Modder Runs Nvidia DLSS 5 on a Second GPU to Boost Neural-Rendered Frame Rates

A modder has built a multi-GPU setup that runs Nvidia's DLSS 5 Neural Rendering on a dedicated second graphics card, splitting the workload so that one GPU handles the game's rendering while the other applies neural processing at the end of each frame.

Marcelo Guibout demonstrated the technique in videos shared online, showing it running on a cinematic clip from The Blood of Dawnwalker and on Cyberpunk 2077, according to Tom's Hardware. The approach recalls earlier eras of PC gaming, including SLI configurations and the use of dedicated PhysX cards, in which a separate GPU took on a specific portion of the workload.

The concept is to free the primary GPU from doing neural rendering itself, leaving it more resources for rasterization or ray tracing. TechPowerUp reported that with the neural coprocessor enabled through the multi-GPU arrangement, frame rates rose between 59% and 125% compared with running DLSS 5 on a single GPU. Tom's Hardware cited a gain of up to 127%. In both accounts, performance remained lower than with DLSS 5 turned off entirely.