Nvidia’s DLSS 4.5: A Double-Edged Sword for Old Graphics Cards

Nvidia has released a new version of its proprietary application for graphics cards, allowing anyone interested to use the new DLSS 4.5 upscaler. Until now, it could only be tested in the beta version of the Nvidia App. The new version allows DLSS 4.5 to be manually enabled in any game that supports DLSS 4. However, in the settings, this is called something else, and you need to choose not the version of the upscaler, but the model.

Examples show that native resolution is no longer as important. DLSS 4.5 operates on all GeForce RTX graphics cards, but with RTX 20/30 series, performance significantly drops. Activating DLSS 4.5 in Quality mode on these cards may lead to lower performance than without DLSS at all. However, numerous reviews show that for older cards, it still makes sense to enable DLSS 4.5, as even in Performance mode it delivers very high-quality images.

This release coincides with the growing adoption of DLSS technology in more gaming titles, boosting performance while maintaining visual fidelity. Although the RTX 40 series cards have not yet been fully tested with DLSS 4.5, they are expected to manage the demands better without the performance hit experienced by older models. This reinforces Nvidia’s strategic push towards ray tracing and AI-driven graphics rendering, staying competitive against rival AMD and its FidelityFX Super Resolution technologies.

Anticipate further developments with DLSS as Nvidia continues to refine its technology to enhance gaming experiences across various hardware capabilities, promising better integration with upcoming game releases slated throughout 2026.