Like in the past few years, NVIDIA took advantage of this year's Consumer Electronics Show to make some important announcements. While the company is not launching any new GPUs in the near future, it has announced NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, which features a new iteration of the Transformer model, as well as new Multi-Frame Generation features exclusive to the RTX 50 series.
With new drivers and update to the NVIDIA App, it is now possible to use NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution thanks to new drivers with every game that supports NVIDIA DLSS, delivering even better image quality than native resolution in some cases, such as in Red Dead Redemption 2.
A new comparison video created by MxBenchmarkPC showcases the game running with NVIDIA DLSS 4 and NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, featuring the second-generation transformer model, side by side at 1440p and 4K resolutions, with ultra settings in Quality, Balanced, and Performance modes on an RTX 5080 GPU.
The considerable image quality improvements over NVIDIA DLSS 4 are evident in the side-by-side comparison at 1440p resolution in Quality mode, but even more impressive is how the new transformer model delivers better image quality than native resolution. This is easily noticeable with the terrain and grass, which look considerably sharper with NVIDIA DLSS 4.5.
Unfortunately, the new Super Resolution transformer model isn't perfect, as it seems to have some trouble rendering leaves on trees correctly. In almost every instance, the trees look noticeably worse. Still, considering the overall image quality, what NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 is capable of achieving is truly impressive, even with the widely reported performance impact compared to previous Super Resolution models in every game tested so far (later proved not so bad on some GPUs like the RTX 3080). This performance impact, however, remains small on the RTX 50 and 40 series thanks to the use of FP8 in the Blackwell and Ada GPUs.
This efficiency not only makes it possible for even more fans to enjoy Red Dead Redemption 2 at 60 FPS and more (which may not be happening on consoles for quite a long time), but it will be critical for the eventual PC release of Grand Theft Auto VI, which is still targeting a Fall 2026 release window on consoles though reportedly not yet content complete and is expected to push open-world visuals to their absolute limit.
Besides testing NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 in Red Dead Redemption 2, MxBenchmarkPC also tested the new Super Resolution transformer model in Cyberpunk 2077 with Path Tracing. In CDPR's game, the new transformer model seems to address some of the issues of the previous models, such as sharper ground textures, but also brings some additional visual problems, often caused by oversharpening. This is to be expected, considering this is the new model's first release, which is only going to get improved in the future.
As mentioned above, the second-generation transformer model (which delivers impressive results in Performance Mode in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as well) is only one of the new features available in NVIDIA DLSS 4.5. The new version of the technology also introduces 6x MFG (Multi-Frame Generation), which adds two additional frames to the MFG algorithm, further boosting FPS and delivering enhanced smoothness in games. Additionally, it features Dynamic Multi-Frame Generation, designed for higher 240Hz+ refresh rate monitors. Unlike the new Super Resolution second generation transformer model, the new Multi-Frame Generation options will launch this Spring exclusively for NVIDIA RTX 50 series GPUs.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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