Nvidia has reversed its controversial decision to keep DLSS 5 exclusive to its latest graphics card series. Company spokesperson Rajal Maharaj confirmed to The Verge that the technology will officially be available for older RTX 40 series cards as well.

The Change Came Right on Launch Day

Interestingly, this reversal was announced on the very day DLSS 5 was set to launch exclusively for the Blackwell architecture (RTX 50 series). The original plan was clear: DLSS 5 with 3D-Guided Neural Rendering would be available starting September 3 at 9 PM PT, alongside NBA 2K27, only for RTX 50 series desktop and laptop cards, as well as on GeForce NOW Ultimate cloud streaming. Nvidia had not provided any timeline for older hardware, only stating vaguely that they would "eventually work on it," which disappointed players who had invested heavily in the RTX 40 series.

Modding Community Pressure Paid Off

The main factor behind the change was the persistent efforts of the modding community. Working with leaked files, modders managed to bring the technology to the RTX 40 series in a short time, and then to the RTX 30 and even RTX 20 series. Some users even got it running on the Nintendo Switch 2. This widespread adoption appears to have made Nvidia realize the reputational risk of locking its most marketed graphics feature behind a hardware wall.

Performance Loss Is a Serious Issue

The problem is not just about access; performance is also a concern. According to Nvidia's own benchmarks, the feature causes a 50-60 percent drop in performance even on top-tier Blackwell cards. In Digital Trends' independent testing, enabling DLSS 5 on the main system dropped frame rates from 57-60 fps to around 37 fps, a significant 43 percent loss. Since the tensor cores in the Ada Lovelace-based RTX 40 series are one generation older, the performance drop is expected to be even more noticeable. According to Archyde, enabling the feature on older cards like the RTX 3080 can make games unplayable, dropping to as low as 1 fps. This shows that the tensor and RT cores in RTX 30 and RTX 20 cards lack the necessary AI power for neural rendering.

What to Expect for the RTX 40 Series

Nvidia has not yet announced which DLSS 5 features will be limited for the RTX 40 series, nor has it shared a concrete release schedule. While the company offers developers extensive customization options, consumers will only get a simple on/off switch for now; those wanting more control will need to turn to modding tools.

Current Status

When Nvidia introduced the technology last March, it required two RTX 5090s. Since then, the company claims to have improved model performance by about five times. This gives hope that performance losses may decrease as optimization improves over time. For now, however, DLSS 5 is officially active only in NBA 2K27 and exclusively on RTX 50 series hardware.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is DLSS 5 coming to RTX 40 series cards?

Nvidia has confirmed support, but no exact date has been announced yet.

Which games support DLSS 5?

Currently, it's officially supported only in NBA 2K27. The modding community has brought the technology to other games, but this is not official support.

Why does DLSS 5 cause such high performance loss?

The technology uses an intensive AI processing system called 3D-Guided Neural Rendering, which leads to a 50-60 percent performance loss even on the most powerful RTX 50 cards.