Is DLSS 5 Fixed? NVIDIA Doubles AI Rendering Speed as Face Controversy Persists

NVIDIA has doubled the speed of its DLSS 5 neural rendering model and cut its video memory usage by 20% at 4K resolution, but the update has yet to establish whether the technology's controversial AI-generated character appearances have been fixed. The company is also highlighting a refined implementation in Hogwarts Legacy, scheduled for 5 November, as developers look to preserve the game's artistic direction.

The October update reduces the model's footprint by 24% to approximately 118 million parameters and cuts 4K video memory usage by 20%. NVIDIA says the changes halve the model's GPU overhead compared with September while maintaining comparable visual fidelity. The company also describes the updated model as twice as fast as the previous version and 10 times faster overall than when DLSS 5 was announced in March.

NVIDIA Doubles DLSS 5 Performance

NBA 2K27 will receive the updated model on 16 October for GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards, RTX Spark laptops and GeForce NOW. NVIDIA says the game will see frame rates increase by up to 1.4 times with the update. This is a separate, game-specific performance claim, not a promise that all games will run twice as fast.

DLSS 5 uses AI to enhance lighting and material details in rendered scenes, aiming to deliver more realistic visuals without requiring developers to build every detail into the game's original rendering pipeline.

That ambition has also raised concerns about whether the technology can alter the intended appearance of characters and undermine developers' artistic choices.

Has NVIDIA Addressed the AI Face Controversy?

DLSS 5 attracted criticism after its March reveal, particularly over the appearance of Grace Ashcroft in Resident Evil Requiem. In NVIDIA's demonstration, the AI-enhanced version appeared to have smoother skin, a brighter complexion and more pronounced facial details than the original, prompting some viewers to compare the effect to a beauty filter.

The reaction raised concerns that the technology could alter established character designs rather than simply improve lighting and realism. NVIDIA says Avalanche Software has tuned DLSS 5's implementation in Hogwarts Legacy to preserve the game's artistic direction, with the update scheduled for 5 November.

This suggests developers can adjust how the technology affects a game's visual style, but the announcement does not confirm whether the changes specifically address the facial-rendering concerns raised in March. Whether the revised implementation satisfies critics will depend on how it looks when released.

Faster Frame Generation Also Arrives

Separately from DLSS 5's neural rendering update, NVIDIA has introduced a beta Performance Mode for DLSS Frame Generation on GeForce RTX 40 and RTX 50 Series graphics cards.

The new Preset C option uses a faster, lighter algorithm to reduce the processing required to generate additional frames. NVIDIA claims it can improve performance by up to 35% on an RTX 5060, although the speed gain comes with minor image-quality trade-offs. The feature is a separate development and should not be confused with DLSS 5's improvements to AI-rendered lighting and materials.

The company will bring DLSS 5 to RTX Remix on 23 October, giving modders additional tools for enhancing older games. Meanwhile, Where Winds Meet is expected to receive the updated neural rendering model in late November.

The next test will be whether DLSS 5's upcoming implementations deliver more realistic visuals while preserving the character designs and artistic choices developers intended.