What Is DLSS? Upscaling, Frame Generation and When to Switch It On

DLSS, short for Deep Learning Super Sampling, is NVIDIA’s technology for rendering a game at a lower internal resolution and using a trained neural network to rebuild a sharper picture, which usually raises frame rate on RTX graphics cards. Newer versions also create extra frames between real ones, so the label covers several different features that are worth keeping separate.

This explainer is compiled by the Editorial team from published specifications, manufacturer documentation and buyer reviews. It contains no frame-rate results, because gains depend on the game, resolution and card. What it gives you is the mechanism, a feature map and a decision table, so you can judge for yourself in your own graphics menu.

How DLSS works in plain terms

A game normally draws every pixel of your screen resolution each frame. At 4K that is about 8.3 million pixels, and with ray tracing switched on the cost climbs fast. DLSS shortcuts this by drawing fewer pixels, for example a 1440p image for a 4K display, and then handing it to a neural network running on the card’s Tensor cores.

The network does not work from the single low-resolution frame. The game supplies extra information: motion vectors that say where each part of the picture moved, depth data, and recent previous frames. Combining those, the network estimates what the full-resolution frame would look like. Because it uses past frames, DLSS is a temporal technique, and that explains both its strengths (stable edges, less shimmer than many older anti-aliasing methods) and its typical weak points (ghost trails behind fast objects, or smearing on thin details when a game supplies poor motion data).

Developers have to integrate DLSS into each game. It is not a driver switch that works everywhere, which is why the list of supported games matters more than the label on the box.

Render scale: what each mode actually draws

Each mode is a different internal resolution. The usual per-axis scale factors are about two thirds for Quality, a little more than half for Balanced, one half for Performance and one third for Ultra Performance, although a game can adjust them. The table below works through a 4K output, using arithmetic on those commonly cited scale factors. Treat the numbers as estimates, since individual games may differ.

Worked example, with stated assumptions: you play at 4K on a card that holds 40 fps at native resolution, and the game is limited by pixel work. In Quality mode the card draws about 44% of the pixels, so the raw rendering load falls to under half. Real gains are smaller than that math suggests, because geometry, CPU work and the AI pass itself have costs that do not shrink with pixel count. Expect a noticeable improvement, not a doubling, and confirm in the game.

The DLSS family: what each generation added

People say “DLSS” for everything, yet the feature set has grown in stages. The table lists the broad steps; check NVIDIA’s documentation for the exact current list of cards and games, since support for older RTX series on newer features has changed over time.

Frame generation explained, and why base frame rate matters

Super Resolution makes the game render faster, so inputs are handled at the new, higher real frame rate. Frame Generation is different. The card renders real frames, then inserts generated frames in between, so the display receives a smoother motion without the game simulating anything extra.

That has a direct consequence. Your mouse and keyboard still act on the real frames. If a game runs at 60 real frames per second and frame generation doubles what you see, the screen shows about 120 per second, but the game still responds at the 60 fps cadence plus a small processing delay. With a multi-frame mode the displayed number can be higher still, while the responsiveness stays tied to the base rate.

• Good fit: single-player games with a stable base near 60 fps that you want to feel smoother on a high-refresh screen.
• Poor fit: competitive shooters, or games whose base frame rate is under about 40, where generated frames can look rough and the delay is more noticeable.
• Pair it with NVIDIA Reflex when the game offers it, to claw back some of the delay.

To get value from generated frames you need a screen fast enough to show them. If your display is not reaching its rated speed, read why a monitor may not show 240Hz before blaming the GPU.

Decision framework: when to enable DLSS

System requirements and constraints

You need an NVIDIA RTX graphics card, a recent graphics driver and a game that includes the specific DLSS feature. Frame generation additionally needs a supported RTX generation, and a display that benefits from the extra frames. VRAM still matters: upscaling lowers internal resolution but textures and ray-tracing data still occupy memory, so a card short on VRAM can stutter regardless of DLSS.

The CPU is a quiet limit. If a game is held back by the processor, drawing fewer pixels will barely change the frame rate. A tell-tale sign is GPU usage sitting well below full while one CPU thread is near its maximum. In that case a mode change is not the fix, and capping frames or adjusting CPU-heavy settings will help more.

Implementation checklist

1. Update the graphics driver and the game to current versions.
2. Open the game’s graphics menu and find the DLSS or upscaling option. Some games hide it until ray tracing or a specific API is selected.
3. Set the output resolution to your display’s native resolution first, then pick the mode.
4. Look at fine detail while moving: fences, hair, distant text, and fast objects against a dark background.
5. Check frame rate and delay on screen with the game’s counter or a monitoring overlay.
6. If something looks smeared, step the mode up one level rather than dropping to a worse one.
7. Turn on Frame Generation last, only if the base frame rate is steady.

When to stop tuning and change something else

If every mode looks bad, the game’s implementation may be at fault, or your resolution may be too low for upscaling to help. If frame rate does not move at all when you change modes, you are probably CPU-limited. And if the problem is stutter instead of average speed, look at VRAM, storage speed and background apps before touching DLSS again. At that point, a new graphics card or a CPU upgrade is a purchase decision, not a settings problem.

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Frequently asked questions

Does DLSS lower image quality?

It can, depending on the mode and the game. Quality mode renders at a lower internal resolution and reconstructs the rest, and in many games the result looks close to native, though fine details such as thin wires or text can shimmer or smear. Performance and Ultra Performance modes push further and show more artifacts. Try each mode in your own game and judge the screen you actually play on.

Do I need an RTX card to use DLSS?

Yes. DLSS depends on the Tensor cores that NVIDIA builds into RTX graphics cards, so GTX cards and non-NVIDIA GPUs cannot run it. Those cards can use other upscalers a game may offer, such as AMD FSR or Intel XeSS. Which DLSS features work also depends on the RTX generation, since frame generation is limited to newer cards.

Does frame generation reduce input lag?

No. Frame generation inserts extra frames, so the screen shows more motion, but your inputs are still sampled at the real, lower frame rate and the process adds a small delay of its own. That is why it works best when the game already runs at a comfortable base frame rate. For competitive shooters, most players stick to plain upscaling or no DLSS at all.

Should I use DLSS Quality or DLAA?

Pick DLAA if your GPU already hits your target frame rate at native resolution and you want cleaner edges. Pick Quality when you need extra frames. DLAA applies the same AI image reconstruction at full resolution without upscaling, so it costs performance rather than adding it. Not every game offers DLAA, so check the graphics menu.

Is DLSS worth it at 1080p?

Sometimes. With fewer input pixels, the reconstruction has less to work with, so Quality mode at 1080p looks less convincing than at 1440p or 4K. It still helps when ray tracing pushes a game below your target frame rate. If your frame rate is already high, leaving it off keeps the sharpest, lowest-latency picture.