New tests show how severely DLSS 5 increases load on the GeForce RTX 5090. In the “Cyberpunk2077” experiment, when neural rendering was enabled, the average power consumption of the graphics card increased from approximately 527 W to 594 W, reaching a peak of 658 W. At the same time, the power delivered directly through the 16-pin 12V-2×6 connector is up to 646.7 W.
Increased load also has a significant impact on connector temperature. The RTX 5090 Founders Edition graphics card heats up to 80.9°C with DLSS 5 turned off, and with this technology enabled, the temperature rises to 91.7°C. As it turns out, this is hotter than the GPU itself, which reaches 86.3 °C.
In comparison, the RTX 5080 showed significantly lower values under the same conditions, with its connector reaching a maximum temperature of 52.2°C and connector power consumption rising from approximately 298 W to 350 W.
What is particularly interesting is that the measurements were performed directly on the circuit board using PCAT. The peak of 646.7 W through 16-pin exceeds the 600 W rating of the cable, although this is a short-term value. This result also helps explain earlier reports of the RTX 5090 connector melting during DLSS 5 experiments.
