Nvidia's faster DLSS 5 model lifts NBA 2K27 frame rates up to 1.4x after a launch drop of 60% or more
Nvidia says an October 16 NBA 2K27 update makes DLSS 5 neural rendering twice as fast and cuts VRAM use at 4K by 20%. Nvidia puts the frame-rate gain at up to 40%. Those figures are the company's own until reviewers test the patch.
The Engineer · Build desk
Key figures: at best, DLSS 5 costs at least 44% of the frame rate, if Nvidia's 1.4x gain applies to the same scene and hardware. At launch, it cut frame rates by at least 60%. An RTX 5070 at 1440p, at roughly 60 fps, gets a ceiling of about 84 fps.
| Figure | Value | Note | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best-case DLSS 5 frame-rate cost, at least | 44% | if the 1.4x gain holds, same hardware | 13 |
| Launch fps cut, at least | 60% | 10 | |
| RTX 5070 at 1440p, ceiling, about | 84 fps | from roughly 60 fps, at up to 1.4x | 14 |
What happened
- Tom's Hardware reports that Nvidia shrank the model by nearly a quarter, to 118 million parameters.
- In early September tests, 60 fps at maximum settings essentially required an RTX 5090, and an RTX 5070 only just managed it at 1440p.
- A separate Preset C for frame generation is in the Nvidia app beta now, with Nvidia claiming up to 35% more speed on an RTX 5060.
Why it matters
- What it limits constraint DLSS 5 stays a setting for cards with frame rate to spare, because the best-case cost is still large.
- Who has to decide decision An RTX 40-series owner is not on Tom's Hardware's DLSS 5 support list but is on Preset C's, so Preset C is the only change on offer there.
- What it sets up precedent Defaulting later titles to the faster model resets the baseline, so DLSS 5 cost figures taken from the September build will not describe new releases.
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The 1.4x ceiling follows from the 2x claim almost exactly. TechSpot reports that DLSS 5 cut NBA 2K27's frame rate by at least 60% at launch [10]. Suppose the neural pass is serial and accounts for all of that loss. It then took 60% of each frame. Nvidia says the October model halves GPU overhead against the September one [4], which leaves a frame that takes 70% as long. That is a gain of about 1.43x [12]. Nvidia's stated ceiling is 1.4x [4].
What remains after the gain is the larger number. A 60% loss leaves 40% of the no-DLSS frame rate, and 1.4x on 40% is 56%, so even at the ceiling DLSS 5 costs 44% of the frame rate or more [13]. That holds only if the 1.4x applies to the scene, settings and card behind TechSpot's launch figure. Nvidia's own 40% is an "up to" number [1]. Tom's Hardware describes the update as part of a 10x performance leap since March [15]. That says more about March than about October.
The mid-range case rests on one data point. TechSpot says the update "could make smooth performance more achievable on mid-range and upper-mid-range GPUs" [17]. Take the RTX 5070 that only just held 60 fps at 1440p in September [11]. Apply 1.4x and its ceiling is 84 fps [14]. The 20% VRAM cut is quoted at 4K [2], and neither report gives a 4K frame rate for a mid-range card. We think the claim is credible for a 5070-class card at 1440p and untested everywhere else.
Preset C is a separate lever. It replaces the AI model that calculates optical flow for UI and ray-traced elements with a lighter algorithm [7]. The RTX 5060 figure belongs to frame generation, not the DLSS 5 model, and TechSpot says it costs a slight reduction in visual quality [6]. In the Nvidia app beta the path is Graphics > Global Settings > Driver Settings > DLSS Override - Model Presets > Custom > Frame Generation > Preset C [8].
The default applies to future titles [16]. NBA 2K27, already shipped, gets the model through a game update [1].
What to watch
- Independent benchmarks of the October 16 NBA 2K27 patch on RTX 5070-class cards at 1440p and 4K, checked against Nvidia's 1.4x ceiling.
- Hogwarts Legacy on November 5, the first named title announced for the new model after NBA 2K27.
- Whether titles that already ship DLSS 5 receive the faster model without a developer patch.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence30
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+35
- Incentives70
- Confidence65
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
NBA 2K27 will receive an update on October 16 that aims to make DLSS 5 twice as fast, increasing overall frame rates by up to 40% while maintaining similar visual quality.
- [2]
Nvidia says the DLSS 5 October update reduces VRAM usage at 4K by 20%.
- [3]
Nvidia says the DLSS 5 October update shrinks the overall model footprint by nearly a quarter, to 118 million parameters.
- [4]
Nvidia claims that at similar visual fidelity the GPU overhead versus the September model has been halved, and says the change can boost frame rates by up to 1.4x.
- [5]
DLSS 5 continues to be supported on RTX 50-series GPUs, GeForce NOW and the new RTX Spark lineup.
- [6]
A beta Nvidia app update available now adds a Preset C frame generation mode that improves performance at the expense of a slight reduction in visual quality; Nvidia claims it is up to 35% faster on an RTX 5060.
- [7]
Preset C replaces the AI model previously used to calculate optical flow for elements like UI or ray-traced effects with a faster, lighter algorithm, and applies to RTX 50 Series, RTX 40 series and RTX Spark laptops.
- [8]
To try Preset C, opt into beta features after updating the Nvidia app, then go to Graphics > Global Settings (or a supported game) > Driver Settings > DLSS Override - Model Presets > Custom > Frame Generation > Preset C.
- [9]
Hogwarts Legacy will support DLSS 5 with the new model starting November 5.
- [10]
DLSS 5 cut NBA 2K27's frame rates by at least 60% when it launched in September.
- [11]
In early September tests, maintaining 60 frames per second in NBA 2K27 at maximum settings with DLSS 5 neural rendering enabled essentially required an RTX 5090, and an RTX 5070 could just about achieve the same at 1440p.
- [12]
If a 60% frame-rate loss comes entirely from a serial neural pass, that pass is 60% of frame time; halving it cuts frame time to 70% and raises frame rate about 1.43x.
- [13]
A 60% loss leaves at most 40% of the no-DLSS frame rate; times Nvidia's 1.4x ceiling that is at most 56%, so DLSS 5 still costs at least 44% of the frame rate at best, if the gain applies to the same scene and hardware.
- [14]
Applying Nvidia's up-to 1.4x gain to the RTX 5070's roughly 60 fps at 1440p gives a ceiling of about 84 fps.
- [15]
The faster DLSS 5 model is two times faster than the current model, marking a 10x performance leap since March.
- [16]
Future titles that receive official DLSS 5 support, starting later this year, will use the new, faster model by default.
- [17]
The October 16 update could make smooth performance more achievable on mid-range and upper-mid-range GPUs.
Sources
2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- techspot.comNvidia says DLSS 5 is now twice as fast and uses 20% less VRAM
1 article · October 13, 2026
- tomshardware.comNvidia doubles DLSS 5 performance, reduces 4K VRAM usage by 20% with latest model
1 article · October 13, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- Neural rendering
- Frame Generation