Dual-connector RTX 5090 shows a major advantage when running DLSS 5 Neural Rendering
NVIDIA’s upcoming DLSS 5 Neural Rendering could be one of the most demanding graphics features yet, and early testing suggests that raw GPU power may not be the only factor that matters. Power delivery appears to play a major role, especially on the GeForce RTX 5090.
Recent testing compared two RTX 5090 graphics cards: the standard RTX 5090 Founders Edition and a high-end MSI RTX 5090 Lightning Z equipped with dual power connectors. The results suggest that the Founders Edition, which uses a single 16-pin 12V-2×6 connector and is limited to around 575W, may hit its power ceiling when DLSS 5 Neural Rendering is enabled. Meanwhile, the MSI Lightning Z, with its dual-connector design and much higher power headroom, was able to maintain stronger performance under the same workloads.
The key finding is that DLSS 5 Neural Rendering can significantly increase GPU power demand. While both RTX 5090 models are based on the same flagship GPU, the card with higher available power was able to deliver noticeably better frame rates once the new neural rendering feature was active.
In Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K, the MSI RTX 5090 Lightning Z was already faster than the Founders Edition before DLSS 5 was enabled. However, the performance gap became much wider after turning on DLSS 5 Neural Rendering, reaching up to around 17%. The Founders Edition reportedly drew about 551W, putting it close to its power limit, while the MSI Lightning Z pulled nearly 723W. That is a huge jump in power consumption and a strong indication that DLSS 5 can push the RTX 5090 far beyond the limits of a standard power configuration.
Hogwarts Legacy showed a similar pattern. Without DLSS 5 enabled, both RTX 5090 models delivered nearly identical performance. Once DLSS 5 Neural Rendering was activated, the Founders Edition began to fall behind. The card was drawing roughly 547W, while the MSI Lightning Z again exceeded 700W. This resulted in around a 16% performance advantage for the dual-connector model.
Control also highlighted the same issue. When DLSS 5 was enabled, the MSI RTX 5090 Lightning Z remained roughly 21% to 22% faster than the Founders Edition. The reason was not necessarily a difference in the GPU itself, but rather the available power. The Lightning Z was reportedly drawing between 691W and 802W, while the Founders Edition was already pressed against its 563W to 575W limit.
This suggests that DLSS 5 Neural Rendering may expose a new kind of bottleneck for high-end graphics cards. Instead of being limited only by shader performance, memory bandwidth, or AI acceleration, the RTX 5090 may also be limited by how much power the card is allowed to draw. In demanding games at 4K, premium overclocked RTX 5090 models with stronger cooling and dual power connectors could have a clear advantage over standard designs.
It is also worth noting that the DLSS 5 testing was reportedly performed using an injection method rather than NVIDIA’s official implementation path. However, the execution time for the neural rendering model was said to be similar to the official framework, making the results a useful early look at how demanding DLSS 5 may become in real games.
For gamers, the takeaway is simple: not all RTX 5090 cards may perform the same when DLSS 5 Neural Rendering is enabled. A standard RTX 5090 Founders Edition may offer excellent performance, but a premium custom RTX 5090 with more aggressive power delivery could deliver higher frame rates in the most demanding DLSS 5 workloads.
DLSS 5 is expected to begin rolling out with NBA 2K27, with more supported titles likely to follow. As additional games adopt the technology, comparisons between standard RTX 5090 cards and high-end custom models should become even more important. If these early results are accurate, DLSS 5 could make power limits a major factor in next-generation GPU performance.
