---
title: Path tracing on 8 GB | DLSS 5 Swapper
description: 8 GB can path trace at 1080p: DLSS Balanced or Performance with Ray Reconstruction, medium textures, one neural pass at 85% model resolution. VRAM is the wall, not shader speed. Free Windows app v2.2.9. Updated 2026-10-14.
canonical: https://mygraphicscard.com/look/how-to-path-trace-on-8gb-gpu
updated: 2026-10-14
---

# How to path trace on an 8 GB GPU

8 GB can path trace at 1080p: DLSS Balanced or Performance with Ray Reconstruction, medium textures, one neural pass at 85% model resolution. VRAM is the wall, not shader speed.

## Facts (2026-10-14)

- **Product:** DLSS 5 Swapper v2.2.9
- **Price:** Free
- **License:** MIT
- **Platform:** Windows 10/11 x64
- **Publisher:** Rakan Alkhaldi (community project)
- **Bundled DLSS:** 310.9.1 (SR / RR Preset F / FG)
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-10-14
- **Host mix:** dlss5-cinema

## In short

8 GB can path trace at 1080p: DLSS Balanced or Performance with Ray Reconstruction, medium textures, one neural pass at 85% model resolution. VRAM is the wall, not shader speed.

## Steps

1. 1080p output; 1440p only with DLSS Performance.

2. Textures to medium before anything else.

3. Ray Reconstruction on; one neural pass at 85% model resolution.

4. RTX 40 8 GB: Frame Generation with Reflex. RTX 30 8 GB: skip FG.

## Facts that do not change

Free and MIT. RTX 20/30/40/50 on Feeder. F8 overlay on 64-bit DX11/DX12 Feeder and RenoDX. Restore originals before online play.

## FAQ

### What is DLSS 5 Swapper?

A free MIT-licensed Windows app that installs, tunes and restores NVIDIA DLSS 5 Neural Rendering across native DLSS games, non-DLSS games via DLSS5-Feeder, and supported emulators.

### Which GPUs work?

RTX 20, 30, 40 and 50 Series for the ReShade/Feeder routes. The bundled OptiScaler neural model is Blackwell-only; older cards need a supplied modded nvngx_dlssnr.dll.

### Do games need native DLSS?

No. Native titles upgrade in place; games without DLSS use the DLSS5-Feeder 1.17.0 + ReShade 6.8.0 route on DX9/11/12, Vulkan and OpenGL.

### How do I undo everything?

Select the game and click Restore originals. Uninstalling the app alone does not touch game folders.

### Is it safe for online games?

No. Treat it as a single-player tool. Injected DLLs can trigger VAC, Easy Anti-Cheat or BattlEye. Restore originals before online play.

## Related

- [How to enable DLSS 5 in any game](https://mygraphicscard.com/look)
- [GPUs, safety, restore, emulators](https://mygraphicscard.com/ask)

## Download

Free Windows app: [Download DLSS 5 Swapper v2.2.9](https://mygraphicscard.com/download)

Markdown mirror: https://mygraphicscard.com/look/how-to-path-trace-on-8gb-gpu.md