Nvidia’s Bold Claims for the GeForce RTX 5090 Performance
At CES this week, Nvidia made striking performance claims about its new GeForce RTX 5090 and other recently announced models. The most notable assertion is that the RTX 5090 is twice as fast as its predecessor, the RTX 4090. Such a leap in performance is extraordinary, as generational upgrades typically deliver only 10% to 30% gains. Most new models perform similarly to the tier above from the previous generation. However, there’s a significant caveat to these impressive figures.
RTX 5090 vs. RTX 4090: What Powers the Performance Claims?
Since the launch of the original RTX series in 2018, Nvidia’s advancements in AI-driven features have become increasingly integral to its GPUs. Technologies like DLSS, which uses upscaling and frame generation to boost frame rates, play a key role in these performance gains. Stripping away these AI enhancements leaves only rasterization, the traditional rendering method used to generate visuals in games. While rasterization is universally supported, the enhanced frame rate claims rely heavily on DLSS. The downside? Not all games are compatible with DLSS, limiting the benefits.
DLSS 4: Elevating Frame Rates with Multi Frame Generation
At CES, Nvidia unveiled DLSS Multi Frame Generation, a groundbreaking feature that can generate up to three additional frames for every traditionally rendered one. This advancement promises up to eight times the performance of pure rasterization. However, to achieve the “twice as fast” performance figures Nvidia touts, users must enable all the latest features. The RTX 5090, powered by the Blackwell architecture and a new DLSS transformer model, is optimized for these enhancements.
The Catch: Real Gains in Rasterization Are More Modest
Despite the advancements in AI-driven features, rasterization performance—a crucial metric for games lacking DLSS support—shows more modest improvements. Nvidia’s data suggests that the RTX 5090 delivers approximately 20% to 40% gains in rasterization performance over the Nvidia RTX 5090. While this is impressive, it falls far short of doubling the performance.
Benchmarks Will Tell the Full Story
The true performance of the RTX 5090 across a wide range of games will only be clear once benchmarks are available later this month. These tests will reveal how the GPU performs on average, both in DLSS-supported games and those relying purely on rasterization. Questions also remain about the visual quality of new techniques like Multi Frame Generation, which could significantly benefit demanding titles like Microsoft Flight Simulator but may face skepticism.
Nvidia’s Growing Ecosystem and Market Influence
Since the inception of the RTX series, Nvidia has expanded its ecosystem considerably. Over 700 games now support RTX features like ray tracing and DLSS. Additionally, Nvidia commands over 75% of the graphics card market on Steam, with the RTX 4090 alone holding 1% market share. While the RTX 5090 may be priced out of reach for many, Nvidia’s influence in the GPU market and the adoption of its RTX features continue to grow. Whether you embrace or question their innovations, Nvidia’s RTX advancements are here to stay.