The launch of the RTX 50s was an opportunity for NVIDIA to abandon 32-bit software support, which includes 32-bit PhysX. Unfortunately, this technology is used in older titles such as Borderlands 2, Mafia II, etc… Titles that are still played today. However, this abandonment means that RTX 5000s perform super badly when the technology is activated, to the extent that even a GTX 580 from 2010 performs up to 85% better!
PhysX: even a GTX 580 performs better than the RTX 5080!
GamersNexus conducted a few tests to measure the impact of abandoning the technology. We used an RTX 5080, a GTX 580 and a GTX 980 to see how they performed. The results are clear: the new cards don’t behave at all well.
In fact, on Mafia II in particular, we noticed that the 5080 FE only managed to display 30 FPS when Physx was active… As opposed to over 400 FPS without. These scores are so bad that the venerable 580 almost doubles the framerate with PhysX. In these conditions the card averages 56.1 FPS. As for the GTX 980, we’re at 159 FPS.
Well, Mafia II was the most convincing case. With other games, the situation is a little better. On Metro, for example, the 5080 runs at 168.8 FPS with PhysX on the CPU, compared with 35.2 FPS for the 580 with PhysX managed by the GPU. In contrast, the GTX 980 with PhysX on the GPU runs at 86.8 FPS. Mirror’s Edge saw the 580 (PhysX GPU) rival the RTX 5080 with 121 FPS, compared with 122 FPS for the old card. On BorderLands 2, the 5080 came out on top with PhysX, regardless of the scenario, but was beaten by the GTX 980 with PhysX.
In reality, the performance of the RTX 5080 in PhysX will largely depend on the CPU ‘s ability to handle these calculations. If it’s intensive on the CPU side, a GTX 580 will do better by managing the technology itself. In any case, the RTX 5080 does not fare well in this respect.
