DLSS-NR on AMD, the mod that runs NVIDIA's DLSS 5 neural rendering on Radeon cards, reached version 0.5.0 on 29 September. The headline belongs to RX 7000: the author, danielblnc, lists a gain of up to 207% over version 0.4.3, roughly three times the speed. RX 9000 owners get a modest 5%.
This morning we took apart the 75 fps figure from 0.4.3, so yes, this is our second story on the mod today. Hard to skip, though. Until now RDNA 3 cards were the poor relation in this project.
RX 7000: plus 207%, and that is the ceiling
Since 0.4.2 the mod has had two modes. Fast uses simplified arithmetic, Reference matches NVIDIA's exact maths. RX 7000 cards only got Reference, because RDNA 3 has no hardware FP8, and an RX 7900 XTX trailed an RX 9070 XT by a wide margin. Version 0.5.0 goes after exactly that gap.
"Up to 207% performance improvement over v0.4.3"
DLSS-NR on AMD 0.5.0 release notesThe words to watch are "up to". The notes name no game, resolution or card for that maximum, there is no benchmark screenshot this time, and they don't say whether RX 7000 now gets Fast mode or Reference itself got quicker. The author's percentages have always described the network, not the frame rate. If the network eats half of the frame time, a network three times as fast gives you about 1.5 times the fps. So I wouldn't promise triple frame rates on an RX 7900 XTX yet. Nobody had published independent numbers for 0.5.0 when this went up.
Skin and faces get the attention
The second change applies to every card. According to the author, the effect is now richer and more detailed, especially on skin and faces. A face is where you first notice that a network has repainted the frame, so it's the right place to work on. No comparison shots came with the release. You'll have to judge with your own eyes.
The list also mentions installer and settings editor improvements. One small oddity: 0.5.0 isn't brand new. The dlss5-neural-amd project already supported it on 28 September as a build for the author's supporters, and overnight it added 0.5.1 from the same private channel. The public release trails the private one by a step.
24 versions in 26 days, and the neighbours
Multiply the percentages from every release note and the network on RX 9000 in Fast mode is 2.9 times as fast as on 15 September. That is arithmetic on the author's claims rather than a benchmark, but the curve tells the story:
The project has shipped 24 versions since 3 September and sits at almost 2,000 GitHub stars; the 0.5.0 installer was downloaded 489 times in its first hour and a half. The neighbours are moving as well. DLSS 5 Manager 1.3.4 (28 September) updated its copy of danielblnc's files for RDNA 3 and 4, though its developer says plainly he hasn't tested it on Radeon: he owns an RTX 3060, and AMD mode also needs the HIP SDK. dlss5-neural-amd, which carries the effect into older DirectX 8, 9, 11 and OpenGL games, switched to AMD FidelityFX optical flow in 0.7.1 so the picture stops flickering when the camera moves.
What 0.5.0 needs:
- Graphics card. Radeon RX 9000 or RX 7000; older cards are not supported.
- Game. Windows 11, DirectX 12, with FSR 3 or FSR 4 switched on.
- Driver. Adrenalin 26.1.1 or newer.
- Your own library. nvngx_dlssnr.dll version 310.8.0.0 from a game that supports DLSS 5; the mod doesn't ship it.
- No anti-cheat. Protected games will block the DLL.
Updating uses the same installer: run dlssnr_on_amd_setup.exe in the game folder and pick U. If you own an RX 7900 XT or XTX and wrote the mod off as a slideshow, this is a good moment for a second try. Where AMD stands (officially nowhere, the company hasn't said a word) and which mods exist for RTX 20 to 40 and Intel is all in our complete DLSS 5 guide.
