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DLSS 3 just got its biggest update since its launch: DLSS 3.5. With this new version, Nvidia will introduce AI-powered ray reconstruction techniques. This reduces the load on a denoiser, which is generally tasked with filling up the holes in the final image output by combining lighting information from multiple frames. And the best part is it runs on all Nvidia RTX GPUs, from the old 20 series cards to the latest 40 series offerings.
The latest 3.5 version is now rolling out to a select few games starting this Fall, namely Cyberpunk 2077 and the upcoming Phantom Liberty expansion, the upcoming Alan Wake 2, and Portal with RTX. Nvidia will expand the library later down the line.
DLSS 3.5 and how it works
The new update is a breakthrough - it bundles the tasks of super-resolution and ray reconstruction in a single new AI model. It considers additional input from the game engine to produce the best final output image.
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Nvidia claims DLSS 3.5 is trained on 5x more data as compared to DLSS 3. This allows the tech to work with far more ray-traced effects than traditional models. DLSS can then use all of this to make smarter decisions in upscaling information. The final result is more valid data being retained for the upscaling, thereby resulting in better picture quality.
This also means a slight performance bump over what traditional methods could deliver on DLSS 2 and 3. However, frame gains aren't as high as what we observed with frame generation.
In a showcase, the latest DLSS version was seen outperforming native resolution rendering in terms of ghosting and overall smoothness. Thanks to ray reconstruction, the 3.5 version also results in sharper ray-traced reflections as compared to the final result in RT Overdrive mode in Cyberpunk 2077.
DLSS 3.5 also finds applications in creative and professional apps relying on visual effects, unlike previous versions of the technology. With its ray reconstruction technology, it does a much better job in programs like D5 Render, where it resulted in better output image quality.
GPUs that support DLSS 3.5
The best part about the new 3.5 version of the technology is that it can be used on all launched RTX graphics cards. This includes everything from the RTX 2060 to the RTX 4090. This is unlike what the company did with DLSS 3 back last year when access was only provided to the latest RTX 40 series GPUs (because the technology relies on optical field accelerators, a piece of hardware exclusive to the latest graphics cards).
Performance gains with the latest DLSS 3.5
Although games with the latest 3.5 version perform slightly better than previous versions of the technology, frame gains aren't as high as what we observed between DLSS 2 and the newly introduced DLSS 3. However, the tech should be praised for bringing higher performance gains to the table while also delivering a much better output image. This makes it nothing short of impressive.
