Nvidia Extends DLSS 5 to Older GPUs as Performance Concerns Emerge
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Nvidia has confirmed to The Verge that its new DLSS 5 AI rendering technology will officially extend to older RTX 40-series graphics cards, reversing an earlier plan to limit the feature to its newest RTX 50-series GPUs at launch. The reversal followed modders successfully porting a leaked version of DLSS 5 to run on a wide range of Nvidia hardware, effectively undermining the company's original restriction before it had even shipped. The episode highlights the tension between Nvidia's tightly controlled rollout strategy and the reality of leaks, while leaving open questions about performance and how much creative control the technology hands to developers versus players.
In the end, Nvidia said its immediate focus remained tuning performance on RTX 50-series cards, with model updates expected later in autumn, before turning attention to the 40-series; older RTX 30- and 20-series cards, which modders also got running albeit with poor framerates and crashes, were not given an official timeline. Nvidia confirmed DLSS 5 would remain a simple on/off toggle for gamers, with granular controls such as Structure Intensity, Tone Intensity and masking reserved for developers, though studios could still expose some settings themselves. The company declined to reconfirm which of the 16 originally announced titles, including Assassin's Creed Shadows, Hogwarts Legacy, Starfield and Resident Evil Requiem, would still receive the feature, saying only that "more games are on the way."
- Nvidia will officially bring DLSS 5 to RTX 40-series GPUs, not just RTX 50-series.
- Move follows modders leaking and porting DLSS 5 to older, unsupported cards.
- Nvidia declined to reconfirm which of 16 announced games will get DLSS 5.
New here? Start with this
Nvidia's DLSS is technology built into its graphics cards that uses artificial intelligence to boost game performance, generating extra frames or sharper detail rather than having the card render everything from scratch. DLSS 5 is the newest version, and Nvidia had originally planned to keep it exclusive to its latest RTX 50-series cards when it launches, meaning owners of older cards would have missed out on the improvements.
That plan changed after independent modders got hold of a leaked version of DLSS 5 and managed to make it work on a much wider range of Nvidia graphics cards than officially supported, effectively showing the restriction could be bypassed anyway. DLSS 5 has also drawn debate over how well it performs and how much control it gives developers, as opposed to players, over how the technology behaves in a given game.
This matters because graphics cards are expensive and many gamers hold onto older models for years, so decisions about which cards get access to new features affect a large number of people. The story is also part of a wider discussion about how much say individual players should have over AI-driven visual settings in games, compared with the developers who build them.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Extending DLSS 5 to older RTX 40-series cards, and eventually further back, is the right call because gamers who paid substantial sums for still-capable hardware deserve access to software improvements Nvidia is capable of delivering, not artificial segmentation designed to nudge upgrades. The fact that modders got a leaked build running across a wide range of cards demonstrates the restriction was a business choice rather than a technical necessity, and consumer advocates would argue that giving players only a simple on/off toggle, while reserving granular controls for developers, further shortchanges enthusiasts who understand their own hardware and preferences better than a one-size-fits-all default. Openness, choice, and rewarding loyal customers should take priority over tightly managed rollouts.
The case against
Nvidia's staged, developer-curated approach reflects a defensible engineering and quality-control philosophy: rolling out a complex AI rendering system methodically, starting with the newest architecture it understands best, reduces the risk of the poor framerates and crashes seen when modders forced DLSS 5 onto unsupported 30- and 20-series cards. Limiting granular settings like model selection and masking to developers, rather than end users, can be seen as protecting the intended visual and performance experience of each game, since misconfigured settings in inexperienced hands could produce worse outcomes and unfair comparisons across titles. A company investing heavily in new technology has legitimate reason to prioritise stability and a curated experience over maximal, unmanaged access from day one.
Full account
Nvidia has confirmed that DLSS 5, its latest AI-driven rendering technology, will be extended beyond the RTX 50 series to older RTX 40-series graphics cards, following a launch that has already proved contentious among PC gamers. The company had originally planned to introduce DLSS 5 gradually, starting with a single supported game and restricted to its newest RTX 50-series hardware, with the finer creative controls left entirely in developers' hands. That plan shifted after modders managed to extract and repurpose a leaked build of the software, running it on a much wider range of graphics cards than Nvidia had sanctioned and unlocking adjustments the company had not intended to make public.
A spokesperson for Nvidia told The Verge that the firm's immediate priority is refining DLSS 5's performance on RTX 50-series cards, with further model updates expected later this autumn. Only once that work is judged complete will Nvidia turn its attention to bringing official support to the RTX 40-series. Older RTX 30- and RTX 20-series cards, which modders have also managed to get the leaked tool running on, remain further down the list; Nvidia indicated that any support for that hardware would only be considered after the 40-series rollout is settled, offering no firm timeline. Unofficial versions on that older hardware have reportedly struggled with poor frame rates and stability issues, underlining why Nvidia is treating broader compatibility as a lower priority for now.
On the question of user control, Nvidia has ruled out giving players the same depth of customisation that modders have already achieved. For most gamers, DLSS 5 will remain a straightforward on-or-off toggle, while detailed settings, such as choice of model, structure and tone intensity, and both automatic and manually defined masking, are reserved for developers building the feature into their games. Nvidia noted that studios may choose to surface some of these options within their own in-game settings menus, echoing how earlier versions of DLSS evolved from a simple toggle into tiered quality settings over time. The company has also emphasised that the technology is designed to be straightforward to build into games, since its underlying AI models can automatically identify and separate elements of a scene, such as faces, fabric or foliage, without developers needing to label every object by hand; this can be paired with engine-level tools, including a native plugin for Unreal Engine 5, for more precise creative adjustments.
Separately, hands-on testing highlighted by PC Gamer has raised fresh doubts about the real-world performance cost of the technology, with the outlet reporting a frame-rate drop of as much as 73 percent when running DLSS 5 in NBA 2K27 on an RTX 5080 system, one of Nvidia's higher-end current-generation cards. That figure has prompted questions about just how powerful a machine would need to be to absorb such a steep performance penalty while still delivering smooth gameplay, adding a note of scepticism to Nvidia's broader messaging around the feature's ease of integration and expanding hardware support.
Where outlets differ
PC Gamer's coverage centres on hands-on performance testing, highlighting a specific and severe frame-rate drop (up to 73%) in NBA 2K27 on an RTX 5080, raising practical concerns about whether the feature is worth the performance cost even on capable current hardware.
The Verge's coverage focuses on the business and technical side of the story: Nvidia's official statements on the phased rollout to RTX 40-series cards, the backstory of modders leaking and porting DLSS 5 to unsupported GPUs, and detailed explanation of how developer versus player controls will work.
The Verge includes direct quotes from an Nvidia spokesperson and technical detail on masking and engine integration, none of which appears in the PC Gamer material; conversely, PC Gamer's benchmark figures are not referenced by The Verge.
Coverage
- PC Gamer — I’ve found DLSS 5 can slash frame rates by up to 73% on an RTX 5080 gaming PC in NBA 2K27, and I’m wondering what kind of mega-rig would justify the performance hit
- The Verge — Nvidia will officially bring DLSS 5 to older GPUs — but won’t give gamers full control
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