What the Reddit reactions actually say
Allan quotes several Redditors. One says that turning DLSS 5 off now looks flat, like low graphics settings. Another says ultra settings with DLSS 5 off feel like the new low. A third describes NPC faces going from natural skin and shadows to a "clay sculpture" when the effect is disabled. A fourth, playing a heavily modded Cyberpunk 2077, thought characters looked fake and plastic until they realised ReShade had stopped running and DLSS 5 had switched off.
Three caveats apply:
- These are anecdotes. They aren't a poll, and I couldn't independently locate the thread TechRadar quotes. The article's claim that sentiment turned after the initial backlash is the author's impression, not a measured trend.
- Many of these players aren't using the official feature. Allan says they're getting DLSS 5 working in unsupported games with various tools, including on older Nvidia GPUs. Nvidia's official support covers RTX 50-series cards only.
- The "can't live without it" crowd is self-selected. People who tinker with mods to get a feature running are the ones most likely to post about loving it.
What DLSS 5 is, and where it officially works
Nvidia calls DLSS 5 "3D-Guided Neural Rendering." Unlike earlier DLSS versions that upscale or add frames, it uses AI to generate lighting and material detail. According to Nvidia, it takes the engine's rendered frame as a fixed foundation, with the game's geometry and motion vectors guiding the output. Nvidia says this keeps the result stable from frame to frame. Those are Nvidia's claims, not independent validation.
The first official game was NBA 2K27. Nvidia's September 1 announcement said it was available for all GeForce RTX 50-series desktop and laptop GPUs, plus GeForce NOW. The support page named Game Ready driver 616.64 WHQL as the requirement.
In the game, the option is called DLSS Neural Rendering. Nvidia's steps are:
- Update to the required Game Ready driver or newer.
- From the main menu, go to Features, then Video Settings.
- Turn on DLSS Neural Rendering, then configure Super Resolution, Frame Generation and Reflex as you like.
- Toggle it during gameplay or replays with F9 if the performance hit is disruptive.
Another guide says the toggle lives in the same place and that the F9 shortcut works mid-match. That guide also says Hogwarts Legacy offers a Neural Rendering option in its settings. The same source says Hogwarts Legacy needed driver 621.14, released November 4. Those are third-party accounts, so check the game's own patch notes before relying on them.
The performance cost
This is the key counterweight to the "spoiled" posts. TechSpot's October retest of the faster DLSS 5 model in NBA 2K27 found large gains over the launch model. It also found a substantial remaining cost:
- Render times. At 4K the model took 7.4 ms on an RTX 5080, 9.3 ms on an RTX 5070 Ti, 12.0 ms on an RTX 5070 and 30.6 ms on an RTX 5050. At 1440p the figures were 3.1, 4.1, 5.4 and 13.1 ms.
- Speed-up. On average, the new model ran 83% faster at 4K and 94% faster at 1440p than the launch model.
- Average frame-rate loss. Across the RTX 50 lineup, the loss fell from 71% to 58% at 4K and from 54% to 39% at 1440p.
- Image quality. TechSpot found little change. Lighting flicker and object-consistency problems from the original model were still present.
TechSpot's own verdict is that performance was the focus of the October release, not visual quality. These are results for one title and one test setup, so don't treat them as a prediction for every game.
Nvidia's headline frame rates are a separate matter. Its "up to 370 fps" figure for an RTX 5090 at 4K comes from the whole DLSS suite, including Super Resolution and Multi Frame Generation. It doesn't show that neural rendering alone raises frame rates. Nvidia also says the feature is optional, and that for gamers it is a simple on/off toggle.
Why older games may suit it
Allan notes that the biggest benefits are being seen in older games. His reasoning is that those games have higher base frame rates and more room to absorb a hit. That is a reasonable inference from how a fixed per-frame cost works. The cost matters less when frame times are short. It isn't proof that every older game will run smoothly, and it says nothing about the safety or compatibility of the unofficial tools involved. Modding injectors can also raise anti-cheat problems in online games, so treat any such workaround with caution.
What about RTX 40-series cards?
Allan says Nvidia is bringing support to RTX 40 GPUs "next year." The evidence doesn't back that up. Nvidia's FAQ says it plans to expand official support to the RTX 40 series once RTX 50 tuning is further along. One third-party tracker states that RTX 40 support is planned without a release date. Another outlet adds that no exact date is confirmed. Until Nvidia says otherwise, treat the timing as open.
The "escape plan" theory
Allan's larger argument is that DLSS 5 may be Nvidia's contingency if GPU supply and pricing get worse. He suggests software could tide gamers over while hardware stays scarce and expensive. It's a coherent argument, but it's an opinion about Nvidia's motives, and nothing in the evidence shows DLSS 5 was developed in response to consumer GPU scarcity.
The market backdrop is real, though uncertain:
- Price rumors. TechRadar reported on November 10 that supply-chain chatter, relayed via ChannelGate and a social-media leaker, pointed to big RTX 50-series price rises. The outlet itself urged caution and called the worst-case figures rumors.
- Current pricing. The same report put the US RTX 5080 at around $2,000, against a $999 MSRP.
- RTX 5080 Super. TechRadar's November 12 piece described the card's cancellation as a rumor from a Chinese leak channel. Nvidia hasn't announced it.
Allan's piece also mentions Jensen Huang's resignation. Nvidia's announcement confirms he stepped down as president, CEO and board member, with CFO Colette Kress as interim CEO. That's a verified event, but it has no bearing on DLSS 5's merits.
There's an obvious counterpoint to the escape-plan idea. A feature that costs roughly 39% to 58% of your frame rate on average in the one tested game isn't a cheap substitute for a faster GPU. It also currently runs only on RTX 50 hardware, which is exactly the hardware people are struggling to buy. Lower-tier RTX 50 cards benefit most from future optimisation, as Allan argues, but the RTX 5050's 30.6 ms render time at 4K shows how far that has to go. Nvidia says it expects further model updates and that its optimisation curve isn't flattening, but that is a company promise, not a result.
What to take from this
- DLSS 5 is a real, optional feature with an official launch in NBA 2K27 on RTX 50-series GPUs.
- The enthusiastic Reddit posts are individual impressions, many from people using unofficial setups. They aren't proof of a broad change in gamer opinion.
- The October model cut the performance penalty a lot, but independent testing still shows a heavy cost and unresolved visual artifacts.
- RTX 40 support is promised without a date.
- The idea that DLSS 5 is Nvidia's answer to the GPU crisis is speculation. Treat it as one columnist's take.
If you have an RTX 50 card and one of the supported games, try the toggle, and compare frame rates and frame-time consistency with it on and off. Judge it on your own display and your own tolerance for the performance trade-off.