PhysX crashes videodriver while all other tests complete w/o issues \ VOGONS

PhysX crashes videodriver while all other tests complete w/o issues

Topic actions

Post a reply

First post, by vorob

Posted on 2023-05-13, 19:26

vorob Offline

Rank Oldbie

Rank: Oldbie
Posts: 612
Joined: 2005-11-04, 16:16
Location: Moscow

Hi!

I'm writing you on a non-ordinary topic. I'm collecting old laptops and currently working on ASUS ROG G60Vx from 2009. It's a core 2 duo laptop with GeForce 260m. My issue is that any PhysX-enabled game crash videodriver or loose its effects at some moment. No crashes with PhysX disabled or when switched to CPU calculations.

My first idea was that GPU is damaged. It's a common thing on this model, since gpu is cooled poorly. So I ran some generic tests like 10 minutes of Furmark, several runs of 3dmark06, two hour in battlefield 3 and 950mb test by memtestG80. All is fine. No crashes, no artifacts. I also tried NVIDIA PhysX Particle Fluid Demo and ten minutes of it didn't crash the driver. But check this out:

Cryostasis, PhysX effect just disappeared - https://youtu.be/5TCDwMnElAc
FluidMark, crash - https://youtu.be/IwBwWhL_3eU

I also tried Alice Madness Returns and Batman Arkham City, with PhysX ON videodriver crashes.

I don't understand. Can gpu be damaged only it its physx-using part? How can it be? I tried different drivers from different years, like 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2016 (last supported), i also tried different versions of Fluidmark, and the only change i see that on some versions the driver will crash and on some versions PhysX effects will just disappear without a crash.

For now i've two variants, it's ether gpu damaged or ASUS made some change on production and this somehow affects PhysX part. My life would be much easier if i could test PhysX on another sample of this laptop, but it's not a common thing today 😀

Just to be sure it's not a common issue for old GPUs i took my old laptop Alienware m11x with GeForce 335m from 2010 and checked PhysX stuff there, all is working perfectly.

Maybe you have an explanation? Or maybe there is another test that will stress exactly the part which it used by PhysX? What it is, CUDA cores?

Thanks for your time!

Reply 1 of 10, by vorob

Posted on 2023-08-12, 10:58

vorob Offline

Rank Oldbie

Rank: Oldbie
Posts: 612
Joined: 2005-11-04, 16:16
Location: Moscow

Found some Video BIOS'es, another ASUS and CLEVO. Both from 260m. No luck after flashing them, still crashes wen PhysX on maximum.

I need some technical info now, how does PhysX works? Does it use some part of GPU that is idling when PhysX is disabled? Is there any way to check this part other then running PhysX games?

Reply 2 of 10, by eddman

Posted on 2023-08-12, 11:20

eddman Offline

Rank Member

Rank: Member
Posts: 360
Joined: 2020-02-21, 23:02

Which physx system software versions have you tested?

Reply 3 of 10, by The Serpent Rider

Posted on 2023-08-12, 11:32

The Serpent Rider Offline

Rank l33t++

Rank: l33t++
Posts: 5667
Joined: 2017-03-25, 19:07
Location: The Hole

PhysX is a GPGPU and does not rely on fixed function hardware or some sort of ASIC. "CUDA cores" is just a fancier way to name shader processors with unified shader model and GPGPU capabilities. You can "accelerate" PhysX on any Nvidia card starting with 8800GTX, which was designed and manufactured way before Ageia acquisition.

G260M is the rebadged G92 chip, so look for period appropriate PhysX library from Tesla/early Fermi days.

I must be some kind of standard: the anonymous gangbanger of the 21st century.

Reply 4 of 10, by elszgensa

Posted on 2023-08-12, 12:27

elszgensa Offline

Rank Member

Rank: Member
Posts: 375
Joined: 2023-01-08, 15:35

Here is a basic demo, with source code included so you can edit it to be as minimal or as stressful as you like. If it fails during the initialization then it's likely to be drivers (or very broken hardware), otherwise you can ramp things up until they break, in case it's heat related or sth.

Reply 5 of 10, by vorob

Posted on 2023-08-13, 11:26

vorob Offline

Rank Oldbie

Rank: Oldbie
Posts: 612
Joined: 2005-11-04, 16:16
Location: Moscow

elszgensa wrote on 2023-08-12, 12:27:

Here is a basic demo, with source code included so you can edit it to be as minimal or as stressful as you like. If it fails during the initialization then it's likely to be drivers (or very broken hardware), otherwise you can ramp things up until they break, in case it's heat related or sth.

I've tried this thing. It required me to install ancient driver from 2010, without it I just saw blank screen. But it works without any issue. Moreover this thing also works without issues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok8ThRR-59Q

But Cryostasis, Alice, Batman City, FluidMark crash the driver.

Reply 6 of 10, by elszgensa

Posted on 2023-08-13, 12:48

elszgensa Offline

Rank Member

Rank: Member
Posts: 375
Joined: 2023-01-08, 15:35

Going through my old notes from when I picked up a dedicated PPU card, I saw that NVidia revised their PhysX driver model after version 2.8.3. I do have a single link to an SDK that has the new one, V2.8.4.6 from July 2011. You could try compiling the earlier demo against that to see if that breaks it, but tbh seeing how Cryostasis was released way before that change I don't think that's it either (unless it and the later games crash for different reasons). Other than that I'm out of ideas, sorry.

Reply 7 of 10, by The Serpent Rider

Posted on 2023-08-13, 13:19

The Serpent Rider Offline

Rank l33t++

Rank: l33t++
Posts: 5667
Joined: 2017-03-25, 19:07
Location: The Hole

Cryostasis is notoriously hard to run with PhysX, unless you have proper period correct library and hardware.

I must be some kind of standard: the anonymous gangbanger of the 21st century.

Reply 8 of 10, by vorob

Posted on 2023-08-13, 14:30

vorob Offline

Rank Oldbie

Rank: Oldbie
Posts: 612
Joined: 2005-11-04, 16:16
Location: Moscow

Other, more polished games, also crush the driver. That's the case. Aslo my another laptop, with dx10 card (geforce 335m) and same drivers run Cryostasis flawesly. I just don't understand how it all possible. If smth is hardware damaged, how all other tests and games run without an issue?)

Reply 9 of 10, by BitWrangler

Posted on 2023-08-13, 15:07

BitWrangler Offline

Rank l33t++

Rank: l33t++
Posts: 6782
Joined: 2017-10-11, 00:55
Location: Ontario

GPUcaps is a util with a PhysX benchmark in it, it's not very long though so I guess you'd have to keep looping it.

Unicorn herding operations are proceeding, but all the totes of hens teeth and barrels of rocking horse poop give them plenty of hiding spots.

Reply 10 of 10, by vorob

Posted on 2023-08-13, 19:09

vorob Offline

Rank Oldbie

Rank: Oldbie
Posts: 612
Joined: 2005-11-04, 16:16
Location: Moscow

BitWrangler wrote on 2023-08-13, 15:07:

GPUcaps is a util with a PhysX benchmark in it, it's not very long though so I guess you'd have to keep looping it.

Never bothered checking this tool previously, was always frustrated why it looks like gpu-z. Thx.

But i didn't find any physx benchmarks.

Go to top of page Go to top of page

Back to Video

Main menu

Common searches