A tech YouTuber demonstrates in a test how Nvidia’s DLSS 4.5 reconstructs playable images even from tiny resolutions of 240p. The results are being praised to the skies – but there are limits.
At the recent CES 2026, Nvidia unveiled its next generation of upscaling technology: DLSS 4.5 is set to take the feature set to the next level and deliver more fps with a further optimized transformer model.
In a half-hour video, YouTuber “zWORMZ” took a closer look at how well this promise can be kept – and subsequently couldn’t stop singing its praises.
Effective 240p resolution – and still a strong image
In this context, zWORMZ subjects the new DLSS generation to a test that is as close to real-world conditions as possible: an RTX 5090 with the new DLSS 4.5 presets M and L in Red Dead Redemption 2 at 4K resolution.
- The new Preset M has been specially optimized for DLSS 4.5 performance and is recommended by Nvidia as the standard for performance mode from DLSS 4.5 onwards.
- In zWORMZ’s tests in Red Dead Redemption 2 with maximum ultra settings at 4K, Preset M delivers a respectable 130 to 145 FPS in the aforementioned performance mode.
- The internal rendering resolution here is 1080p, but according to the YouTuber, the 2nd-gen transformer model reconstructs it so well that the image quality easily rivals native 4K with TAA – with the decisive advantage of increased fps.
According to the YouTuber, however, the strongest feature is the much more aggressive Preset L, which, according to Nvidia, is “the optimal preset for 4K with maximum frame rate.”
In this setting in “Ultra Performance” mode, which effectively equates to an internal 240p resolution (!), the game not only achieves 170 FPS, but also continues to look great – you can find the relevant section in the video embedded below at 28 minutes:
However, there is one catch: according to Videocardz found that the visual differences between the older Preset K and the new Presets M/L are marginal, while costing 20 to 30 percent in performance. So, in fact, a Blackwell GPU seems to be a must if you want to get the most out of it.
However, contrary to the original plans, it will still take a little while before all gamers with Nvidia graphics cards can get an idea of DLSS 4.5. The release via the Nvidia app and a new driver, which was scheduled for January 13, has been postponed until next week – but at least you can still take the detour via the beta branch to access the new upscaling generation now.
