DLSS stands for Deep Learning Super Sampling. It is Nvidia’s AI upscaling technology for GeForce RTX graphics cards, and in most cases you should turn it on. It renders your game at a lower internal resolution, then uses AI on your card’s Tensor Cores to rebuild the picture at your monitor’s resolution. The result is a higher frame rate with near native image quality in Quality mode. It depends on your card, resolution, and what limits your frame rate.
What DLSS actually does
Higher resolutions mean more pixels to shade, light and texture. DLSS cuts that workload by rendering fewer pixels, then reconstructing the full picture with a neural network trained on high resolution footage. It uses motion vectors and previous frames to rebuild edges and detail, so it looks far better than old fashioned upscaling.
DLSS needs an RTX card, because only RTX cards have the Tensor Cores it runs on. GTX cards cannot use DLSS at all, although they can often use AMD’s FSR or Intel’s XeSS instead. The game must also support DLSS; the Nvidia app can force it in some titles, but native support is best.
The four parts of DLSS
Super Resolution
This is the core feature, and every RTX card from the 20 series onward supports it. When a menu just says DLSS, it usually means Super Resolution. Quality, Balanced, Performance and Ultra Performance are different render scales.
Frame Generation
Frame Generation creates new frames between the frames your card renders. DLSS 3 adds one generated frame per real frame. DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation, on RTX 50 series cards, can add up to three. Displayed frame rates rise sharply, but generated frames carry no new game information. That is why Nvidia pairs Frame Generation with Reflex, which cuts system latency.
Ray Reconstruction
Introduced with DLSS 3.5, Ray Reconstruction replaces the traditional denoisers used for ray tracing with an AI model, giving cleaner reflections and lighting with less noise on all RTX cards.
DLAA
Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing uses the same AI model as Super Resolution but renders at full native resolution, so you get DLSS quality anti-aliasing with no frame rate gain. It suits cards that already hit your target frame rate.
Which DLSS version does your graphics card get?
Super Resolution improves for everyone, but Frame Generation is tied to your card’s generation. Check this table before you trust a frame rate claim online.
| Version | Cards | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| DLSS 2 | All RTX, 20 series and newer | AI upscaling, four modes |
| DLSS 3 | RTX 40 for Frame Generation | One generated frame per real frame |
| DLSS 3.5 | All RTX | Ray Reconstruction |
| DLSS 4 | RTX 50 for Multi Frame Generation; newer model for older RTX | Up to three generated frames on RTX 50 |
| DLSS 4.5 | RTX 50 for Dynamic Multi Frame Generation | Adaptive frame rate scaling on RTX 50 |
In short: RTX 20 and 30 cards get Super Resolution and Ray Reconstruction, RTX 40 cards add single Frame Generation, and only RTX 50 cards get Multi Frame Generation.
Which mode should you pick at your resolution?
Your mode sets the internal render resolution, and the right choice changes with your output. At 4K even Performance mode still looks sharp. At 1080p the opposite is true: Performance mode renders at just 960 x 540, and fine text and distant detail can look soft. Start from this table, then move toward Performance only if you need more frames.
| Mode | Scale | At 1080p | At 1440p | At 4K | Start here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | 67 percent | 1280 x 720 | 1707 x 960 | 2560 x 1440 | 1080p and 1440p |
| Balanced | 58 percent | 1114 x 626 | 1485 x 835 | 2227 x 1253 | 1440p fallback |
| Performance | 50 percent | 960 x 540 | 1280 x 720 | 1920 x 1080 | 4K and ray tracing |
| Ultra Performance | 33 percent | 640 x 360 | 853 x 480 | 1280 x 720 | 4K path tracing only |
| DLAA | 100 percent | 1920 x 1080 | 2560 x 1440 | 3840 x 2160 | Already at target |
Pick the highest quality mode that reaches your target frame rate. If Quality already holds 60 frames per second on a 60Hz monitor, Performance gains nothing visible. See our PC graphics settings explained guide and refresh rate guide for the rest of your setup.
Should you use it? A straight decision
Use DLSS when your graphics card is the bottleneck: in demanding games, in ray traced games, and at 1440p or 4K. Use it when you want ray tracing on but cannot afford the frame rate cost at native resolution, or when your monitor’s refresh rate is higher than the frame rate your card reaches without it. In all three cases the gain is real and the quality cost is small.
Think twice in four situations. If your processor is the bottleneck, DLSS will not help much, because the card is already waiting on the processor. Turning DLSS on and seeing no frame rate rise is the classic sign of a processor limit. If you already exceed your monitor’s refresh rate at native resolution, extra frames add nothing visible, so DLAA or native rendering is cleaner. Competitive players at 1080p should test carefully: Frame Generation adds latency that Reflex only partly offsets. And avoid Performance and Ultra Performance at 1080p unless you truly need the frames. Note too that a displayed 240 frames per second built from generated frames feels smoother than 60, but will not respond like a true 240 frames per second render.
How to turn DLSS on
Update to the latest Nvidia Game Ready driver first. Open your game, go to its graphics or display settings, and look for DLSS, Nvidia DLSS or Upscaling. Choose Super Resolution and pick a mode from the table above. Frame Generation usually sits beside DLSS, and turning it on may also turn on Reflex. It also needs Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling switched on in Windows, under Settings, System, Display, Graphics.
Fixing common DLSS problems
Ghosting behind moving objects usually means an older DLSS model or a very aggressive mode. Step up one quality level and update your driver. Blurry text is most common at 1080p in Performance mode, so switch to Quality or DLAA. If DLSS gives no extra frames, check card usage: low usage with a maxed out processor points to a processor bottleneck, not a DLSS failure.
DLSS vs FSR vs XeSS
AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution and Intel’s XeSS do the same basic job: render lower, then upscale with intelligence. DLSS needs an RTX card. FSR runs on almost any graphics card, which makes it the fallback for GTX owners, and XeSS runs best on Intel Arc cards. DLSS usually holds quality best at Performance modes. Our best resolution for gaming guide covers how each resolution changes the value of upscaling.
Frequently asked questions
Does DLSS work on a GTX graphics card?
No. DLSS needs the Tensor Cores found only on RTX cards, from the 20 series onward. GTX owners should use FSR or XeSS where the game supports them.
Does DLSS reduce input lag?
Super Resolution alone usually reduces latency slightly, because each frame renders faster. Frame Generation adds a small amount of latency, which is why Nvidia pairs it with Reflex. With Reflex on and a frame rate above 60, most players will not notice the difference.
Is DLSS better than native resolution?
At Quality mode it is very close to native, and in games with poor built in anti-aliasing it can look better, with less shimmer. It is not better in every case: fine detail at 1080p in Performance mode will look softer than native.
Why is Frame Generation greyed out?
Three causes cover most cases, but first check support: only RTX 40 cards get DLSS 3 Frame Generation, and only RTX 50 cards get Multi Frame Generation. Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling may also be off, or your driver out of date.
Should I use DLSS for VR or competitive games?
For VR, Super Resolution can help hold headset frame rates, but test Frame Generation carefully. For competitive games, Super Resolution in Quality mode is usually safe, while Frame Generation is best left off unless you have tested it.
Conclusion
DLSS is worth using for most RTX owners. Start with Super Resolution in Quality mode, move down the quality ladder only as far as your target frame rate requires, and treat Frame Generation as a separate decision tied to your card’s generation.
About the Author
