I wanted to hate Nvidia’s DLSS 5 ‘AI filter’ — but the real DLSS 5 is photorealistic black magic

(Image credit: Nvidia / Future)

So there I was — Nvidia giving me a full breakdown of what DLSS 5 is and how it works, alongside a chance to play NBA 2K27 on multiple systems to show how it’s evolved from the controversial AI slop filter that divided opinions in the office to something much more refined.I thought things were heading in the right direction. But then, modders extracted the leaked DLSS 5 files from 2K27 and stuffed it into unsupported games. The online reaction was immediate and fracturing: half praising the added detail while the other half declared it the AI-filtered destroyer of frame rates.

NVIDIA DLSS 5 Neural Rendering in Cyberpunk 2077 - Graphics/Performance Comparison | RTX 5080 - YouTube

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Now that the embargo has lifted and I can (finally) talk about DLSS 5 (coming September 3 to NBA 2K27 first), as someone who spent time with the official integration, these mods are missing the point. Brute forcing a neural rendering file into a game without engine-level hooks is like judging a luxury car after hot-wiring it with missing spark plugs.The big question: is DLSS 5 just an AI filter?