Question about Nvidia Physx and Borderlands 2

[AnthrSolidSnake]

I could certainly play Borderlands 2 without Physx turned on, but I'm just a bit confused on why my system can't handle it. I can play just fine at 60 FPS, never dropping below that throughout the entire game, UNTIL I get into combat and Physx happens on screen. I expected frame drops, for sure, but I didn't expect frame drops as low as 25 FPS with my system, Physx or not.

I have a Nvidia card, a rather good one at that. It's an EVGA Nvidia GTX 670. I hear that you should almost always use Physx in games through your GPU if you have a decent Nvidia card.

However, I also recently put in an AMD FX 8350 8-core CPU in my system. I also hear that if you don't happen to have a Nvidia card, you could use a high end CPU with multiple cores instead, though not to as high of a degree.

I'm wondering what method is better, through my GTX 670, or my 8-core 4.0Ghz cpu for Physx processing? Specifically on Borderlands 2, since that is the only game so far that I've actually seen Physx take such a hit in performance, and it's not even impressive Physx.

I should probably also mention that I do play with 2 other friends online, and I've noticed that frame rate takes a big hit with Physx turned on then, more so than playing alone.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Ehh, I think it's just an optimisation issue.

I have a AMD7870, the game runs smooth as butter until I hit a particularly 'busy' fight. There's a ridiculous amount of particles on screen, all with their own physics.

I have PhysX on medium, since on max it's quite a hit to my FPS.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

Ehh, I think it's just an optimisation issue.

I have a AMD7870, the game runs smooth as butter until I hit a particularly 'busy' fight. There's a ridiculous amount of particles on screen, all with their own physics.

I have PhysX on medium, since on max it's quite a hit to my FPS.

Ahh, I read online that Borderlands 2 might have some issues with Physx and Gearbox didn't do too much to fix it. *sigh* Oh well, guess I'll either have to settle with medium and have minor drops or have it off. Just sucks spending so much money on a new system and to have to continue to settle with lowering graphical settings.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Ehh, I think it's just an optimisation issue.

I have a AMD7870, the game runs smooth as butter until I hit a particularly 'busy' fight. There's a ridiculous amount of particles on screen, all with their own physics.

I have PhysX on medium, since on max it's quite a hit to my FPS.

Ahh, I read online that Borderlands 2 might have some issues with Physx and Gearbox didn't do too much to fix it. *sigh* Oh well, guess I'll either have to settle with medium and have minor drops or have it off. Just sucks spending so much money on a new system and to have to continue to settle with lowering graphical settings.

It happens I'm afraid

Thankfully, poor optimisation isn't that common an issue, so you should have no problems running most things on high with high FPS.

 

[KarmaTheAlligator]

Biggest problem with Borderlands 2 is that particles supposedly never disappear (or so I heard), while bodies stay on screen for way too long.

This thread has some solutions to those problems: http://forums.gearboxsoftware.com/showthread.php?t=155088

 

[votemarvel]

What is PhysX meant to do? I turn it off in games that allow and to be honest I can't see a difference.

 

[Sewa_Yunga]

Ehh, I think it's just an optimisation issue.

I have a AMD7870, the game runs smooth as butter until I hit a particularly 'busy' fight. There's a ridiculous amount of particles on screen, all with their own physics.

I have PhysX on medium, since on max it's quite a hit to my FPS.

Wait, so PhysX isn't exclusive to Nvidia cards anymore?

It's been some time since I last played BL2, but I just checked my settings and they're all set to high, with view distance set to ultra; all of that on a GTX 460. I can't remember having these issues, though I'm not too sensitive about FPS losses.

 

[Ruley]

To join in, i have a GTX 670, but my CPU is an intel i5k quad core, nothing is overclocked. I have physx turned on and don't suffer FPS drop. By that measure of troubleshooting, it sounds like your CPU? Call me an idiot if you want, my computing knowledge is limited, i just wanted to throw my 2 cents in there as i have the same video card as you.

 

[Revolutionary]

What is PhysX meant to do? I turn it off in games that allow and to be honest I can't see a difference.

It adds environmental effects like glass smashing realistically and water behaving more realistically, you probably haven't noticed because most games don't actually utilise it that much mainly because it doesn't work that well on AMD cards.
Also OT: Yeah if you have problems with physx just turn that ***** off, I have it disabled and my 680 is a physx machine.

 

[Alcamonic]

What is PhysX meant to do? I turn it off in games that allow and to be honest I can't see a difference.

Mainly a thing that allows for a more "alive" world. In Borderlands for example when you shoot in the ground pebbles come up and jerk around, fluids like acid or water is also moving about a bit.
Batman: Arkham Asylum had bits of paper flying around on the ground as you were walking through them.

 

[votemarvel]

Thanks for the information. It really doesn't seem as if it adds a great deal at the moment then. Hopefully improvements are to come.

 

[-Dragmire-]

Hmmm... I have physx on high with no noticeable drop and I have an EVGA nvidia gtx 660.

