NVIDIA says the latest DLSS 5 model is twice as fast as the previous one and uses up to 20% less VRAM at 4K. The October update also shrinks the model by about 24% to roughly 118 million parameters, according to a report from Tom’s Hardware published on October 13, 2026.

VideoCardz also reported that DLSS 5 is now 10X faster than the demo NVIDIA showed in March, which puts the speed of this progress in context.

DLSS 5 October Update at a Glance

Change	NVIDIA’s claim
Model speed	2X faster than the current model
GPU overhead	Halved versus the September model at similar visual fidelity
4K VRAM use	Reduced by 20%
Model size	Down by about 24% to roughly 118 million parameters
Frame rate gain	Up to 1.4X
Frame Generation	New Performance Mode on RTX 50-series, RTX 40-series and RTX Spark laptops
Frame Generation speed	35% faster on the RTX 5060 (NVIDIA claim)
First game	NBA 2K27, October 16

What Changed Under the Hood

NVIDIA credits “systematic pipeline optimizations and neural model refinements” for the gains. The smaller model needs less memory, which matters most for cards with limited VRAM when playing at 4K. Half the GPU overhead means more of the card’s power goes to the game itself.

The update also touches Frame Generation. A new “Preset C” replaces the AI model that calculated optical flow for elements like the user interface and ray-traced effects with a faster, lighter algorithm. NVIDIA says this speeds up Frame Generation, Multi Frame Generation and Dynamic Multi Frame Generation, including a 35% gain on the RTX 5060.

Which Games and GPUs Get It

The faster model debuts in NBA 2K27 on October 16, and NVIDIA has confirmed DLSS 5 will arrive in Hogwarts Legacy next month. DLSS 5 is supported on RTX 50-series GPUs, GeForce NOW and RTX Spark systems, while the new Frame Generation Performance Mode also covers RTX 40-series cards. Read more about the technology on Nvidia DLSS and see our other NVIDIA news.

Why Gamers Should Care

Upscaling features have to be both good looking and cheap to run. A model that is faster and lighter makes it easier to turn on DLSS 5 without losing frames, which is especially useful on mid-range cards. Lower VRAM use at 4K also helps cards that run short of memory in newer titles.

Keep in mind that all of these figures are NVIDIA’s own. Real results will depend on the game, the resolution and the graphics card, so wait for independent tests before upgrading hardware.

What Is Not Confirmed

These points are not confirmed or come only from NVIDIA:

Independent benchmarks of the 2X speed, 20% VRAM and 1.4X frame rate claims.
Whether RTX 40-series cards will receive DLSS 5 itself; one report describes it as “coming soon”.
Which other games beyond NBA 2K27 and Hogwarts Legacy will support the new model, and when.
Image quality compared with the earlier DLSS 5 builds.