The biggest knock on DLSS 5 since it landed last month has been the cost: gorgeous lighting, ugly frame rate hit. Six weeks later, NVIDIA says it has cut that cost in half.
In a GeForce News post published October 13, NVIDIA says the October update to DLSS 5’s 3D-Guided Neural Rendering model is 2X faster. The gains come from pipeline optimizations and model refinements. The model shrinks by 24% to roughly 118 million parameters and uses 20% less VRAM at 4K. NVIDIA says that adds up to half the GPU overhead of the September version at comparable visual quality. Compared with the model first shown in March, it claims a 10X overall speedup.
The new model arrives first in NBA 2K27 on October 16, where NVIDIA quotes frame rate gains of up to 1.4X. It covers GeForce RTX 50 Series cards, RTX Spark laptops, and GeForce NOW. The same day, DLSS 5 itself goes live on RTX Spark laptops. From then on, the faster model ships by default with new DLSS 5 games.
Next up is Hogwarts Legacy, which gets DLSS 5 on November 5 alongside upgrades to its existing DLSS components. NVIDIA says Avalanche Software used the SDK’s controls to keep the game’s art style intact. Where Winds Meet is also confirmed, though only for the “near future.” RTX Remix gets DLSS 5 on October 23, so modders can apply neural rendering to classic games.
The sleeper item is for RTX 40 Series owners too. A new Frame Generation Performance Mode, labeled “Preset C” in the NVIDIA app’s override menu, is in beta now. It replaces the optical flow model in frame generation with a lighter algorithm. NVIDIA admits there are minor image quality trade-offs and claims up to 35% faster frame generation on an RTX 5060. To try it, opt into beta features in the NVIDIA app, then go to Graphics, Driver Settings, DLSS Override – Model Presets, Custom, and choose Preset C under Frame Generation.
If you’ve been following our coverage since DLSS 5’s debut in NBA 2K27, the overhead story is the one that matters. A neural rendering pass that cost half your frame rate was a showcase feature. One that costs a quarter starts to look like something people leave switched on. Combined with the per-game tuning NVIDIA introduced with DLSS 5 Autopilot, it’s a fast iteration cycle for a feature that launched under heavy criticism.
The RTX Spark timing is no accident either. Partners are launching the RTX Spark N1X laptops this month, and DLSS 5 on day one gives NVIDIA’s ARM platform a headline feature.
The caveat is that “2X faster” is NVIDIA’s number, measured NVIDIA’s way. We’ll want to see what NBA 2K27 actually does on an RTX 5070-class card on October 16. Preset C, meanwhile, is a free FPS knob for RTX 40 owners who’ve been watching DLSS news go by without them.
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