth performance in those old favorites.
Source: Original Reddit Post by u/jerubedo
