Nvidia’s DLSS 4.5 offers improved image quality and temporal stability through advanced AI models but incurs higher performance costs, particularly on older 20 and 30 series GPUs, often resulting in lower frame rates compared to DLSS 4. While DLSS 4.5 benefits the latest RTX 40 and 50 series cards, users with older hardware are advised to stick with DLSS 4 for better performance, as VRAM usage remains similar and the new version’s default settings may not be optimal across all games.
Nvidia introduced DLSS 4 at the CS trade show in early 2025 and has now updated it to DLSS 4.5, featuring a second-generation transformer model that enhances image quality, lighting accuracy, and temporal stability. The new version also incorporates six times dynamic multiframe generation, but the video focuses primarily on the performance impact of DLSS 4.5’s super resolution feature rather than image quality. The presenter notes that DLSS 4.5 has a higher performance overhead compared to DLSS 4, especially on older GPUs, due to its use of FP8 precision hardware acceleration, which is only supported on GeForce RTX 40 and 50 series cards.
Testing was conducted on a Ryzen 7 9800X 3D system using four GPUs: RTX 5070, RTX 4070 Super, RTX 3090, and RTX 2080 Ti. The results showed that while DLSS 4 provided significant performance boosts over native 1440p resolution across multiple games, DLSS 4.5 often delivered smaller gains or even reduced performance, particularly on older 20 and 30 series GPUs. For instance, in Rainbow Six Siege, DLSS 4 increased frame rates by over 30%, whereas DLSS 4.5 only boosted performance by around 10% on the RTX 5070 and caused performance drops on the RTX 3090 and 2080 Ti.
The performance disparity was consistent across several games tested, including Marvel Rivals, Avatar Frontiers of Pandora, Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty, Black Myth Wukong, and Assassin’s Creed Shadows. While DLSS 4.5 still offered some performance improvements on the latest GPUs, the older GPUs often experienced slower frame rates than native resolution when using the new upscaling model. This suggests that users with older hardware should avoid DLSS 4.5 and stick with the DLSS 4 presets for better performance.
VRAM usage was found to be similar between DLSS 4 and DLSS 4.5, meaning the new version does not alleviate memory constraints for GPUs with lower VRAM. Nvidia representatives have suggested that DLSS 4.5’s performance impact is minimal on RTX 50 series GPUs, but testing showed that even within this lineup, slower models like the RTX 5070 experienced a noticeable performance hit. The presenter highlights the complexity and confusion arising from multiple DLSS presets and models, recommending users force specific presets on a per-game basis for optimal results.
In conclusion, DLSS 4.5 introduces meaningful improvements in image quality and temporal stability but comes at a higher performance cost, especially on older GPUs. While it may justify the trade-off with better visuals, many users with 20 and 30 series GPUs will find DLSS 4 superior for performance. Nvidia’s rollout strategy and default model settings remain unclear, and more detailed visual analyses are forthcoming. For now, gamers should carefully consider their hardware and game compatibility before switching to DLSS 4.5.