NVIDIA Releases New Update for GeForce Drivers to Restore PhysX Support on RTX 5000 Series
The latest GeForce Game Ready driver from NVIDIA, version 591.44, has just been released. While future technology is usually the main focus for updates, this release includes a bit of an earth-shattering surprise for retro gaming fans: the restoration of PhysX support for RTX 5000 series graphics cards in certain old titles.
PhysX Comes to 32-bit Games
2/24/2024 saw the phasing out of support for PhysX technology that enabled physics to be handled on the GPU rather than on the CPU for 32-bit applications running on RTX 5000 cards. With version 591.44, NVIDIA has reinstated the support now, allowing classic titles to enjoy more realistic object behavior.
The list of games restoring PhysX support includes:
- Mafia II
- Metro 2033
- Mirror's Edge
- Borderlands 2
- Metro: Last Light
- Batman: Arkham City
- Alice: Madness Returns
- Batman: Arkham Origins
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
There is also speculation by NVIDIA that Batman: Arkham Asylum support should be restored in the first half of 2026.
Optimizations for Battlefield 6 and Black Ops 7
The new driver, aside from integration support for the older titles, carries some heavy performance improvements for modern titles. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 experiences improvements in the accuracy of DLSS Ray Reconstruction technology.
The new driver is also optimized for Battlefield 6: Winter Offensive. NVIDIA claims considerable performance gain when using DLSS 4 and Multi-Frame Generation under 4K resolution. According to their information, it can enhance frame rates by almost 3.8 times to 460 FPS on desktop PCs and up to 310 FPS on laptops.
Ending Support for Older Architectures
While charging ahead, the company is simultaneously retiring support for older hardware. With this update, NVIDIA has officially ended the driver support for the Maxwell, Volta, and Pascal architecture-based graphics cards on Windows. The full release notes can be found on NVIDIA's official website.
