We tested the following games using each game’s built-in benchmark because they all do a great job of showcasing all the PhysX effects throughout the run. We tested the games at 4K with every setting maxed out, including PhysX.
Batman: Arkham Asylum supports several PhysX effects, including dynamic fog and steam, dynamic tear-able cloth and cobwebs, spark effects, dynamic paper and leaves, additional rigid bodies, and destructible environments.
We can see a massive 76% increase in average framerate going from a single 5090 to a 5090 with a 5060 as a dedicated PhysX GPU. We also get a nice 22% increase in the 1% lows. Playing a game with so many immersive physics effects on a high refresh rate monitor at an average framerate of nearly 400 frames per second is an incredible experience.
It's interesting to note that the RTX 5060, which was only responsible for PhysX, had an average utilization of 19% throughout the benchmark, with utilization peaking at 27%.
Batman: Arkham City uses the following PhysX effects: dynamic fog and steam, dynamic bank notes and posters, additional rigid bodies, destructible environments, cloth simulation, and debris and particle effects.
Once again, we see another impressive gain with a 66% increase in average framerate. We are now averaging 244 frames per second maxed out at 4K with all PhysX effects enabled. The RTX 5060 sees an average utilization of just 14% this time, with a peak utilization of 26%.
Batman: Arkham Origins uses dynamic fog and steam, dynamic bank notes and posters, additional rigid bodies, destructible environments, cloth simulation, and spark and particle effects with PhysX.
There's a 25% boost to the average framerate. It's not as impressive as the previous two examples, but still a nice gain. Unfortunately, the 1% lows seem to take a slight hit. Average utilization for the RTX 5060 was 37%, with utilization peaking at 49%. This really sheds light on how demanding PhysX is, and why enabling it on a single GPU setup can degrade performance so dramatically. The RTX 5060 is not responsible for anything other than PhysX calculations, and yet it is still averaging such high utilization throughout the benchmark.
Batman: Arkham Knight uses PhysX for interactive smoke and fog, and interactive paper debris. This is a 64-bit PhysX game, for which the RTX 50-series has native support, and it's significantly more demanding than the other Arkham titles.
Here, we see an increase of 19% in average framerate, which is the lowest of the games tested, but unlike Batman: Arkham Origins , we get a boost in 1% lows – a 13% boost, to be exact. Average utilization for the PhysX dedicated GPU here is higher than all previous games tested, sitting at 42%, with peak utilization at 61%. That's not surprising to see given this is the most advanced PhysX game we tested.
The results of using a dual GPU setup for PhysX vary from game to game, and to be clear, our selection only focuses on the Batman Arkham series, so naturally, performance will vary with other titles. This will depend on how each effect is used and how optimized these effects are from one game to another. For the most part, performance does receive a boost, with the exception of the 1% lows in Batman: Arkham Origins . In the case of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City , the performance boost is enormous.
Having two GPUs within one PC may not be feasible for many people, be it due to cost, lack of space inside the case, or insufficient power to feed both graphics cards simultaneously. However, if you are an enthusiast with an extra CUDA-enabled GPU lying around and you want peak performance while revisiting these games, this could be a good way to use that extra GPU, provided that you have a setup that can properly handle dual graphics cards.
Dan Mateescu is a PC enthusiast with many years of experience benchmarking PC hardware. In 2021, he started his own YouTube channel called 'Compusemble' where he benchmarks hardware in video games and the latest tech demos. ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-22/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Dan Mateescu Social Links Navigation Contributor Dan Mateescu is a PC enthusiast with many years of experience benchmarking PC hardware. In 2021, he started his own YouTube channel called 'Compusemble' where he benchmarks hardware in video games and the latest tech demos.
VizzieTheViz To me this seems like the games were already running fine without the extra gpu (as well they should on such a pc). I doubt you’d really notice the difference when playing instead of benchmarking. Plus it seems a bit much to ask to install an extra gpu just for getting proper physics in some older games. Reply
aberkae Great article. The 0.1 % lows are still on average similar. Also how much power is used from both graphics cards for an experience that is already playable on one gpu. It's not like it's a multi player games where fps and latency matters more. The minimum threshold of subjectively being playable is probably already achieved with the one 5090. Also the state of graphics cards now even at the bottom is still expensive. Around $300 for a 5050 and slightly more for a 5060 as well as requiring a 1200 watt psu minimum if not higher for both of these. I would be nice if we would have an ray tracing dedicated card though imo lol. Reply
salgado18 Nvidia has the most market share by a huge margin. And that's with nobody buiyng a second gpu, let alone buying a game just because of Physx. I believe that if Physx were made to run in any GPU, there would be tons of games using it, and many people would buy a smaller second gpu to run them. And Nvidia would still be top seller, but now with even more revenue. I really don't like this exclusive tech stuff. Reply
salgado18 VizzieTheViz said: To me this seems like the games were already running fine without the extra gpu (as well they should on such a pc). I doubt you’d really notice the difference when playing instead of benchmarking. Plus it seems a bit much to ask to install an extra gpu just for getting proper physics in some older games. From what I've heard when Asylum lauched, it's one tech that really stands out. Flying rubbish on the streets feel more alive, smoke is not made of transparent speites but is a real mass of gas, clothing behaves fantastic, etc. And you could fit a cheap used GPU as secondary. We don't actually see much benefit because, since it only works on Nvidia, game devs only use it as optional visual upgrades. Were it to run on Radeons, a lot more games would use it, and then it would be a significant upgrade. Reply
VizzieTheViz salgado18 said: From what I've heard when Asylum lauched, it's one tech that really stands out. Flying rubbish on the streets feel more alive, smoke is not made of transparent speites but is a real mass of gas, clothing behaves fantastic, etc. And you could fit a cheap used GPU as secondary. We don't actually see much benefit because, since it only works on Nvidia, game devs only use it as optional visual upgrades. Were it to run on Radeons, a lot more games would use it, and then it would be a significant upgrade. Not disagreeing but I’m merely saying it already ran fine WITH physics on the 5090 alone. So why bother with an extra GPU if you already have a system fast enough to run these games on 4K resolution with physics enabled? Reply
ooby doob I had an RTX 3050 + 5080 but since they added physx support for the 50-series I took the 3050 out of my system. Every physx title I've tried runs perfectly fine with just the 5080. The 3050 doesn't really make a big difference (only 5-10 fps improvement), and in some cases as with 1% lows it's worse. Reply
welshbloke salgado18 said: From what I've heard when Asylum lauched, it's one tech that really stands out. Flying rubbish on the streets feel more alive, smoke is not made of transparent speites but is a real mass of gas, clothing behaves fantastic, etc. And you could fit a cheap used GPU as secondary. We don't actually see much benefit because, since it only works on Nvidia, game devs only use it as optional visual upgrades. Were it to run on Radeons, a lot more games would use it, and then it would be a significant upgrade. A 17 year old game running on a modern $3500 gpu is probably not the selling point for PhysX that you think it is tbh. Reply
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/supercharging-the-rtx-5090-in-physx-games-using-an-rtx-5060-as-a-secondary-gpu-sli-may-be-dead-but-how-much-can-dual-gpus-boost-performance-in-classic-physx-titles#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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