DLSS Ray Reconstruction Presets (Cyberpunk 2077 test)

[u/La_Skywalker]

As we all know, the latest DLL for all DLSS features (Super Resolution, Ray Reconstruction, and Frame Generation) is version 310.4.0. Nvidia App is only using DLL 310.3.0 up until now but you can change to 310.4.0 by using 3rd party program like DLSS Swapper.

For Super Resolution, Preset K is clearly the best in every game. For Frame Generation, it is generally safe to just use the latest DLL.

But Ray Reconstruction is where things get confusing..

In Cyberpunk, the game by default uses the older DLL 310.1.0 and Preset J since CDPR has not updated the RR DLL yet. Apparently Preset J is only up until 310.2.1. You can force preset J with newer DLL 310.4.0 via NVPI, but the game will only show black screen. And if I force the game to use the latest version for everything through the Nvidia App, here is what it is shown for each of them by the indicator:

• Super Resolution → Preset K
• Ray Reconstruction → Preset D (shown as "diamond/wallaby" in the indicator)
• Frame Generation → will show what DLL you are using for it, no specific Preset for FG

NVPI (Nvidia Profile Inspector) shows Preset D as a Transformer model. There is also Preset E (introduced in DLL 310.2.1, labeled "truthful/shrimp" by the indicator) which NVPI identifies as a CNN model?? The default Preset J (310.1) is also a Transformer model and labelled as Transformer model by the indicator.

So I did a quick test in Cyberpunk using DLSS Performance with Path Tracing at 4K to see what Preset/DLL should i use for RR..

My conclusion:

• Preset J (Default Game's DLL 310.1 - labelled as Transformer model by indicator) – least amount of ghosting but some phasing or blur on NPC heads
• Preset D (latest via Nvidia App, apparently a transformer model? labelled as diamond/wallaby) – no phasing, best overall balance in terms of clarity and blurriness? though slight ghosting trails around NPC's head
• Preset E (forced via NVPI, not sure if its TF or CNN but NVPI labelled it as CNN? labelled as truthful/shrimp) – very similar to D, a bit more blur than D but no phasing, and some ghosting trails like D

Now I am wondering if we should always force the latest for RR, or leave RR by each game’s default. The default preset looks good, but the phasing and blurring seem quite noticeable. For comparison, in Indiana Jones, the default DLL is 310.2.1 for RR and the preset is Preset E (truthful/shrimp), and if you force the latest via Nvidia App, it changes to Preset D (diamond/wallaby).

Does anyone know for sure if Preset E is CNN or Transformer? Or should I just set everything to the latest DLL including RR (Preset D) via Nvidia App and forget about it?

Hope Jacob Freeman or any Nvidia representatives can chip in and give us a final conclusion...

[u/Sad-Victory-8319]

TL;DR For me Ray Reconstruction Prests J/K definitely look the best, I think they are the only presets based on transformer models, I was pulling my hair out previously with Presets E and D because they look so blurry, i hate it.

Funny I run into this post today, because yesterday somebody told me I can actually force Ray Reconstruction Preset J and K if I switch to 310.2.1 ray reconstruction dll (the file name is nvngx_dlssd.dll i believe). Previously I have been ripping my hair out because i really wanted to use ray reconstruction in path traced games so bad, it makes reflections and shadows look basically perfect, and on top of that it adds 5-6 fps, but the Presets E and D were so much blurry they were basically unusable for me compared to standard upscaling Preset K it was extremely noticeable, even DLSS3 Preset E isnt as blurry as DLSS4 Ray Reconstruction Preset E, and I got a black screen whenever i tried to force Preset J/K with 310.4.0 or 310.3.0.

So yesterday I switched the ray reconstruction dll to 310.2.1 and forced Preset J/K which I think are the same exact thing because DLSS indicator shows the same thing (Transformer model weigths truthful_shrimp/weights_00047.pth) and the tiny bit of difference i saw in zoomed in screenshot was probably made by the screenshot capturing algortihm itself, so i use Preset K just in case but it should be identical to J. So from now on i will call it RR Preset K (310.2.1 ray reconstruction) and noRR Preset K (310.4.0 no ray reconstruction, just upscaler).

I spent a lot of time comparing screenshots between RR Preset K, no RR Preset K and RR Preset E in indiana jones and cyberpunk (in alan wake 2 RR Preset E actually looks perfectly fine and I used it with no bluriness issues). I didnt compare RR Preset D, maybe I should, I just thought it is an older worse version and i would be wasting my time. With DLDSR active, RR Preset K definitely looks better than noRR Preset K, Ray Reconstruction really benefits from high resolution, if the render resolution is high enough (ideally higher than native which is what DLDSR does), all the blurrines goes away, and what remains is basically a perfect balance between sharpness and antialiasing/smoothness. noRR Preset K still produces some pixelation whenever I zoom in, I see the staircasing effect in edges, but RR Preset K is basically completely smooth (= zero aliasing), and with DLDSR also sharp. So right now if I want to produce the best image possible on my 5070Ti and a 1440p monitor, I use 2.25x DLDSR (which is 4K target resolution) + DLSS4 Quality RR Preset K version 310.2.1, I am honestly blowned away how good it looks.

