Nvidia has wrapped up support for the 32-bit PhysX graphics technology. The brand has quietly removed the legacy SDK out of rotation, much to the chagrin of fans who still play the games that require the functionality.
Nvidia confirmed the end-of-life status of the GPU-accelerated physics simulation SDK, which was known for cloth simulation, shattering glass, moving liquids, and several other particle effects. PhysX is endearingly associated with AAA gaming titles including the Batman Arkham trilogy, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Borderlands 2, Metro: Last Light, Metro: Exodus, Metro 2033, Mirror’s Edge, The Witcher 3, and certain older Assassin’s Creed titles.
Despite being popular during the 2000s and early 2010, PhysX began to go out of favor as Nvidia upgraded other aspects of its graphics components. Its RTX 50 series became Nvidia’s new standard GPU technology. Meanwhile, PhysX floundered because it was not compatible with other GPUs, consoles, and smartphones, Tom’s Hardware noted.
The Verge also noted Redditors discussing their disappointment at the end of support for PhysX. One member detailed forcing PhysX to run the game Borderlands 2 with terrible results. “Got drops to below 60 FPS by just standing and shooting a shock gun at a wall,” they said.
The commentator claims to have played on a high-end system featuring an RTX 5090 and an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D. In comparison, they said they tested the same game with an RTX 4090 GPU and maintained 120fps.
While it’s not for everyone, playing legacy games is a common hobby. Tom’s Hardware notes enthusiasts can keep PhysX support going on a PC running a RTX 50 series GPU and beyond by pairing it with an RTX 40 series or older graphics card, then tapping the latter component to work in the Nvidia control panel when necessary.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.