DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction Explained (Works on Every RTX Card)
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DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction is NVIDIA’s AI denoiser for ray-traced and path-traced games — it replaces a game’s hand-tuned denoisers with a neural network that reconstructs sharper, more stable lighting and reflections, and unlike Multi Frame Generation it runs on every GeForce RTX card from the RTX 20 series up. It is an image-quality feature, so it does not add input lag the way frame generation does. This guide explains what Ray Reconstruction actually does, what the DLSS 4.5 update changed, which GPUs run it, how to turn it on, and when it’s worth using.
What Ray Reconstruction does
Ray tracing and path tracing are expensive because tracing every light ray for every pixel is impossible in real time. Instead, games trace only a handful of rays per pixel and leave the image full of gaps and grain — a noisy, sparkly mess. To clean that up, every ray-traced game ships a denoiser: a hand-tuned filter that guesses what the finished lighting should look like from the sparse ray samples.
Those hand-tuned denoisers are the weak link. They smear fine detail, add ghosting behind moving objects, make reflections boil and shimmer, and lag a frame behind fast motion. Ray Reconstruction replaces that denoiser with a single AI network trained on an NVIDIA supercomputer. It analyzes the sparse ray data plus temporal and spatial information from the engine and reconstructs cleaner, sharper, more stable ray-traced lighting than the game’s built-in denoiser ever could.
The key thing to understand: Ray Reconstruction only does something in games that use ray tracing or path tracing. If you play competitive titles with RT off — which most competitive players do — Ray Reconstruction changes nothing. It is a feature for the visually heavy single-player games where you want the ray-traced look.
What DLSS 4.5 changed
DLSS 4.5, released at Gamescom 2026, brings a new 2nd-generation Transformer model for Ray Reconstruction. The previous Ray Reconstruction model was already Transformer-based; the 4.5 version processes roughly 20% more parameters while holding essentially the same performance, so you get better image quality at the same frame rate.
With Ray Reconstruction updated, NVIDIA describes DLSS 4.5 as “complete” — the DLSS 4 family now spans four separate pieces:
| DLSS 4 feature | What it does | GPU requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Super Resolution | Upscales from a lower internal resolution to raise real FPS | All RTX (20–50) |
| Ray Reconstruction | AI denoiser for ray-traced/path-traced lighting | All RTX (20–50) |
| Multi Frame Generation | Inserts up to 3 AI frames per real frame for smoothness | RTX 50 only |
| Reflex / Frame Warp | Cuts render-queue and input latency | All RTX (Reflex); RTX 50 (Frame Warp) |
The 2nd-gen Transformer improvements in Ray Reconstruction are the headline of 4.5. See the companion guide on DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation for the RTX-50-only frame-multiplication side of DLSS 4.
Which GPUs support it
This is the best part of Ray Reconstruction: it runs on every GeForce RTX generation from the RTX 20 series forward.
- RTX 20 series (2018) — supported
- RTX 30 series — supported
- RTX 40 series — supported
- RTX 50 series — supported
Multi Frame Generation is locked to the RTX 50 series, but Ray Reconstruction is not. An RTX 2060 or RTX 3070 gets the exact same 2nd-generation Transformer denoiser as an RTX 5090. If you own an older RTX card and a ray-traced game, this is one of the few 2026 DLSS upgrades you can actually use. (If you also want the newer DLSS 4 Super Resolution Transformer model on an older card, see how to enable DLSS 4 on RTX 30 and 40 cards.)
Does Ray Reconstruction add input lag?
No. This is the point competitive players care about, and it’s worth stating plainly: Ray Reconstruction is a denoiser, not a frame generator. It does not create interpolated frames, so it does not add the latency that frame generation adds. It simply rebuilds the ray-traced image you were already going to display.
Because it replaces the game’s separate denoiser and (in DLSS 4.5) shares a unified model with Super Resolution, its performance cost is similar to or slightly better than the hand-tuned denoiser it swaps out — you often get cleaner ray tracing at roughly the same frame rate. Your actual input lag is still decided by:
- Your real frame rate — higher real FPS means lower lag, which is why Super Resolution helps responsiveness.
- Your latency features — NVIDIA Reflex and a correct FPS cap.
