Question about PhysX 32bit GPU compatibility with 5090
Question about PhysX 32bit GPU compatibility with 5090
I just purchased a 5090 to swap in for my 4090. However, I discovered it no longer supports PhysX 32bit and I prefer playing older games. I’d rather sell the 4090 and get something cheaper to keep PhysX 32bit support when needed. Would a 3050 suffice? Does higher FPS come with a faster GPU? Since I play at 4K, would I really need something even more powerful? And could there be driver problems?
The earlier PhysX versions relying on the GPU instead of the CPU are sufficiently supported by a 3050 6GB GPU.
My strategy for moving beyond my 3080 Ti remains the same.
RTX 3050 6GB can be costly to purchase just for using it as a dedicated 32bit hardware Physx card, despite offering strong performance. A better option might be opting for a used GTX 1070 or 1660 Super that matches or nearly matches the Physx capabilities of the RTX 3050 6GB. Increasing the number of CUDA cores will improve speed, but expect occasional significant FPS drops when games wait for the dedicated GPU to process each frame.
But it is also the strongest no power connector GPU on the market. Having extra power cables for an older card isn't practical for me.
I also have an old passive GT1030 that would work well for most games, but I prefer the 3050 6GB. I plan to get one used within a year or two instead of purchasing it new.
I chose to try my 5090+3050 combo and played some OG Mirror's Edge. It got stuck at 120fps until that moment in the Robert Pope building where the glass gets shouted out... then dropped to 30 fps. Whether I used the 5090 solo or ran it as a PhysX card, the performance was poor. I decided to swap back my 4090 and got full 120fps stability. The 3050 was in the lower slot through a Gen 4 riser cable, and I confirmed it was set to Gen 4 in UEFI. I’m not sure what’s happening, but I thought this would be simple as just picking the 3050 in NVCP and letting PhysX handle it.
5090 no longer accepts 32bit cudas. Mirror's Edge relies on a 32bit version of PhysX released between DirectX 9 and 10. This essentially replicates the experience of playing with a non-NVidia GPU, especially when dealing with effects like glass breaking or smoke from bullets hitting walls. It should function on the 3050 if you try it as the main GPU. Check if any driver issues are causing problems with the 5090—removing the NVIDIA driver via DDU in safe mode and reinstalling might help. See the discussions here: https://www.reddit.com/r/hardware/commen...uncripple/ and https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Mirror's_Edge. Additional tips include using DXVK for alt-tab fixes, as it often crashes the video subsystem, and running the game at around 70% CPU usage to avoid excessive power draw. It’s a short game, but you’ll need some tweaks and quality adjustments.
If you didn't choose the 3050 as the Physx card, it's likely the issue occurred. You'll need to install the Nvidia control panel since the Nvidia App doesn't support setting this. Your 4090 would have been selected automatically for Physx. You can find the Control Panel in the Microsoft app store at the provided link or use an older Geforce driver package from 2024, which I believe included the control panel version 566.36 released in December.
I have NVCP with driver version 580.88 installed, and the PhysX processor is assigned to the 3050, dedicated to PhysX. The 5090 is connected to it. It seems I've followed everything correctly, yet the 3050 isn't affecting the game—it appears I'm still using the 5090 for PhysX while the 3050 is active. I observed that MSI AB doesn't show any GPU statistics with both the 5090 and 3050 connected. Is the PCIe interface causing this issue? Swapping the 5090 for the 4090 resolves it. I didn’t want to keep such a GPU for older games, but at least it works for PhysX 32bit and allows me to brute force old unoptimized titles.
What motherboard are you using?
It could be related to a PCIe problem, especially if the second PCIe x16 slot is disabled when the RTX 5090 is installed. The issue might stem from configuring bifurcation or enabling PCIe 4.0 for that GPU.