NVIDIA DLSS 5: The Faster Model Already Runs on RTX 40, Within Hours of Shipping

By Indie Kings | October 18, 2026

Updated October 18, 2026: NVIDIA's faster DLSS 5 model already runs on GeForce RTX 40 hardware, modded into unsupported games within hours of the new library appearing in NBA 2K27, and community testers report up to nearly 40% higher FPS on a GeForce RTX 4060. At the same time, NVIDIA's own Hogwarts Legacy demonstration shows softer, less aggressive changes to character faces than the original DLSS 5 showcase from March.

Image credit: Detro via Videocardz

Two weeks after DLSS 5 launched, the mechanics of a vendor model update are being measured by two community members on last generation hardware, while the vendor's own showcase looks softer than its first pitch. Per Videocardz's October 17 report, the faster model was running on GeForce RTX 40 cards within hours of release, and the numbers came from testers, not NVIDIA. The visual story is the reverse: NVIDIA controls it, and the November Hogwarts Legacy demo it published on October 13 reads as a correction of the March one.

The New Model, in NVIDIA's Own Numbers

NVIDIA updated the DLSS 5 Neural Rendering model this week, and the new library, nvngx_dlssnr.dll version 310.9.16.0, is already available in NBA 2K27. Per Videocardz, NVIDIA reduced the model size by 24% to approximately 118 million parameters, claims 20% lower VRAM consumption at 4K resolution, and says GPU processing overhead is down by 50%. All of those figures are vendor claims, not independently measured results.

The 1.4X figure deserves its own framing, because it is tied to one official game. NVIDIA says the changes can increase performance by up to 1.4X in NBA 2K27 compared with the previous model, and the "up to" does a lot of work in that sentence. What makes this update unusual is that the claims did not stay inside NBA 2K27 for long.

RTX 4060 and RTX 4080 SUPER Community Tests

Community testers moved the new library into unofficial use within hours of release, and both testers published comparisons on October 16. Their numbers are the first independent measurements of the smaller model, and both land in the same range as NVIDIA's claims.

One hard honesty note before those Detro numbers are read any further: the FPS figures include generated frames, because the test ran unofficial 4X frame generation, and they are not native rendering rates. The 39% is a fair way to compare old model versus new model in the same configuration. It is not a statement about what the game renders natively, and repeating it as a plain speed gain strips away the setup detail that makes it true.

Attribution matters here too. Per Gaming Optimized's October 16 comparison, the Forza Horizon 6 run controlled for the obvious confounder: both tests used 100% Neural Rendering intensity and model resolution, and the tester noted that color differences between the captures were mostly time of day. The tester reported no obvious loss in image quality but said more testing is needed, which is the correct amount of confidence for a comparison published on day one.

How the Faster Model Reaches Unofficial Games

The path from NBA 2K27 to a modded RTX 4060 is the quieter story of the week. Per Videocardz, these tests use unofficial implementations of DLSS 5, including the experimental OptiScaler-DLSSNR-PreSR-Multipass project. The updated library introduces two reported Neural Rendering presets: Preset A selects the older model, while Preset B selects the new optimized version by default.

NVIDIA has also published DLSS SDK 310.9.16 on GitHub, although its public release notes only mention bug fixes and stability improvements. The new Neural Rendering library itself was obtained directly from NBA 2K27. Official DLSS 5 support remains limited to supported hardware and games, while community implementations require modified runtimes or additional tools.

Per Videocardz, NVIDIA has not blocked modders from using the updated DLSS 5, which means the faster model can spread to hardware and games NVIDIA never validated. That is efficient in one direction and risky in the other: early comparisons suggest the reduced processing overhead carries over to unofficial implementations, but image quality and compatibility still need broader testing, and a September post on this site covered the worst case, an RTX 5080 failure during an unofficial injection. The measured 30 to 39% gains on two RTX 40 cards are encouraging, not certified.

NVIDIA's Official DLSS 5 Rollout List

On the official side, NVIDIA has confirmed the next games receiving DLSS 5, following the technology's September debut in NBA 2K27. Hogwarts Legacy gets its update on November 5. Where Winds Meet, developed by Everstone Studio, follows in late November. NVIDIA is also bringing DLSS 5 to RTX Remix for modders, dated October 23 per Videocardz's October 13 report, with the revised Neural Rendering model plus a new Frame Generation Performance Mode that modders can configure through the RTX Remix runtime and toolkit.

