Nvidia slimmed down the DLSS 5 model by 24%: 20% less VRAM usage, frame generation up to 35% faster. Over the past two days, Nvidia dropped three sets of numbers. The DLSS 5 neural rendering model's size was cut by 24%, shrinking to about 118 million parameters, VRAM usage at 4K dropped by 20%, and the GPU compute it consumes is only half of the September version. On speed, the same model is twice as fast as September's, and compared to the first tech demo in March

💡 What You Will Learn

Nvidia slimmed down the DLSS 5 model by 24%: 20% less VRAM usage, frame generation up to 35% faster. Over the past two days, Nvidia dropped three sets of numbers. The DLSS 5 neural rendering model's s

📜 Table of Contents

• First, the slimming: a smaller model saves VRAM and compute
• 35% is the peak, and there are caveats
• What 40 series owners actually get
• This slimming matters more than the image quality controversy
• When you can use it, and how to turn it on

Nvidia Slimmed Down the DLSS 5 Model by 24%: 20% Less VRAM, Frame Generation Up to 35% Faster

Nvidia dropped three sets of numbers over the past couple of days. The DLSS 5 neural rendering model has been cut down by 24% in size to roughly 118 million parameters, VRAM usage at 4K is down by 20%, and the GPU compute it consumes is now only half of what the September version needed. On speed, the same model is twice as fast as September's, and 10x faster cumulatively compared to the first tech demo back in March.

Launching alongside these numbers is Preset C, a new performance mode for frame generation that's up to 35% faster on the RTX 5060, and it works on both RTX 40 and 50 series cards. Trimming DLSS 5 on one hand and extending the life of existing cards on the other — those two things together are what this update is really about.

First, the slimming: a smaller model saves VRAM and compute

On image quality, Nvidia only says "on par" and didn't release any frame-by-frame comparisons — we'll wait for third parties to verify.

35% is the peak, and there are caveats

The test rig was an RTX 5060 8GB paired with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D, running Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p, medium ray tracing, DLSS Super Resolution on Balanced. The higher the multiplier, the bigger the payoff. At 2x you only gain 10%; you need 6x to hit that 35%, so in practice you'll want 4x or above to feel a real difference.

The details are on the rendering side. With Preset C enabled, the baseline frame rate for regular rendering goes from 42.5 fps to 58 fps, and only then does the interpolated number jump from 255 fps to 348 fps. What's being saved is the compute cost of generating each frame — rendering itself didn't get faster. Nvidia also acknowledges the trade-off: image quality takes a hit, because what got swapped out is the optical flow model that handles the game UI and ray-traced effects.

What 40 series owners actually get

A lot of coverage lumped both things into one headline, but the benefits are clearly split. 40 series owners get the frame generation speedup; DLSS 5, which can alter lighting and materials, remains 50 series exclusive. If you're on a 40 series card and normally run frame generation, you get some free frames out of this — but if you want to see the kind of visual changes DLSS 5 brings, you'll still need a new card.

This slimming matters more than the image quality controversy

DLSS 5 first showed up at GTC in March, and the harshest criticism was about its "one-click beauty filter" look — characters' faces got smoothed until they glowed, and social media even coined a term for it. The tech's real Achilles' heel at the time was its overhead. The debut demo ran on two RTX 5090s; after the September launch, a single 50 series card could run it, but at the cost of a 50% to 60% performance drop with neural rendering on, per Nvidia's own figures. Domestic media tested it on an RTX 5080 running NBA 2K27 at 4K max settings: 120 fps with DLSS 5 off, only around 45 fps with it on.

Cutting the overhead in half and saving 20% of VRAM solves exactly that problem, which is why this update is being pushed with NBA 2K27. Nvidia says the new model lets it hit up to 1.4x its original frame rate, going from 65 fps to over 90 fps at 4K. That figure covers just one game at one resolution — no comparisons for other cards or other resolutions were provided.

When you can use it, and how to turn it on

Frame gen Preset C is already in the latest NVIDIA App beta, so no need to wait. In settings, check "Access beta or experimental features," go to the Graphics page, find DLSS Override - Model Presets, click Custom, and select Preset C from the frame generation dropdown, then apply. You can enable it per game, or set it globally for all supported games at once.

Which generation of card are you on? This time, you can only pick one: the 40 series' frame gen speedup or the 50 series' neural rendering.