DLSS 4.5 Review: INNO3D RTX 5090 Tested, Is the Upgrade Worth It?

I’ve been running an RTX 5090 on my desk for a while now, and when DLSS 4.5 dropped, I wanted to actually sit down and test it properly instead of just going by NVIDIA’s slides. So I fired up five very different games, ran back-to-back comparisons on my curved MSI monitor, and paid close attention to both the numbers and what my eyes were actually telling me. Here’s what I found.

What’s Actually New in DLSS 4.5

DLSS 4.5 isn’t a ground-up rebuild — it’s a refinement of the transformer-based architecture NVIDIA introduced with DLSS 4. The headline addition is a 2nd-generation transformer model for Super Resolution, trained on a significantly larger, higher-fidelity dataset and using roughly five times the compute of the original model. Alongside it, NVIDIA has rolled out Dynamic Multi Frame Generation, which auto-adjusts how many frames get generated to hit a target frame rate, and a new Ray Reconstruction model aimed at reducing ghosting, boiling pixels, and reflection artifacts in ray-traced scenes.

For anyone tracking our ongoing RTX 50 series coverage, this is very much an iterative update rather than a generational leap — closer in spirit to a driver-level polish pass than a new DLSS version number would suggest.

Test Config Specifications:

• Monitor: MSI MAG342CQR E2 Curved Gaming Monitor
• Motherboard: MSI PRO Z890-S WIFI Motherboard
• CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 265K
• RAM: 32GB (2X16) Corsair Vengeance Performance DDR5 Memory
• Primary SSD: Western Digital SN850 500GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD
• Secondary/Game SSD: 480GB Crucial SATA SSD, WD Green 960GB SATA SSD
• Power Supply: Antec HCG-1000-EXTREME PSU
• GPU: INNO3D GeForce RTX 5090 X3 OC
• CPU Cooler: DEEPCOOL GAMMAXX L360 ARGB
• Cabinet: MSI MAG PANO 130R PZ 
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro

Performance: FPS Before and After DLSS 4.5

Across my test suite, DLSS 4.5 delivered a modest but consistent FPS bump in most titles. Here are some game screenshots, Without DLSS 4.5 vs With DLSS 4.5:

Doom: The Dark Ages was the outlier, dipping slightly with DLSS 4.5 enabled — likely a game-specific quirk given how differently id Tech handles upscaling compared to Unreal-based titles like Indiana Jones. It’s a good reminder that DLSS gains aren’t uniform across engines, something we’ve flagged before in our game performance benchmarks. Enabling Frame Generation on top pushes numbers further, though at that point you’re trading a bit of latency for the extra headline FPS — worth knowing if you’re chasing competitive numbers in a title like Naraka Bladepoint.

Visual Quality: Where DLSS 4.5 Actually Shines

The bigger win here is clarity, not speed. I spent a good chunk of my test time just walking through dense forest scenes — the kind packed with foliage, ferns, and fine rock texture that historically break upscalers — and DLSS 4.5 noticeably tightens up edge definition and cuts down on shimmer in foliage that would otherwise flicker under motion. NVIDIA credits this to the larger transformer dataset, and it lines up with what Hardware Unboxed and TechPowerUp reported in their own testing — better image quality with no measurable performance cost.

Physics and scene detailing also feel a touch more grounded — leaves settle with slightly more natural shadowing, and distant tree lines resolve with less of the “watercolor” softness that plagued earlier DLSS generations. If you’ve read our breakdown of ray tracing and path tracing differences, this kind of incremental fidelity gain is exactly the trend NVIDIA has been chasing since DLSS 3.

That said, I want to be honest about who notices this. This is a “pause, zoom in, compare screenshots” upgrade, not a “jaw-drop mid-match” one. Side-by-side, the sharpness difference is real and repeatable — but for the average player deep in a Naraka Bladepoint fight or a Doom firefight, it’s subtle enough to miss entirely. I certainly had to slow down and look carefully to catch it.

How to Enable DLSS 4.5

Getting DLSS 4.5 running is straightforward, though a chunk of it is still in early access as of writing:

1. Open the NVIDIA app and go to Settings > About.
2. Opt in to Early Access / beta releases (a full stable rollout follows in a later driver cycle).
3. Make sure you’re on GeForce Game Ready Driver 580.88 WHQL or newer.
4. Go to the Graphics tab, pick a supported game (or hit Global Settings to apply it library-wide).
5. Under DLSS Override > Model Presets, select the latest preset (Preset F enables the new Ray Reconstruction model) for Super Resolution, Frame Generation, or Ray Reconstruction as needed.

For games with native DLSS 4.5 integration, you won’t need any of this — it just shows up in the in-game graphics settings once you update.

Which Games Support It

DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction currently enhances around 30 games through the NVIDIA app override, with more being added weekly. Titles with native DLSS 4.5 support (built directly into the game rather than forced via override) include 007 First Light, ARC Raiders, Marvel Rivals, and several others rolling out through 2026, alongside RTX Remix mods like Painkiller and the Morrowind RTX project. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is also expected to ship with it. Given how quickly NVIDIA has been expanding the list, it’s worth checking the NVIDIA DLSS games list directly for the latest supported titles before assuming your favorite game is covered.

Should You Turn It On?

DLSS 4.5 is a genuinely good, low-risk update: improved clarity with essentially no performance penalty, and in most games, a free FPS bump alongside it. It’s not a dramatic leap like the original jump to DLSS 4 was — think refinement, not revolution. For anyone weighing whether it’s worth updating drivers for, the answer is yes; there’s no real downside to enabling it. If you’re deciding between GPUs altogether, our RTX 5090 buying guide has more on where the card stands right now.

Buy from here