That list frames the split this article opened with. The official rollout moves one or two games at a time on NVIDIA's schedule. The unofficial one moved within hours, on the community's.

Hogwarts Legacy: SDK Controls and Softer Faces

The Hogwarts Legacy update supports DLSS 5 on GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards, RTX Spark laptops and GeForce NOW, and it also upgrades the game's existing DLSS technologies to their latest versions. Developer Avalanche Software used the DLSS 5 SDK controls to adjust the neural rendering effects and preserve the game's intended visual style, per NVIDIA's announcement as reported by Videocardz.

The mechanism behind that control is worth naming. DLSS 5 uses 3D-Guided Neural Rendering to modify lighting and material appearance using game engine data, processing the rendered frame alongside geometry, texture and lighting information. Developers control which objects receive the effects and how strongly they are applied, which distributes the tuning decisions across the studio rather than the driver.

The comparison's actual news is the faces. The November Hogwarts Legacy demonstration looks much less aggressive on character faces than NVIDIA's original DLSS 5 showcase in March, per Videocardz's October 13 report, with facial features appearing closer to the game's original rendering. That matters because facial details were among the most visibly altered elements in the original demonstration, and the November capture reads as NVIDIA adjusting its own pitch after seven months of scrutiny. Both dates are exact: March showcase, November demo, and the difference is the direction.

FAQ

Does the faster DLSS 5 model run on GeForce RTX 40 hardware?
Yes, unofficially. Per Videocardz's October 17 report, community testers had the new nvngx_dlssnr.dll running on a GeForce RTX 4060 and a GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER within hours of release, using modded implementations rather than official support.

How much faster is the new model on an RTX 4060?
Per Gaming Optimized's October 16 comparison, nearly 40% higher FPS in Forza Horizon 6 at 100% Neural Rendering intensity and model resolution, and about 30% higher FPS in Resident Evil Requiem. Those are two games on one card with one day of testing, and the "no obvious image quality loss" assessment is from the same first pass, not a finished evaluation.

Is the 150 FPS result in Detro's test a native rendering rate?
No. Per Detro's testing as relayed by Videocardz, that figure was captured at 4K with Path Tracing, DLSS Super Resolution Performance mode and unofficial 4X frame generation, so the FPS count includes generated frames. The honest performance read is the Neural Rendering processing time, reported at 8.8 ms down to 5.4 ms.

When does DLSS 5 officially arrive in Hogwarts Legacy?
November 5, 2026, on GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards, RTX Spark laptops and GeForce NOW. The update also upgrades the game's existing DLSS technologies to their latest versions.

Why do the Hogwarts Legacy faces look different from earlier DLSS 5 demos?
The November demo is much less aggressive on faces than the original showcase in March, with facial features closer to the game's own rendering. Avalanche Software used the DLSS 5 SDK controls, which let developers choose which objects get neural effects and how strongly, to preserve the game's intended visual style.

Do you need to mod anything to get the new model?
For official use, no: the model ships through supported games, starting with NBA 2K27 and arriving in Hogwarts Legacy on November 5. For DLSS 5 in games that do not support it, yes, unofficial routes such as the OptiScaler-based project exist, and NVIDIA has not blocked them, but image quality and compatibility still need broader testing.

Our take

This is what a healthy rollout cycle looks like from underneath. NVIDIA shrank the model, the community verified the claim on last generation parts within hours, and the vendor quietly walked back the most aggressive part of its own visual demo before a major game shipped it. The order matters: the performance story is now community measured, the image quality story is still vendor narrated, and this week one got stronger while the other got softer.

Bottom Line

NVIDIA's updated DLSS 5 Neural Rendering model, version 310.9.16.0 out of NBA 2K27, is 24% smaller by the vendor's claim and was running on GeForce RTX 40 cards through mods within hours. Community measurements put the speed gain at nearly 40% higher FPS on a GeForce RTX 4060 in Forza Horizon 6 and a 39% improvement on a GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER in 4K path tracing, all with the frame generation caveat attached. Officially, DLSS 5 reaches Hogwarts Legacy on November 5, Where Winds Meet in late November and RTX Remix on October 23, and the new Hogwarts capture shows softer facial changes than the March showcase. Measured speed on the left, curated looks on the right, and both moved this week.

Sources: Videocardz: NVIDIA's faster DLSS 5 model already runs on RTX 40 hardware, within hours of release (October 17, 2026) | Videocardz: NVIDIA shows updated DLSS 5 in Hogwarts Legacy, and the faces look very different from earlier demo (October 13, 2026)