**Due to the complexity of Physx and the amount of research I have spent trying to fix this issue, This is going to be a very long post. To Skip to how you can help, find the line that starts with "Instructions", Otherwise, read on and maybe get a better understanding of Physx** -------- Hey reddit, something needs to be done about the performance of PhysX in Borderlands 2/TPS and that's what my goal is. I have spent the last 4 weeks doing a ton of research into the way Physx works and the CPU/GPU utilization aspect. Ideally I would like to hire someone to work on the physx aspect of the game since i am not proficient in coding, and in the meantime, I am learning how to do this myself. Specifically, I want someone to decode and edit the .dll and the .bin files in the game directory and change any calls or strings and maybe some float lines to make fluid and particle effects work better on multi threaded hardware. The end goal is for me and everyone else to finally have a fix for the low fps when Physx is being utilised. I will be updating this thread as I come across more info.   I believe some of the .dll and .bin files in the game directory hold the code that is overriding any important INI tweaks that are made. I want to change the lifetime of particles AND SPH fluid effects since no physx ini tweaks work besides "MaxParticleResize". Eventually If I come up with a tweak that fixes Physx for me, I will release it to everyone else so our FPS can stop being held down.   **If you want to skip to the instructions, head down to the numbered (1., 2. 3.) Lines where it says "Instructions". After you complete them, please submit your answer to the poll below. Please don't submit an answer to the poll until you have done all 3 steps.**   Back in 2013, I had a GTX 680 classified and a I7 920 @ 4.4GHz. I was able to run Borderlands 2 with no problem 60 + fps on the highest settings while on 1920 X 1080. Fast forward to now, I have a GTX 1080 Classified oc'd with a I7 5930k oc'd to 4.6ghz and I am unable to maintain that same 60fps @1920 x 1080 with better hardware while fluid and particle effects are being used. It's most evident in, but jot limited to Bloodshot Stronghold when I am using my DP Unkempt Harold(DPUH) and fighting enemies with fluid effects around while the DPUH is kicking up solid particles. My FPS is 120 when there is no liquid or particles. I have used a lot of ini tweaks but none of the important ones work besides maxparticleresize but that does not affect the lifetime of the particles or the fluid effects.   I find it unacceptable to lower or disable Physx as IMO it adds a lot to the game in terms of things like oh...you know...fun. I'm seeing posts all over the Web on how people with triple sli 980s, and dual titan setups are having the same problem. Neither Gearbox or Nvidia are working on fixing this issue so I feel it's time to do something about this and I am going to try my best to get physx working as it should because this is my favorite game. If this works for Borderlands 2, I will try to optimize The Pre-Sequel as well.   I want to get an idea of what the physx indicator is telling people when they are in game standing still and then while heavy particle and fluid effects are being used. Just from some google searches, Some people have been reporting that the Physx visual indicator is reporting GPU and some saying CPU. Mine, for instance does not show Physx - GPU even though I have mine set to use my GTX 1080 Classified. Also, a lot of people who are using monitoring software are reporting very low CPU/GPU usage even when physx effects are intense.   Back during release, Nvidia and Gearbox boasted that the Physx runs great on Borderlands 2 and that we wouldnt have the issues we at undressed having now. It's not like it's a month after release. The game came out 5 years ago. I think it's safe to say we won't be getting help from anyone at Nvidia or gearbox.   [Here](http://physxinfo.com/news/9425/borderlands-2-is-cpu-capable-of-handling-the-physx-effects/) is a very interesting article about physx in Borderlands 2. It's from PhysxInfo.com and apparently the person (Zogrim) who made the article spoke to the devs that worked on Physx and this is what he had to say.   "First thing I did after the release – I have asked the PhysX content team, who has worked with Borderlands, if game using APEX – it is not. Just default PhysX Cloth and PhysX Particle System implementations. So those settings have no use"   **Instructions**   This is the part where YOU can help me figure out how physx runs on your system so I can use this data to see who is able to run physx and who is not. Ideally I would want to know your CPU and GPU but if you cannot do that, I can work with the idea below. If you have 5 minutes, please follow the simple steps below. What you will be doing is enabling your GPU to be your dedicated Physx processor, afterwards you will turn on a in game indicator that shows which actual processor is being used. This helps to show if you are really taking advantage of your GPU while running physx simulations. You can do this with any game but today we want to focus on Borderlands 2.   First, Make sure these 3 settings enabled 1: **Set GPU to dedicated Physx:** Nvidia users right click on your desktop and select NVIDIA Control Panel (NCP). Open the 3D Settings menu tree on the top left of the NCP. Select Set PhysX configuration. Select physx processor, and select the specific GPU you would like to use. Click save and exit.   2: **Turn on Physx Visual indicator:** Open the NVIDIA Control Panel At the top of the Control Panel you'll see a drop-down menu labeled "3D Settings" which will have the option for the PhysX indicators. Click this to show the indicator. When you are in game, you will know it works by seeing a message at the top left of your screen that says either Physx - GPU or physx CPU.   3: **Enable PhysX in Borderlands 2.** Enable physx by setting ohysx to either medium or high. Now load up Borderlands 2. Make sure you see the physx visual indicator in the top left of your screen and head to Caustic Caverns. Right by the fast travel station are some varkids. Start fighting the varkids and when you are having a lot of physx effects, look at the visual indicator and enter in the poll below what it says.   **EDIT: If you have the time and you completed the above steps, I would appreciate your feedback on physx and info on your rig, Specifically your GPU, and CPU.** **EDIT 2:** **I'm sure it's been mentioned a thousand times but I want to share a link to an excellent guide on how to tweak Borderlands 2 and Borderlands TPS to look better. The guide is mostly for people that have more powerful PCs but if you know a thing or two about INI tweaking, you can set the parameters lower according to your systems capabilities. FYI, the only tweak that doesn't work on Borderlands 2 is "Physxlevel=3" For Borderlands 2, a Physxlevel of 0 is low, 1 is medium and 2 is high. The Pre-Sequel has an extra setting of Very High. More food for thought on the subject.** [Borderlands 2 and TPS tweak guide](http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3382   **EDIT 3. I figured out after playing with reshade and sweetfx that if you use the sweetfx configurator to install sweetfx with the "install sweetfx" button, it will install 2 fIles that will prevent physx from being loaded to your GPU properly which means that your CPU will be computing any physx calculations instead. Those 2 files are dxgi.dll and dxgi.ini, if you are using sweetfx, delete those 2 files in your game folder where the main executable is. They are associated with direct x 11 or 10 but borderlands 2 is direct x 9.**   **Apparently there is a Windows 10 compatability issue with borderlands 2. I messaged support and got the generic " borderlands 2 is not supported in Windows 10 message" reply. I gave the rep a lot of good links and info on this issue too. I expected to hear more about what is causing physx to slowdown.**   **A user knowname as "V" on the Nvidia forums has this to say in a thread (link below) about physx slowdowns on high end hardware.**   >"*I actually had a dialogue with Gearbox, the developer of this game, and Nvidia regarding PhysX issues years ago when Borderlands 2 just came out. We even made a specific tool to find issues with PhysX in the game and sent it to Nvidia for further testing. What ultimately happened was that Nvidia didn't care enough, and Gearbox couldn't fix it. Our short conclusion was pretty much this: This game is not well optimized for modern hardware. We had some technical reasons of course, but it's been years and I don't remember the specifics. I vaguely recall it being something about the cores and threads and not actually the GPU*."   [Nvidia forum physx thread](https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/932795/possible-fix-borderlands-2-pre-sequel-gtx-970-physx/)   [PhysX info/benchmark for Borderlands 2](http://physxinfo.com/news/9425/borderlands-2-is-cpu-capable-of-handling-the-physx-effects/)