Ray Reconstruction is neutral on all of that. Turn it on for cleaner ray tracing without a latency penalty; it does nothing for you if you play with RT off.
How to enable DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction
The easiest route is the NVIDIA App override, which forces the new model without any game files to edit:
- Update to the latest Game Ready Driver and NVIDIA App.
- In the NVIDIA App, open Settings > About and opt into Early Access releases (required for the 4.5 preset at launch).
- Go to Graphics > Driver Settings > “DLSS Override - Model Presets.”
- Set the Ray Reconstruction preset to Preset F — this is the DLSS 4.5 model. (Preset D is the older DLSS 4.0 Ray Reconstruction; there’s no option for the original DLSS 3.5 model.)
- Apply, then launch the game with ray tracing and DLSS enabled.
At launch it works in about 30 games via the override, including Cyberpunk 2077, Alan Wake 2, DOOM: The Dark Ages, Resident Evil Requiem, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. For a game that isn’t on the override list, you can swap the Ray Reconstruction DLL manually with DLSS Swapper and select the Preset F files.
If you’re tuning one of those heavy ray-traced titles for frame rate, pair this with a per-game guide like best Cyberpunk 2077 settings for FPS — Ray Reconstruction handles the RT image quality while the settings guide handles the frame rate.
When it’s worth it
- You play ray-traced or path-traced single-player games → yes, enable it. Cleaner reflections, less boiling and ghosting, sharper RT detail at no meaningful performance or latency cost.
- You have any RTX 20/30/40/50 card → the 4.5 Transformer model is available to you; you are not locked out the way you are with Multi Frame Generation.
- You play competitive games with RT off → it does nothing. Spend your effort on real frame rate and input lag instead.
The honest summary: Ray Reconstruction is the rare DLSS 4 feature with no downside and no hardware gate — but only if you actually use ray tracing. It makes the ray-traced look cleaner; it does not make a competitive shooter faster.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
What is DLSS Ray Reconstruction?
Ray Reconstruction is an NVIDIA AI feature that replaces a game's hand-tuned denoisers for ray-traced and path-traced effects. Ray tracing samples only a few light rays per pixel, so the raw image is noisy; Ray Reconstruction uses a neural network trained on a supercomputer to reconstruct clean, sharp lighting, reflections, and shadows from that sparse data. It only affects games that use ray tracing or path tracing — it does nothing in a game with RT turned off.
Which GPUs support DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction?
Every GeForce RTX GPU from the RTX 20 series onward runs DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction — RTX 20, 30, 40, and 50 series all included. This is unlike DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation, which is exclusive to the RTX 50 series. Ray Reconstruction's new 2nd-generation Transformer model is one of the few DLSS 4 upgrades that reaches an eight-year-old RTX 2060 as well as a brand-new RTX 5090.
Does Ray Reconstruction add input lag?
No. Ray Reconstruction is an image-quality feature, not a frame-generation feature — it does not insert interpolated frames, so it does not add the latency that frame generation does. It replaces the game's separate denoiser and upscaler passes with one unified model, so its performance cost is similar to or slightly better than the older denoiser it replaces. Your input lag is set by your real frame rate and your latency settings (Reflex, FPS cap), not by Ray Reconstruction.
How do I enable DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction?
Open the NVIDIA App, go to Settings > About and opt into Early Access, then open Graphics > Driver Settings > 'DLSS Override - Model Presets' and set the Ray Reconstruction preset to Preset F (the DLSS 4.5 model; Preset D is the older DLSS 4.0 model). It works in about 30 supported games including Cyberpunk 2077, Alan Wake 2, DOOM: The Dark Ages, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2. For unlisted games you can swap the Ray Reconstruction DLL manually with DLSS Swapper.
Is Ray Reconstruction the same as DLSS Super Resolution?
No — they are different parts of DLSS that often run together. Super Resolution is the upscaler that renders the game at a lower internal resolution and rebuilds it at full resolution to raise your frame rate. Ray Reconstruction is the denoiser that cleans up ray-traced lighting and reflections. In DLSS 4.5 the two share a unified Transformer model, but they solve different problems: Super Resolution gives you more FPS, Ray Reconstruction gives you cleaner ray tracing.