Nvidia DLSS 4.5 blurs lines between Quality and Performance

PC gaming demands are escalating, but Nvidia's DLSS 4.5 technology offers a solution, providing remarkable improvements in image quality and performance. Testing indicates that the gap between DLSS 4.5's Quality and Performance modes has narrowed considerably, with gamers experiencing similar image stability and clarity across various settings. This advancement is particularly notable in titles like Doom: The Dark Ages, Final Fantasy 16, and Arc Raiders, where visual artifacts like blurriness and ghosting are minimized.

The upgrade from DLSS 4 to DLSS 4.5 is substantial, especially concerning image stability. While DLSS 4 introduced a first-generation transformer model, DLSS 4.5 builds upon this with a second-generation model for super-resolution. This results in a sharper image and better motion handling, even when using Frame Generation. However, users with older GPUs (RTX 30 series and below) may face performance challenges due to the absence of native FP8 support, potentially leading to a 20-25% performance loss. For those with newer hardware like the RTX 5060 laptop, the performance impact is minimal, around 5-7%, which is a worthwhile trade-off for the enhanced visual fidelity. Even the DLSS Ultra Performance mode shows improvements, though some blurriness persists as expected.