NVIDIA is preparing to switch on DLSS 5, its latest and potentially most significant change to the DLSS graphics suite yet, with NBA 2K27 becoming the first game to support its new 3D-Guided Neural Rendering technology.
Rather than simply increasing resolution or generating additional frames, DLSS 5 is designed to alter the appearance of the final rendered image itself. NVIDIA says the technology uses information from the game engine, including colour, motion vectors, surface data and lighting information, to generate richer lighting and more realistic material responses in real time.
That makes DLSS 5 a more fundamental shift than another incremental update to Super Resolution or Frame Generation. It also comes with an important trade-off: independent reporting indicates the neural-rendering stage currently carries a substantial performance cost before other DLSS technologies are used to claw that performance back.
What does DLSS 5 actually do?
Previous DLSS technologies have largely concentrated on reconstructing or generating parts of an image more efficiently. NVIDIA’s DLSS 5 research material describes the new system as a real-time generative rendering stage that complements conventional rendering with appearance information learned from real-world visual data.
In practical terms, the game engine still provides the foundation. NVIDIA says DLSS 5 uses the rendered frame rather than replacing it, analysing objects, materials, spatial relationships and light sources while remaining anchored to the geometry and artwork created by the developer.
The neural model can then enhance effects that are difficult or expensive to reproduce convincingly in real time, including skin subsurface scattering, light transmission through hair and foliage, contact shadows and global illumination.
NBA 2K27 is the first real test
NVIDIA says DLSS 5 will become available in NBA 2K27 from 9pm Pacific Time on 3 September, alongside a new GeForce Game Ready Driver. For UK players, that equates to around 5am BST on 4 September.
Support is initially limited to GeForce RTX 50-series desktop and laptop GPUs. GeForce NOW Ultimate members will also be able to access the technology through NVIDIA-operated RTX 5080-powered cloud systems.
Visual Concepts is using DLSS 5 to enhance skin, hair, clothing and contact shadows while preserving the facial geometry scanned from real NBA players. The important part is that developers retain controls over how aggressively the neural model changes a scene, including structure, tone and semantic masking.
DLSS Neural Rendering will appear as an independent graphics option in NBA 2K27, allowing it to be configured alongside Super Resolution, Frame Generation and NVIDIA Reflex rather than operating as an all-or-nothing preset.
Those enormous frame rates need context
NVIDIA’s headline performance figures are impressive. The company says an RTX 5090 can reach up to 370fps at 4K using the Ultra preset with ray tracing when the full DLSS stack is enabled. At 1440p, its figures rise as high as 590fps.
But those numbers do not represent the cost of the neural-rendering stage in isolation. They combine DLSS 5 with technologies such as Super Resolution and Multi Frame Generation, which substantially alter the final displayed frame rate.
PC Gamer reports that NVIDIA told journalists DLSS 5 currently carries a roughly 50–60% performance hit. That figure is particularly important because it shows why the highest advertised frame rates need to be read alongside the underlying rendering workload.
One example highlighted in that reporting is the RTX 5060. NVIDIA’s published numbers show NBA 2K27 reaching roughly 258fps at 1080p with the full DLSS stack and 6X Multi Frame Generation enabled, but the underlying game rate works out at around 43fps before those generated frames are counted.
That does not make the displayed frame rate meaningless, but it does demonstrate how heavily DLSS 5 can currently depend on the wider DLSS suite to offset the cost of neural rendering.
It is also worth stressing that the 50–60% figure is not yet a broad set of independent benchmarks across multiple games and GPUs. NBA 2K27 is the first public implementation, so proper testing after the final driver becomes available will be crucial.
Why DLSS 5 could represent a bigger change
The more significant story may be what DLSS 5 represents for the future of PC graphics.
AI-assisted rendering has already moved from reconstructing pixels to generating entire intermediate frames. DLSS 5 pushes neural processing deeper into the appearance of the rendered world itself, helping determine how light and materials are presented after the conventional renderer has done its work.
That could eventually allow developers to produce effects that would otherwise require much heavier real-time simulation. The challenge is preserving artistic intent while ensuring the performance cost does not outweigh the improvement in image quality.
It also arrives as NVIDIA continues to expand the role of AI throughout the graphics pipeline. We have already seen how path tracing and newer DLSS technologies are being used to push visual fidelity in upcoming games, including in our look at 007 First Light’s major path-tracing upgrade.
Tech Torque Verdict
DLSS 5 looks considerably more significant than another routine DLSS update.
3D-Guided Neural Rendering changes what NVIDIA’s AI technology is being asked to do. It is no longer primarily reconstructing resolution or inserting frames; it is directly influencing the lighting and material appearance of the finished image.
There are genuine visual gains to be explored, particularly when developers use the technology carefully. The performance cost, however, deserves just as much attention as NVIDIA’s enormous generated frame-rate figures.
NBA 2K27 should give us the first proper indication of whether neural rendering is ready to become another standard PC graphics feature — or whether DLSS 5 currently needs too much assistance from upscaling and frame generation to justify its visual gains.
