Nvidia makes DLSS 5 twice as fast with a smaller AI model

Most DLSS features you may know do a kind of cleanup. They take a smaller image and upscale it, or they add extra frames between the ones the game draws. DLSS 5 does something different.

Nvidia calls it 3D-Guided Neural Rendering. The game engine draws its frame as usual, with the geometry, textures and lighting the artists made. Then an AI model takes that frame and adds the lighting and material detail that games usually cut to keep running smoothly.

Nvidia says the engine's frame stays the "unyielding foundation": the model can't change what the scene contains, only how light and surfaces look. It is the last step in the graphics pipeline, right before the image reaches your screen.

In real life Think of a game frame as a photo taken on a phone. DLSS 5 is like a very fast photo editor that fixes the lighting on every single shot, many times a second, before you see it.

Here is what Nvidia says changed in the October update, compared with the September version that shipped with NBA 2K27:

• Model size: about 118 million parameters, 24% smaller. Guru3D puts the earlier model at roughly 155 million.
• Video memory: 20% less at 4K resolution.
• GPU cost: half the overhead of the September version, with comparable image quality.
• Long view: the model is now 10x faster overall than when Nvidia announced it in March 2026.

Nvidia credits two things: "systematic pipeline optimizations" and refinements to the neural model itself. PC Gamer adds that Nvidia refined the training data.

Why it matters: your graphics card's memory can't be upgraded. A model that needs less of it leaves more room for the game, so Nvidia has to make the AI leaner rather than bigger. It is a bit like packing for a trip with one carry-on: you don't buy a bigger bag, you fold better.

No, and Nvidia is upfront about why. Only the AI step got twice as fast. The rest of the game's rendering work is the same as before, so the overall gain is smaller.

Nvidia says frame rates in NBA 2K27 rise by up to 1.4x with the new model. Guru3D notes that results will vary with the graphics card, the resolution and how each game uses the feature.

PC Gamer tested a preview of the new files on an Asus ProArt P16, one of the new RTX Spark laptops. It used DLSS Balanced mode and 4x Multi Frame Generation in NBA 2K27:

At 1440p, the old model nearly halved the frame rate, and the new one cuts the hit to about a third. PC Gamer called that drop from 200 to 134 fps "in line with" what Nvidia had suggested.

The catch: PC Gamer found the extra lighting is easiest to see in the game's cutscenes. In normal play, the camera sits high above the court, where the difference is harder to spot.

NBA 2K27 is the only game that shipped with DLSS 5 so far. Nvidia laid out what comes next:

• October 16: the faster model in NBA 2K27, on GeForce RTX 50 Series cards, RTX Spark laptops and GeForce NOW.
• October 23: DLSS 5 and the faster model arrive in RTX Remix, Nvidia's tool for remastering classic PC games.
• November 5: Hogwarts Legacy gets DLSS 5 and updates its other DLSS features.
• Late November: Where Winds Meet adds DLSS 5.

Nvidia says developer Avalanche Software used DLSS 5's controls to keep Hogwarts Legacy's own art style. Hogwarts Legacy has sold over 40 million copies, according to Nvidia. Where Winds Meet, a martial arts open-world game from Everstone Studio, has more than 100 million players worldwide, Nvidia says.

What's next: Nvidia says the new model will ship by default in every future DLSS 5 game.

Modders moved fast. Tom's Hardware reports that Renan Maniero extracted the new model, build 310.9.16.0, from NBA 2K27 and shared it so others could run it in games that don't support DLSS 5 officially.

The new file holds two presets: Preset A is the old model and Preset B is the new one. That made side-by-side tests easy. Tom's Hardware reports one tester, Gaming Optimized on X, saw gains of up to 90% over the old model in The Witcher 3, though results varied by game.

These mods inject DLSS into games with community tools such as RenoDX or OptiScaler, Tom's Hardware explains. The community also changed the runtime so it works on RTX 20 Series cards. Officially, Nvidia lists RTX 50 Series cards and RTX Spark laptops, and Tom's Hardware reports Nvidia plans to bring DLSS 5 to RTX 40 Series cards too.

For modders who prefer an official route, RTX Remix gets the same controls game developers have. Nvidia says modders can include or exclude parts of a scene, mask elements and pick a DLSS 5 preset per object. Its preview testers added DLSS 5 to fan remasters of Fallout 4 and Mirror's Edge.

A separate beta, unrelated to DLSS 5 itself, speeds up Frame Generation. Frame Generation uses two AI models to invent frames between the ones the game draws. One follows how objects move. The other tracks motion in things like menus and ray-traced effects.

The new Performance Mode, labeled Preset C in the Nvidia app, replaces that second model with a lighter algorithm. Nvidia says it is up to 35% faster on a GeForce RTX 5060, with minor trade-offs in image quality.

It works on GeForce RTX 40 and RTX 50 Series cards and RTX Spark laptops. To try it:

• Step 1: install the latest Nvidia app and turn on beta features under Settings, then About.
• Step 2: open Graphics, pick a game or Global Settings, and choose "DLSS Override - Model Presets."
• Step 3: set Frame Generation to Preset C.

• If you own an RTX 50 Series card or RTX Spark laptop: DLSS 5 in NBA 2K27 now costs far fewer frames. It is worth another try if the old hit put you off.
• If you play Hogwarts Legacy: the DLSS 5 update lands on November 5 on the same hardware and on GeForce NOW.
• If you have an older RTX card: there is no official DLSS 5 support yet. The Preset C Frame Generation beta works on RTX 40 Series cards today.
• If you mod classic games: RTX Remix adds DLSS 5 on October 23.