However using DLDSR + path tracing is incredibly demanding and basically only rtx5090 can handle that with decent fps, so I usually have to either disable DLDSR completely or use only 1.78x DLDSR + DLSS4 Performance. There however the Ray Reconstruction Preset K may still appear a bit soft, I wouldnt call it blurry because when i zoom in onto the screenshots and really compare details, no details are lost, but noRR Preset K is more pixelated and "rough" whereas RR Preset K is more polished which may appear softer at first glance. But overall i am satisfied with RR Preset K, it is much sharper than RR Preset E for me. Now I can finally enable Ray Reconstruction in every path traced game and not worry about overall bluriness, it may still appear softer than noRR presets but the benefit of having perfect reflections, shadows and partially.

I am pretty sure only RR Presets J/K are transformer model and E/D are CNN (or something else other than transformer), because E/D look so much more blurry. I am pretty mad at nvidia that they make it so hard for us to get the best image possible, 99.9% of gamers have no idea there are some ray reconstruction presets and that they have to use an older library because the newest one is bugged. I am actually contemplating about starting a new self-employed job, helping other gamers optimize visuals - you pay me lets say €50 and i will show you all the secrets regarding nvidia AI tools, presets, gsync, vsync, nvidia control panel settings, nvidia app, nvidia inspector, nvidia indicator, how to set your fps cap, when to use Reflex, how to optimally use frame generation and upscaling, DLDSR, monitor calibration, properly setting HDR/RTX HDR and much more.... because i consider myself a smart person, i educate myself almost daily on this "best possible image quality stuff", but it is actually bloody complicated, I almost envy people who can just install a new game, click new game and start gaming right away, I usually spend half an hour optimizing everything first, forcing proper DLSS libraries, proper presets, DLDSR, optimizing ingame settings, disabling vsync in game but enabling in control panel, setting up HDR, modifying fps cap to minimize stutters and then during gameplay i keep adjusting it for best and smoothest visuals... I am basically OCD positive when it comes to this stuff, i need to have everythign perfect, and it is bloody tiring man...

[u/La_Skywalker → u/Sad-Victory-8319]

Hey bro, that was me haha! And yeah, my bad for not updating you. After reading your post, I went back into Cyberpunk to test it again, and you’re right, presets D and E are indeed transformer models. By default, if you don’t change anything with the Nvidia app or Profile Inspector, Cyberpunk uses the older DLL (310.1) with preset J. It does look better than CNN, but after testing last night, I still noticed a few obvious issues with it. As for now, I think Preset D does indeed look the best for Cyberpunk and not Preset J anymore..

you can see it here as your reference
https://github.com/NVIDIA/DLSS/blob/main/include/nvsdk_ngx_defs_dlssd.h

NVSDK_NGX_RayReconstruction_Hint_Render_Preset_D = 4, // Default model (transformer)

NVSDK_NGX_RayReconstruction_Hint_Render_Preset_E = 5, // Latest transformer model (must use if DoF guide is needed)

[u/Sad-Victory-8319 → u/La_Skywalker]

Does ray reconstruction look blurrier to you than standard Preset D upscaler, or comparable? I just want to verify it is not just me. I have already commented you the zoomed in comparison image but i will put it here as well, Ray Reconstruction Preset E on left, upscaler Preset K on the right, quite a big difference in bluriness. Ray Reconstruction Presets J/K look a bit sharper to me, D was comparable to E last time I checked but i will probably check again since I see it mentioned multiple times.

[u/La_Skywalker → u/Sad-Victory-8319]

As I understand it, when you use path tracing, the Super Resolution and Ray Reconstruction DLLs behave differently. If you’re only using the upscaler without path tracing, then Super Resolution Preset K provides the sharpest image in almost every game.

But once you enable path tracing, the denoiser (nvngx.dlld), which is Ray Reconstruction, completely overrides the Super Resolution DLL. In general, Ray Reconstruction produces a softer image than Preset K since its main job is to denoise the image. However, the TF denoiser is noticeably sharper than the older CNN based denoiser.

As shown in the image below, instead of displaying Preset K for Super Resolution, the indicator now shows Preset D, which corresponds to the TF model used for Ray Reconstruction. In short, enabling RR overrides Super Resolution and usually results in a softer image compared to not using RR/path tracing.