Weird issues with it though, like the physx effect from krieg's melee override in the hellfire tree never goes away so it always looks like I'm shooting lava...

 

[erbkaiser]

Thanks for the information. It really doesn't seem as if it adds a great deal at the moment then. Hopefully improvements are to come.

It depends on how it is implemented. It allows for advanced physics rendered by the GPU, so in Mirror's Edge you get carp and cloth flying around in the wind responding to gunfire, in Batman Arkham City it allows for dust and paper to swirl around Batman, etc..

Since it is not available for everyone nobody uses it for game important features, but when done well it can really add to immersion and make the world feel more alive.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

To join in, i have a GTX 670, but my CPU is an intel i5k quad core, nothing is overclocked. I have physx turned on and don't suffer FPS drop. By that measure of troubleshooting, it sounds like your CPU? Call me an idiot if you want, my computing knowledge is limited, i just wanted to throw my 2 cents in there as i have the same video card as you.

Ehh, I don't think its my CPU. I mean, 8 cores running at 4.0Ghz? I know that i7s are supposedly still better, but this was AMDs most powerful CPU not even a month ago when I bought it, and easily beating my uncles i5 in many games and applications.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

Thanks for the information. It really doesn't seem as if it adds a great deal at the moment then. Hopefully improvements are to come.

It certainly isn't required to play the game, but I had a friend over showing off the Physx effects (because he only previously played BL2 on PS3) and he was blown away by all the particles flying everywhere and how blood from enemies would react when you or someone else stepped in or around it. Like I said, I'd love to be able to use these effects, but I guess I have no problem turning it off since it doesn't effect gameplay in any negative way.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

Ehh, I think it's just an optimisation issue.

I have a AMD7870, the game runs smooth as butter until I hit a particularly 'busy' fight. There's a ridiculous amount of particles on screen, all with their own physics.

I have PhysX on medium, since on max it's quite a hit to my FPS.

Wait, so PhysX isn't exclusive to Nvidia cards anymore?

It's been some time since I last played BL2, but I just checked my settings and they're all set to high, with view distance set to ultra; all of that on a GTX 460. I can't remember having these issues, though I'm not too sensitive about FPS losses.

I wouldn't mind having a little FPS loss, or even loss down to something like 40 FPS, but I have it drop down to like 25 FPS at times, and on a system I've spent hundreds of dollars on, I just can't find a way to justify such a drop in frame rate and responsiveness.

 

[GoaThief]

Ehh, I think it's just an optimisation issue.

I have a AMD7870, the game runs smooth as butter until I hit a particularly 'busy' fight. There's a ridiculous amount of particles on screen, all with their own physics.

I have PhysX on medium, since on max it's quite a hit to my FPS.

Wait, so PhysX isn't exclusive to Nvidia cards anymore?

It's been some time since I last played BL2, but I just checked my settings and they're all set to high, with view distance set to ultra; all of that on a GTX 460. I can't remember having these issues, though I'm not too sensitive about FPS losses.

I wouldn't mind having a little FPS loss, or even loss down to something like 40 FPS, but I have it drop down to like 25 FPS at times, and on a system I've spent hundreds of dollars on, I just can't find a way to justify such a drop in frame rate and responsiveness.

You're missing out on the most crucial piece of information (don't worry, nearly everyone does for some reason) - what resolution are you playing on?

 

[devotedsniper]

I have a similar setup to you a FX8120 and a 660 3GB (well two but I haven't played borderlands since getting the 2nd one), I've never had an issue with Physx on high even when I was sporting a 460. My friend on the other hand who has AMD/ATi setup bl2 worked perfectly on release and then after some updates it now unplayable in combat.

 

[Sectan]

I play with it on and it's cool. The thing is every bullet, every hit and every effect makes almost ragdoll things. Once you get about 200 of them on screen it slows everything down. It's like spawning 1000 npcs in gary's mod.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

Ehh, I think it's just an optimisation issue.

I have a AMD7870, the game runs smooth as butter until I hit a particularly 'busy' fight. There's a ridiculous amount of particles on screen, all with their own physics.

I have PhysX on medium, since on max it's quite a hit to my FPS.

Wait, so PhysX isn't exclusive to Nvidia cards anymore?

It's been some time since I last played BL2, but I just checked my settings and they're all set to high, with view distance set to ultra; all of that on a GTX 460. I can't remember having these issues, though I'm not too sensitive about FPS losses.

I wouldn't mind having a little FPS loss, or even loss down to something like 40 FPS, but I have it drop down to like 25 FPS at times, and on a system I've spent hundreds of dollars on, I just can't find a way to justify such a drop in frame rate and responsiveness.

You're missing out on the most crucial piece of information (don't worry, nearly everyone does for some reason) - what resolution are you playing on?

I play on a 32 inch HDTV which claims to be capable of 1080p, but it's actually 720p, so I play most of my games at 1360X768.