NVIDIA has just lifted the embargo for DLSS 5. The first game that supports this new version of DLSS is NBA 2K27. Therefore, we can finally share our benchmarks, some comparison screenshots, and our initial impressions.

To test DLSS 5, I used an I used an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D, 32GB of DDR5 at 6000Mhz, and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090. I also used Windows 10 64-bit. Moreover, NVIDIA has provided us with the new GeForce 616.64 driver.

NBA 2K27 does not have a built-in benchmark tool. So, for my benchmarks, I used two mid gameplay cameras and one close gameplay camera. For the visual comparisons, I also used the Replay system.

So, let’s start with some comparison screenshots. On the left, we have the images that do not have DLSS 5. On the right, we have those that have DLSS 5 enabled.

I strongly recommend viewing the images on a PC monitor or on your TV, and not on your phone. On a phone, the differences may appear minimal. On a PC monitor, though, you will immediately notice how much better the DLSS 5 shots are.

What’s interesting here is that the DLSS 5 effect is not as strong as what I’ve seen in most unofficial DLSS 5 mods. I’m not sure if NVIDIA and 2K chose a weaker effect to avoid a negative reaction from gamers. Still, the game looks much better and more realistic with DLSS 5 turned on.

So, in this case, DLSS 5 does not change the game’s “artistic vision.” What’s funny is that the same people who criticized it will likely complain about it again. I can already hear it: “A 50% performance hit for slightly better visuals?” This is exactly what they also said about ray tracing and path tracing. Life is a circle, and history repeats itself. It’s funny and ironic, isn’t it?

Anyway, one of the biggest issues of the latest NBA 2K games was its lighting system. Without DLSS 5, players look plastic and fake. The crowd also looks flat and old-gen-ish. These are all things that DLSS 5 manages to fix. By enabling it, you get a much better image.

But what about performance? Well, I have some good news and some bad news. Let’s start with the bad news. NVIDIA was right about the performance hit. In my tests, DLSS 5 caused a 50–60% drop in performance. The good news is that NBA 2K27 runs well at native resolution, even without Frame Generation.

At Native 1080p/Max Settings with Ray Tracing, I was getting 180FPS on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090. At that resolution, I was limited by my CPU, and not by my GPU. With DLSS 5 On, my framerate dropped to 134FPS.

At Native 1440p/Max Settings with Ray Tracing, I was getting 176FPS without DLSS 5. With DLSS 5, I was getting 108FPS. As for Native 4K/Max Settings with Ray Tracing, I was getting 63FPS with DLSS 5 On.

As I said, those benchmarks are at native resolutions without DLSS Super Resolution or Frame Gen. By using those two, you will be able to significantly improve performance. Still, it’s good to know that the base framerate is above 60FPS on an NVIDIA RTX 5090, even at 4K. This means that you won’t get any major latency issues when you enable Multi-Frame Gen.

So, the big question now. Should you enable it? Well, that’s a tricky question. You see, during replays, the visual improvement is immediately noticeable. But during gameplay, the visual improvements are not that huge. Here are some comparison shots with proper gameplay cameras.

As you will see, the biggest visual improvement is in the crowd. Without DLSS 5, the crowd looks poor. With DLSS 5, it looks much better. However, DLSS 5 comes with a big performance hit. So, if your PC has performance to spare, you can turn it on. If you have trouble maintaining a base framerate of 40FPS, you should skip it.

In conclusion, it appears that NVIDIA and 2K were really careful with this first implementation of DLSS 5. In close-ups, DLSS 5 manages to fix all of the game’s visual issues. Players will no longer feel plastic, and the crowd finally looks great. If I were an NBA 2K27 fan, this would have been the way I’d want to play it. There is no way in hell you prefer the DLSS 5 Off images.

The bottom line is this: Without DLSS 5, NBA 2K27 looks fine. With DLSS 5, it becomes the best-looking sports game on any platform. In this case, NBA 2K27 feels like a next-gen basketball game with DLSS 5. And at the end of the day, this may be what really counts.

I’m now curious to see which games will support DLSS 5 next. And what about games that use Path Tracing? Most path-traced games can barely hit 50 FPS at 4K with DLSS Performance on an NVIDIA RTX 5090. If DLSS 5 cuts that performance in half, we’d be down to 25 FPS. That’s a big no for me. So, I’m really curious to see how DLSS 5 performs in these games. Or in games that heavily use UE5’s Lumen system!