Nvidia makes some of the Best Graphics Card, but Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) is an increasingly big part of what makes them great. This can be seen very clearly in a new RTX 5090 gaming test, in which the behemoth flagship couldnβt even maintain an average of 30 frames per second (fps) in Cyberpunk 2077 at maximum settings when DLSS was toggled off.
YouTuber PC Centric got to take the RTX 5090 for a quick spin at CES 2025 and while the GPU breezed through 4K gameplay at max settings with path tracing enabled, this was only true with DLSS in the picture.
The test was also a testament to the power of Nvidiaβs upcoming multi-frame generation. With DLSS 4 and 4x frame generation enabled, as well as DLSS set to Performance, the RTX 5090 was hitting a whopping 290 fps and over 40ms of latency. This was with Nvidiaβs Reflex 1, as Reflex 2 wasnβt available for this test.
This doesnβt mean that the RTX 5090 is going to be a bad GPU. On the contrary, itβs guaranteed to be Nvidiaβs best, and itβll beat its predecessor by a solid amount. But seeing such a drastic difference in frame rates leaves no doubt as to the importance of frame generation in modern AAA titles. Cyberpunk 2077 with path tracing at 4K is just about as taxing as it gets right now. Whether itβs a question of game optimization or a shift in the way GPUs are being made β probably both β itβs a fact that frame generation is becoming increasingly important.
The RTX 5090 was also spotted in leaked benchmarks, and that gives us some insight into raw rasterization improvements. As spotted by VideoCardz, the card was tested in Vulkan, where it was up to 37% faster than the RTX 4090. The RTX 5090 fared worse in the OpenCL test, where it was up to 15% faster.
Getting rid of DLSS entirely exposed the actual performance of the RTX 5090 without any bells and whistles, and it didnβt look good. Getting rid of frame generation sliced the frames down to around 65 fps, but turning off DLSS entirely resulted in the RTX 5090 being unable to hit even 30 fps. Thatβs well below console level, and bordering on unplayable.
This doesnβt mean that the RTX 5090 is going to be a bad GPU. On the contrary, itβs guaranteed to be Nvidiaβs , best, and itβll beat its predecessor by a solid amount. But seeing such a drastic difference in frame rates leaves no doubt as to the importance of frame generation in modern AAA titles.Β Cyberpunk 2077Β with path tracing at 4K is just about as taxing as it gets right now. Whether itβs a question of game optimization or a shift in the way GPUs are being made β probably both β itβs a fact that frame generation is becoming important.
As always, itβs important to remember that tests like this canβt be taken at face value. Weβll know the full story once reviews of the card go live and the card is available to buy, so January 30 at the latest.
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