AMD is preparing to launch its own DLSS 5-like Neural Rendering technology with the next-gen RDNA 5 architecture, according to well-known leaker Kepler_L2.
The feature, which replaces traditional shaders with neural networks, will likely debut with RDNA 5, though hardware limitations may keep it exclusive to the new architecture, as Kepler says, "Probably, this stuff is pretty heavy."
The leaker shared a detailed vision for how AMD could differentiate itself from NVIDIA's approach to the technology. Rather than letting AI guess scene elements, Kepler argues the model should access 3D data directly, such as geometry and depth buffers, in order to improve accuracy.
They also suggest separating lighting and shading models, and removing the color-grading step entirely. While these ideas reflect the leaker's ideal scenario, Kepler says they are not confirmed as AMD's official plans.
There's a lot of issues with NVIDIA's approach but it's possible to have a version of this with minimal hallucinations and "AI slop" look.
The DLSS5 model does basically 4 things:
- Looks at the image to figure out what is e.g a human face, a wooden table, a car.
- Changes the existing lighting to improve subsurface scattering and ambient occlusion.
- Changes the shading on certain elements (mainly human skin and hair) to what it considers more photorealistic
- Changes the color-grading of the scene to what it considers more "natural"
The way it should be done imo is:
- Give the model direct access to 3D game data such as geometry/BVH, Ray data, depth buffers, materials, etc. so it doesn't have to guess and can accurately know how each object in a scene should interact with light.
- Have a model that only lightning enhancements
- Have a separate model that only does shading of complex surfaces
- Get rid of color-grading step entirely
I believe this approach would produce much more accurate results and would probably have higher performance as well.
- wrote Kepler_L2
NVIDIA's DLSS 5 Neural Rendering is already in action in NBA 2K27, proving the concept's viability, albeit with significant pushback from many gamers and developers who are concerned about the artistic integrity of the game being compromised by a machine learning model.
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What hardware limits could keep AMD's DLSS 5-like tech off older Radeon cards?
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AMD's version, if competitive with DLSS 5, would force NVIDIA to refine its own tech. Ultimately, this would create a healthy competition for gamers who only benefit in the long run with better graphics. However, RDNA 5 won't arrive until at least mid-2027 at the earliest, with some reports citing partners hinting at a 2028 delay.
