Borderlands 2: Does the CPU handle PhysX? (with video)

It is already visible that Borderlands 2 will gain immense popularity. Based on initial user feedback, the game has been relatively well optimized, and in this case, NVIDIA has also let the reins loose.

 

In general, the various PhysX effects only appear on compatible NVIDIA graphics processors. If you manage to assign this task to the central unit in some way, the result is a massive slowdown and a huge chunk of gameplay - the Batman series, Alice: Madness Returns and Mafia II belong here.

Roughly two years ago, a scandal erupted when it turned out that green programmers at PhysX were using outdated x87 instructions instead of SSE, essentially artificially limiting performance. It was also found that the system ignores the benefits provided by multi-core systems. Although NVIDIA responded quickly to the embarrassing questions that arose, it is clear that they have little interest in creating smooth processing at CPUs.

 

This now seems to be possible from a CPU as well.

Recently, a number of users (apparently mostly with AMD configurations) have indicated that Borderlands 2 provides satisfactory performance with PhysX. PhysXInfo.com has been following the feedback. THE "Boom and his brother Bewm”Scene, there are plenty of particle effects, and a spectacular clothing simulation squeezes the last drops out of the GPUs, and in this case the CPUs as well. The test machine was a piece equipped with a Core i7 2600K CPU, while the graphics tasks were performed by the geForce GTX 580, which is also not weak, so it’s no surprise that the visual quality was set high. The big question was how PhysX performs without green support.

 

Foam on the cake that Hybrid PhysX is also supported.

The first observation is that Borderlands 2 provides outstanding performance during GPU PhysX calculations. Although the monitor had a resolution of only 1680 × 1050 pixels, even at high PhysX settings, the minimum fps did not fall below the psychological 60.

Even more interesting is that Borderlands 2 almost cleaves with the good old PhysX SDK 2.8.4 after arming the CPU PhysX, but there is a good chance that we will already experience a rough slowdown in multiplayer games despite the Core i7 2600K processor.

 

In summary, Borderlands 2 is perhaps the first game to use PhysX technology, where the presence of an NVIDIA GPU is an optional requirement (at least in single-player mode), but of course makes the gameplay much smoother. 

You can also configure PhysX quality in the WillowEngine.ini file (\ Documents \ My Games \ Borderlands 2 \ WillowGame \ Config) if this setting cannot be changed in the game.