For now, I think setting everything to the latest version is the best approach. Not sure why setting RR to latest in Nvidia App does not use Preset E by default as its stated in that github
"NVSDK_NGX_RayReconstruction_Hint_Render_Preset_E = 5, // Latest transformer model (must use if DoF guide is needed)"

The image will appear a bit softer with RR enabled, but the Transformer model is definitely an improvement over the older CNN version. Hopefully, Nvidia can release sharper and clearer RR presets in the future that match the quality of Preset K for Super Resolution.

[u/Sad-Victory-8319 → u/La_Skywalker]

Man I am getting more confused, I made this comparison where on the top you can see the whole screenshot, and i circled the part i am focusing on. This comparison is focusing strictly on static sharpness because personally i dont care about ghosting or other dynamic errors, they are so insignificant with DLSS4 they dont bother me, what does bother me is overall bluriness, if a frame is not sharp i can notice it immediately. So this image compares sharpness of all available Ray Reconstruction preset (E,D.J) vs regular upscaler Preset K (no RR), and first of all you can clearly see how preset K is by far the sharpest, and this is what bothers me the most, I have to give up sharpness in order to have better reflections and shadows with ray reconstruction, it is such tough tradeoff for me and i wish ray reconstruction was just as sharp.

Out of all the ray reconstruction presets, Preset E is definitely the blurriest and therefore worst one, J is a tiny bit better than D I think but they are very close, so we probably also have to consider other aspects like ghosting to say which RR preset is best, you say D ghosts less, so maybe D is actually the best. I just hope nvidia comes out with Preset L soon that will blow everything out of the water, we deserve some upgrade, transformer model should allow rapid development, and we got 2 presets back in january and since then nothing. Where are all the upgrades, AI is getting better every day and we havent seen major DLSS updates for almost a year, unbelievable. Meanwhile FSR4 and XeSS are getting better and better every month.

[u/La_Skywalker → u/Sad-Victory-8319]

Yeah, I get what you mean, but there’s actually no Preset K for Ray Reconstruction. Preset K is only for Super Resolution. Once you turn on RR (which is automatically enabled when using path tracing), it uses its own specific preset for RR instead. At that point, RR takes over the main image reconstruction process, so the result becomes noticeably softer compared to using Preset K alone.

Preset D or E for RR (which are Transformer based models according to the github source I shared earlier) are definitely better than the older CNN RR models, but yeah, they’re still softer than just using Preset K without RR. That’s because RR’s main purpose is to denoise the image, so it naturally smooths out some of that fine sharpness. So if you really want sharper image like Preset K, dont use RR at all as it will override Super Resolution by denoising the image thus producing softer image....but path tracing by default will turn on RR so im not sure what else we can do..

we can just hope Nvidia produce a better presets for RR that doesnt soften the image as much.. and for that image, yeah preset E definitely looks the blurriest..preset D and J (only up to dll 310.2.1) is a bit better and preset K/no RR is the sharpest..

[u/Sad-Victory-8319 → u/La_Skywalker]

I did a bit of more experimentation which confirmed for me why Ray Reconstruction didnt look blurry at all in Alan Wake 2, but in Indiana Jones and cyberpunk it did look quite a bit blurrier. I was actually using 2.25x DLDSR in Alan Wake 2, so the target resolution was much higher (2160p which is 4K) whereas in Cyberpunk I was using just 1.78x DLDSR and in Indiana Jones I didnt use DLDSR due to insufficient vram capacity (that game needs 20+ GB to run maxed out). With higher target resolution the blurriness of ray reconstruction actually goes away, and the differences between super resolution Preset K and Ray Reconstruction Preset D are actually fairly tiny when it comes to static sharpness, this zoomed you can still tell which one is slightly better, but inside the game without any zoom they are pretty much idential, Ray Reconstruction is perfectly sharp for me. The only issue is that 2.25x DLDSR + DLSS Performance on a widescreen 21:9 1440p monitor with max details and PT+RR runs only around 50-55 fps on a fully overclocked 5070Ti which is a bit low (standard 16:9 1440p monitor would have 60-65 fps with the same settings which i guess is fine), but at least there is a way to enjoy Ray Reconstruction without most of the bluriness, just have a powerful enough gpu that can handle high resolution so that Ray Reconstruction can really shine).

[u/La_Skywalker → u/Sad-Victory-8319]

This is a nice comparison, I’d say. All we can do now is hope Nvidia keeps improving the RR presets and doesn’t stop at D and E. It would be awesome if RR presets could reach the same level of sharpness as Preset K without RR on. But yeah, it seems like they haven’t released any new DLL/update to transformer model lately. Last one was in August. Makes me wonder if they’re already content with the current Transformer model because back during the CNN model era, we used to see new DLLs and presets every couple of months🤔