NVIDIA’s new DLSS 5 Neural Rendering technology, although not officially supported, has begun to be tested on older generation graphics cards by some modders. Initial tests reveal that this technology causes significant drops in performance on DLSS 5 RTX 30 series.

Tests conducted especially on the GeForce RTX 3080 show that the technology, in its current state, is far from providing a playable experience on older hardware. Users report massive frame rate drops when DLSS 5 is activated.

Surprising Performance Drop on RTX 3080

Information shared by user @flovreq proves that the technology can work on Ampere architecture cards like the GeForce RTX 3080, but it is not efficient. In tests conducted within the Deep Rock Galactic game, when DLSS 5 Neural Rendering was enabled, the frame rate dropped from 138 FPS to 4 FPS.

This result indicates a performance loss of approximately 97 percent, making the game technically unplayable. Not only the frame rate but also the frame durations are negatively affected.

Frame durations, which normally hover around 7-8 ms, increase to 260 ms when DLSS 5 is enabled. This clearly shows that the technology is not currently optimized for the RTX 30 series.

The 40% to 50% performance improvements previously observed in RTX 40 and RTX 50 series cards are much more dramatic in the RTX 30 series. The current hardware architecture is struggling to handle the load brought by DLSS 5.

The attempts by modders to adapt this technology to older cards using leaked DLL files have generated significant interest in the hardware world. However, the results prove that the software requires significant optimization at the hardware level.

Official Support and Future Expectations

NVIDIA has not yet made an official statement regarding DLSS 5 support for the RTX 20, RTX 30, or RTX 40 series. Currently, the only series confirmed to receive the DLSS 5 Neural Rendering update is the RTX 50 series, which will be released in the fall.

Although the company previously opened its doors to older RTX cards for DLSS 4.5, it remains unclear whether a similar approach will be taken for DLSS 5. While modders have managed to force this technology to work through leaked DLL documents, this formula does not constitute official confirmation.

Hardware enthusiasts and gamers find that these kinds of modifications only satisfy a technical curiosity. For RTX 30 series users, using DLSS 5 at this stage does not provide a smooth gaming experience.

Whether NVIDIA will conduct optimization work for older generation cards in the future remains a matter of speculation. Do you think NVIDIA should optimize DLSS 5 technology for the RTX 30 series?