Modders extracted the newest DLSS 5 Neural Rendering model from NBA 2K27 and are running it in games without official support.
Testers found the new model up to 40% faster than the old one in general, and up to 90% faster in The Witcher 3.
Nvidia says the new model is 24% smaller, uses 20% less VRAM at 4K and handles its neural workload up to twice as fast.
Official DLSS 5 support spreads this month, starting with Hogwarts Legacy on November 5, then War Thunder and Where Winds Meet.
Quick read · 1 min
Modders have taken the newest version of Nvidia’s DLSS 5 Neural Rendering model from NBA 2K27, the only game that officially supports it, and are running it in other games with community tools.
The newer model tested up to 40% faster than the original, and up to 90% faster in The Witcher 3. Nvidia says it is 24% smaller and uses 20% less graphics memory at 4K. The catch is that DLSS 5 still lowers frame rates compared with leaving it off; the new model just makes that hit smaller.
Games with anti-cheat may refuse to launch with the mod.
Native support needs an RTX 50-series card for now.
The look is divisive, with big changes to faces.
Official support grows this month: Hogwarts Legacy on November 5, War Thunder in mid-November and Where Winds Meet on November 23.
Nvidia’s DLSS 5 has officially worked in exactly one game, NBA 2K27. That hasn’t stopped modders. Within days of a new DLSS 5 release landing in the basketball game, they pulled out the updated AI model and started running it in titles Nvidia never signed off on, with some reporting frame rates up to 90% better than the older model managed.
If you own an Nvidia RTX graphics card, this matters for two reasons. It shows how much faster the newest version of Nvidia’s AI lighting tech is, and it gives you a way to try it in games you already own, long before official support arrives. But the big gains come with a twist that the headline numbers hide, so read the catch below before you start swapping files.
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What modders did with DLSS 5 NR in unsupported games
DLSS 5 NR, short for Neural Rendering, is the AI-driven part of Nvidia’s latest DLSS. Instead of just sharpening a low-resolution image, as older DLSS versions did, it uses an AI model to change how scenes and faces are lit and textured, which Nvidia calls 3D-Guided Neural Rendering.
When a newer DLSS 5 build shipped with NBA 2K27, modder Renan Maniero extracted the updated files, letting others drop the new model into unsupported games and compare it with the old one. Players load it into a game’s graphics pipeline using community tools such as OptiScaler or RenoDX, which also let them adjust how the model behaves.
Comparisons were easy because the new file carries both models. It includes two Neural Rendering presets: Preset A is the original model and Preset B is the newer one, so testers can flip between them in the same scene.
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How big the DLSS 5 performance gains really are
Modders measured the newer model at up to 40% faster than the original across their tests. The standout result came from the account Gaming Optimized on X, which reported improvements of up to 90% in The Witcher 3 running DLSS 5 natively.
Nvidia’s own figures explain why. The company says it made the new model 24% smaller, cut its VRAM use (the graphics card’s own memory) by 20% at 4K, and that it processes its neural rendering workload up to twice as fast. That matters because graphics cards have a fixed amount of memory you can’t upgrade, so Nvidia can’t just make the AI bigger to make it better. It has to make it leaner.
Nvidia plans to bring DLSS 5 to RTX 40-series cards, but there is no word on official support for the older RTX 30 or RTX 20 series. Modders have patched the runtime to work on RTX 20-series cards anyway, according to the OptiScaler project’s notes.
Nova versão oficial da DLL DLSS-NR V310.9.16.0, retirado do update do jogo NBA 2K27, ela traz as melhorias de performance que foram detalhadas pela NVIDIA para o Neural Rendering.https://t.co/ct7H28XBeI
Here is the twist. Those 40% and 90% figures compare the new Neural Rendering model with the old one. They do not mean DLSS 5 makes your games run faster than having it switched off.
Unlike every earlier DLSS generation, DLSS 5 lowers frame rates rather than raising them. The first community tools brought steep frame-rate drops once Neural Rendering was on, and the tech can still cut performance by 50 percent or more in certain titles. The new model shrinks that penalty, but it doesn’t remove it.
The look is divisive too. Many players feel the effect overrides the artists’ original lighting and call it an AI beauty filter. Others like it, especially in games where you see your character’s face up close, since changes to environments tend to be subtle while faces change a lot.
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What this means if you want to try it
For most RTX owners, the realistic choice is between modding now or waiting for official patches. Community apps such as DLSS 5 Swapper and DLSS 5 Manager scan your game library, install the needed files with a click and can restore the original files if you don’t like the result. They work with DirectX and Vulkan games.
Before you try, keep these points in mind:
Anti-cheat can block it. Games with mandatory anti-cheat software may refuse to start. One tester couldn’t launch GTA V Enhanced Edition with the mod because of its BattlEye protection, so avoid online competitive games.
Expect lower frame rates. Turn it on only where you value the look over smoothness, and use Preset B for the faster model.
It’s unofficial. Nvidia and game studios don’t support these setups, so crashes or glitches are your problem to fix. Keep a way to restore the original files.
Official support is finally spreading. Nearly two months after NBA 2K27, Nvidia announced the first wave of extra games, all due this month:
Hogwarts Legacy gets a free DLSS 5 update on November 5, with a new Neural Rendering option in its graphics settings. Nvidia claims up to 300FPS at 4K on an RTX 5090 when combined with Multi Frame Generation and its other DLSS features.
War Thunder adds support in mid-November through its Eagle’s Shadow update.
Where Winds Meet follows on November 23 in North America and November 24 everywhere else.
For now, native DLSS 5 needs an RTX 50-series card. Owners of RTX 40-series and older cards can get it through the GeForce Now cloud streaming service. Nvidia is also adding DLSS 5 to RTX Remix, its free modding tool for remastering older games, which means fan remasters could soon ship with the effect built in.
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Quick answers
Does DLSS 5 increase FPS?
No. Unlike earlier DLSS versions, DLSS 5 lowers frame rates. The newer model is up to 40% faster than the first one, which shrinks the hit but doesn’t remove it.
Can I use DLSS 5 in games that don’t support it?
Yes, with unofficial community tools on an Nvidia RTX card. Expect lower frame rates, and avoid games with anti-cheat, which may not launch.
Which GPUs officially support DLSS 5?
RTX 50-series cards run it natively. Nvidia plans RTX 40-series support, and older cards can use it through GeForce Now.
