Korean media outlet QuasarZone tested Cyberpunk 2077 and found that with DLSS 5 enabled on the reference RTX 5090, the temperature on the sense pin side of the 12V-2x6 power connector rose to 91.7°C, with the 16-pin connector reaching a peak power consumption of 646.7W.
Following the announcement and release of DLSS 5, controversies over visual changes have emerged, alongside recent reports of melting 12V-2x6 connectors. QuasarZone conducted this test to determine if DLSS 5 is related to these reports. The test used a reference RTX 5090, running Cyberpunk 2077 for 20 minutes at 4K resolution, DLSS Quality mode, and maximum quality presets.
With DLSS 5 disabled, the temperature on the sense pin side of the RTX 5090 connector was 80.9°C, rising to 91.7°C when enabled; the latch side increased from 77.1°C to 83.4°C. Under the same conditions, with DLSS 5 enabled on the reference RTX 5080, the two measurement points were 48.6°C and 52.2°C respectively.
Power consumption also increased. HWiNFO recorded the RTX 5090's average total card power consumption rising from 509.2W to 575.1W, nearing its 575W power limit; the RTX 5080 increased from 298.2W to 350.3W, approaching its 360W limit.
Measured by an external PCAT device capable of recording short-term peaks, the average total power consumption of the RTX 5090 rose from 527.3W to 593.9W, with peak power increasing from 582.5W to 658.0W. Looking solely at the 16-pin connector, average power consumption was 582.7W, with a peak of 646.7W. Tom's Hardware's preliminary DLSS 5 tests also observed a significant increase in power consumption after enabling the feature.