Since the release of DLC in 2022, Portal with RTX has developed a bit of a reputation for being a good stress test for even the most powerful systems, thanks to its pastrace illumination. However, the latest update introduces some new Nvidia technology for those running RTX GPUs, faster asset loading and the latest version of DLSS.

The new update adds support for Nvidia RTX IO: a technology that first appeared last year with the Prelude RTX Remix mod. RTX IO utilizes GPU-level decompression, delivering compressed data to the GPU and decompressing it via GDeflate to reduce texture load times and free up CPU for other tasks.

This new addition is said to reduce texture load timeshare by up to 5x and reduce the disk drive footprint of an RTX-powered Portal by 37%.

Another addition to the new update is the introduction of DLSS 3.5, although there is no mention at this time of whether ray reconstruction will be included in the feature set. Ray reconstruction, like super resolution and frame generation, is a separate API from DLSS 3.5, so it will not necessarily appear unless developers choose to include it.

Given that path-traced illumination is highly demanding, this is a good opportunity to implement this technology. Especially since the game seems to be pushing the limits of state-of-the-art lighting implementation in its current state. [Unlike the previously implemented DLSS 3, DLSS 3.5 supports all RTX series GPUs dating back to the 20 series, so if you have been struggling to maintain good frame rates on older RTX cards, this is a good time to try DLSS 3.5 again You may want to give DLSS 3.5 a try again.

Even without the help of these new features, amazing things have been achieved with this game before despite its heavy system requirements, such as the ability to run at a playable 30 fps on the Steam deck with the RTX Remix developer menu tweaks. Quite a feat in such a demanding game.

Still, with the latest updates, the RTX-powered Portal seems to maintain the cutting edge of graphics technology and the tools developed to make it work, and these new additions will hopefully provide a better experience for previously struggling RTX users