DLSS 5 pushes RTX 5090 power draw to 646.7W and heats 16-pin connector
QuasarZone’s tests show DLSS 5 driving higher power and connector temperatures on RTX 5090 cards, raising practical concerns over 16-pin thermal headroom.
QuasarZone found that DLSS 5 increased power demand and pushed the RTX 5090’s 16-pin connector above 90°C, making connector headroom a practical concern for owners. In a 20-minute Cyberpunk 2077 run at 27.5°C and 4K, using DLSS Quality and Ultra settings, the RTX 5090 connector reached 83.4°C on the latch side and 91.7°C on the opposite side with DLSS 5 enabled. PCAT measured 646.7W through the RTX 5090 connector with DLSS 5 on, compared with 582.7W off, while peak card draw reached 658W. The RTX 5080 Founders Edition’s connector stayed cooler, reaching 52.2°C on the latch side and 48.6°C opposite. On an Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090, DLSS 5 raised current per pin to 7.83–8.51A; that was below PCI-SIG’s 9.2A requirement, with just 0.69A between the highest reading and the threshold.
Why it matters
The results highlight how enabling DLSS 5 can significantly increase both power draw and connector temperatures on high-end GPUs. On the RTX 5090, the 16-pin reached up to 91.7 degrees Celsius in a 20‑minute run, with 646.7W measured through the connector, while per‑pin current came within 0.69A of PCI‑SIG’s 9.2A requirement. By contrast, the RTX 5080’s connector stayed much cooler, underscoring that thermal headroom on the 16‑pin is now a practical factor for owners of the most power‑hungry cards.
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Sources
- Tom's Hardware