Release and compatibility guide · Updated September 5, 2026
DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction: Release Date, GPUs, Games, and Setup
The second-generation Ray Reconstruction model is one of the most useful DLSS 4.5 updates for players who use ray tracing or path tracing. Here is what is available now, which GPUs and game profiles are included, and how to judge image quality without confusing it with Frame Generation or DLSS 5.
Release date
Available since August 25, 2026 through NVIDIA App Early Access. The launch guide places the regular-channel release in September.
Supported GPUs
The new model supports all GeForce RTX GPUs, including older RTX generations. Other DLSS 4.5 features can still have narrower requirements.
Supported games
NVIDIA currently lists 30 supported NVIDIA App game profiles. Native support, app overrides, and individual rollout timing can still differ by title.
What Ray Reconstruction actually does
Ray-traced effects begin with incomplete and noisy light samples because a real-time game cannot trace an unlimited number of rays for every pixel. Traditional pipelines use several denoisers for reflections, global illumination, shadows, and other effects. Each denoiser can lose detail or disagree with another one, especially while the camera moves.
DLSS Ray Reconstruction replaces those separate denoisers with a supercomputer-trained AI model. It analyzes spatial and temporal engine data, motion information, and sampled pixels to reconstruct a higher-quality final image. In practical terms, the target is more stable reflections, clearer indirect lighting, less ghosting, and better fine detail in motion.
This is an image-quality feature, not a new frame multiplier. Super Resolution reconstructs resolution, Frame Generation creates additional displayed frames, and Ray Reconstruction rebuilds noisy ray-traced information. A supported game can combine these features, but the menu and hardware rules for each one remain separate.
What changes in the 4.5 model
| Area | Official change | What players should look for |
|---|---|---|
| Denoising model | A second-generation transformer replaces the prior Ray Reconstruction model. | The target is cleaner and more stable ray-traced detail without returning to separate hand-tuned denoisers. |
| Model capacity | NVIDIA states 35% more compute capability and 20% more parameters. | The model can use more scene information, but the headline numbers are not a promise of 35% more frame rate. |
| Temporal stability | The model has deeper spatial awareness and uses engine sampling and motion data more intelligently. | Look for less shimmer, clearer moving detail, and fewer delayed reflections rather than only sharper still images. |
| Developer control | Developers receive finer control over temporal accumulation. | A studio can tune the response for its game instead of relying on one universal setting. |
| Performance target | NVIDIA says the larger model maintains performance similar to the prior model. | Expect game-by-game results. Similar model cost does not erase the cost of ray tracing or path tracing. |
Performance expectations
NVIDIA says the new model has 35% more compute capability and 20% more parameters while maintaining performance similar to the previous model. Read that as a model-efficiency claim, not a universal benchmark result.
The expensive part of a path-traced preset can still be the rays, geometry, lighting, resolution, and base game workload. Test the same scene with the same Super Resolution and Frame Generation settings before deciding whether the new model is free, faster, or slower on your GPU.
DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction game profiles
NVIDIA lists these 30 games for the model override in its updated release guide. An app profile is not the same as a native in-game model selector. Check the installed game version, driver, and profile before applying the override.
How to enable and verify the new model
1. Check the NVIDIA App release channel
The model became available on August 25, 2026. NVIDIA's launch instructions use Settings > About > Early Access, with a regular-channel release planned for September. Check your installed app rather than assuming the calendar changed its release channel.
2. Update through official channels
Use the updated NVIDIA App and GeForce driver 580.88 WHQL or newer, as specified in the Ray Reconstruction release guide. Do not download replacement DLLs from unofficial sites.
3. Check the game's support path
For a supported game, open Graphics > Driver Settings > DLSS Override - Model Presets > Custom. Set Ray Reconstruction to Recommended or Preset F and apply. A native integration can have a different path.
4. Enable ray tracing or path tracing
Ray Reconstruction needs a ray-traced signal to reconstruct. If every ray-traced effect is off, the feature has no relevant input to denoise.
5. Compare one variable at a time
Keep resolution, ray-tracing preset, camera position, Super Resolution mode, and Frame Generation mode unchanged between captures.
6. Test movement, not only screenshots
Pan the camera around reflections, fine geometry, hair, foliage, particles, and emissive lights to reveal temporal instability.
What image-quality problems should improve?
Start with reflections that contain fine lines, text, particles, or rapidly changing light. Also inspect chain-link fences, hair, foliage, transparent materials, emissive signs, and surfaces revealed from behind the camera. These are common places where a temporal denoiser can smear detail or take several frames to catch up.
A sharper image is not automatically a better image. Watch for flicker, over-sharpened edges, crawling noise, trails behind moving objects, and detail that changes when you stop the camera. A good result should remain coherent during ordinary play and preserve the lighting style chosen by the developer.
Blender 5.3 support
NVIDIA says Blender Cycles will integrate DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction as a new denoiser in Blender 5.3, planned for Fall 2026. The creator use case is different from a game: artists can interact with a scene while seeing a cleaner near-final lighting result during look development. Final workflow quality and GPU behavior still need testing after the Blender release.
Check which reconstruction and frame-generation features work on your RTX generation.
Check current support signals across Super Resolution, MFG, and ray tracing.
Understand app overrides and the current Dynamic MFG controls.
Compare Ray Reconstruction with the DLSS 5 Neural Rendering release.
See how path tracing, Ray Reconstruction, and future DLSS 5 support differ.
Sources and limits
Primary sources: NVIDIA's DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction announcement, NVIDIA's RTX games and applications list, and NVIDIA's DLSS developer overview. The game list, app override path, and driver requirements can change after publication.
Frequently asked questions
When is DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction released?
It became available through NVIDIA App Early Access on August 25, 2026. NVIDIA's launch guide schedules the regular-channel release for September; availability of the model does not mean every game integrates it natively.
Which GPUs support DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction?
The new Ray Reconstruction model supports all GeForce RTX generations. This does not extend the hardware support of Multi Frame Generation or DLSS 5 Neural Rendering, which have separate requirements.
Does DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction increase FPS?
Its main job is image reconstruction and denoising in ray-traced scenes. NVIDIA says the larger model maintains performance similar to the previous model, but final frame rate depends on the game, resolution, GPU, and ray-tracing preset.
Is DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction the same as DLSS 5?
No. Ray Reconstruction denoises and reconstructs ray-traced content. DLSS 5 is a separate Neural Rendering stage for lighting and materials, now available in NBA 2K27 on RTX 50 GPUs. One feature does not enable the other.
Can I use Ray Reconstruction without ray tracing?
Ray Reconstruction is designed to replace denoisers for ray-traced or path-traced effects. A game may still offer DLSS Super Resolution without ray tracing, but that is a different feature.
Will Blender support DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction?
NVIDIA says Blender Cycles will add the model as a denoiser in Blender 5.3, planned for Fall 2026.