You would possibly spend high greenback for fancy new graphics card {hardware}, however one of many key parts to gaming efficiency is definitely software program. Whereas the brute power of the {hardware} will get many of the glory (and is certainly important), the software program aspect is the magic that items it collectively. With out good software program, even the ferocious Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 is lowered to a flowery paperweight—particularly when operating Cyberpunk 2077‘s wonderful new path traced Overdrive mode.
Software program also can considerably enhance the {hardware} efficiency. Enter Nvidia’s DLSS 3.0, or Deep Studying Tremendous Sampling. Together with each AI-powered body era and Nvidia’s wondrous latency-reducing Reflex know-how, DLSS 3.0 makes for a potent recipe.
This isn’t the identical outdated DLSS upsampling you’re used to, nevertheless. We’re going to go over some fundamentals of what DLSS 3.0 is, and its utility to Nvidia’s RTX 40-series GPUs. We’ll let you know the way to make use of this characteristic, and inform you about optimum settings on some widespread supported video games. Let’s get cracking.
Additional studying: The most effective graphics playing cards for PC gaming
How does DLSS 3 work?
DLSS 3 tremendously accelerates gaming body charges utilizing a mix of AI duties operating on devoted tensor cores. It has three parts that make it tick.
Tremendous Decision (a.ok.a. DLSS 2)
Also called tremendous sampling, DLSS 3’s core “upscaler” performance is definitely the DLSS 2 know-how already built-in into numerous video games. DLSS renders sport imagery at a decrease decision than your monitor runs at to extend uncooked gaming body charges, then makes use of AI tensor cores to reconfigure the picture with machine studying in order that it appears to be like sharp in your display screen. This bypasses the efficiency penalty that your larger decision would impose, whereas holding graphics constancy excessive.
Body era
The novel ingredient to DLSS 3 is within the “Optical Multiframe Generation” AI know-how. After analyzing two photos from a sport back-to-back, DLSS 3 makes use of this data to insert an additional AI-created body that doesn’t should be rendered by the sport itself. This result’s in even larger body charges than customary DLSS 2. It may well additionally assist dramatically improve the smoothness in CPU bottlenecked video games.
Nvidia Reflex low latency
The third piece of the puzzle is in Nvidia’s Reflex know-how. Body era just isn’t free. These AI-generated frames aren’t managed by the participant, because the sport isn’t rendering them, so it may truly add latency (learn: cut back responsiveness) in video games. To fight this, Nvidia Reflex helps harmonize the GPU and CPU in order that latency is lowered. It helps to bypass the standard bottlenecks offered by each the GPU and CPU by deeper integration into the sport engine itself. Reflex was created years in the past to enhance efficiency in esports video games to superb impact, however Nvidia now requires it in video games that help DLSS 3.
Talking of…
What do you should run DLSS 3?
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An RTX 40-series graphics card
DLSS 3 is unique to Nvidia’s “Ada Lovelace” RTX 40-series graphics playing cards. It’s obtainable for each desktop and laptop computer choices, however not any RTX 30-series or prior GPUs.
Nvidia says that’s as a result of the brand new Lovelace GPU structure consists of extra highly effective AI tensor cores and, extra critically, a brand new “Optical Flow Accelerator” that gives scene motion data vital to creating these AI frames. Efficiency on RTX 30 or older GPUs wouldn’t present a great expertise, so for now this know-how is restricted to the extra highly effective {hardware}. At the moment, 4 RTX 40-series graphics playing cards can be found that meet these necessities:
DLSS 3 just isn’t supported on rival AMD Radeon or Intel Arc graphics playing cards.
Sure Home windows settings have to be energetic
You’ll additionally have to activate “Hardware Accelerated GPU” in your Home windows show settings.
Sure in-game settings have to be energetic
Solely particular video games instantly help DLSS 3. You’ll should activate “Frame Generation” settings after activating DLSS upscaling. This may also necessitate “Nvidia Reflex” being turned on, and most (however not all) video games will do that by default. You’ll additional have the choice to set Reflex to further “Boost.”
Supported DLSS 3 video games
There are presently over 25 video games which are playable now, with many extra coming. Excessive profile titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Forza Horizon 5 have not too long ago obtained DLSS 3 updates, together with new releases similar to Hogwarts Legacy. Rock Paper Shotgun maintains a useful information to all obtainable and upcoming DLSS 3 video games (they’re after the ray traced and DLSS video games within the checklist).
Hitman 3 menu: DLSS on Balanced, with Body Technology and Reflex set to On.
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What are DLSS 3’s drawbacks?
DLSS 3 is incredible for growing general visible smoothness, however because it develops throughout its early days, it additionally has a couple of potential points to concentrate on.
Latency
Whereas Nvidia Reflex addresses a whole lot of DLSS 3’s latency issues, it’s additionally not the speedy response some customers could count on from esports titles. That’s why DLSS 3 is best suited to single participant video games similar to Cyberpunk 2077, Plague Story Requiem, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and many others. Even with Reflex on, DLSS 3 can play a kind of trick in your thoughts should you’re particularly delicate to how briskly body charges and responsiveness are intertwined, as PCWorld’s Brad Chacos defined throughout his overview of the RTX 4090:
“While the DLSS 3 experience shines, it doesn’t always feel more responsive in your hands. Running Cyberpunk 2077 at 138fps with every possible bell and whistle active thanks to DLSS 3 looks absolutely stunning, full stop. But one of the perks of faster frame rates is increased responsiveness, and while Reflex greatly helps with that, Cyberpunk 2077 running at 138fps doesn’t feel substantially more responsive than running it at the 77fps or so it hits in native 4K. Having twice as many frames looks fantastic but those AI frames aren’t responding to your controls in the actual moment, though it’s close.
This is not a negative. This is not a drawback. It can’t be after running Flight Sim at 120fps, and Cyberpunk 2077 with ultra ray tracing at 138fps (the RTX 3090 tops out at 48fps). But it’s worth highlighting.”
Visible artifacts
Many of the DLSS 3 gaming expertise appears to be like incredible. You received’t discover any visible points or quirks. That stated, there are some video games that showcase some onscreen “artifacts” or abnormalities. UI components also can not be displayed correctly in some titles, all areas which are present process enchancment. The excellent news is that software program updates can treatment these points as players age. The {Hardware} Unboxed deep dive embedded under does an important job of strolling by means of DLSS 3’s visible high quality, together with highlighting potential quirks.
Wants highly effective {hardware}
DLSS 3 reveals a few of its greatest outcomes on already highly effective {hardware}, just like the Nvidia RTX 4080 or 4090. It additionally appears to do higher when it’s boosting an already-okay body charge to the next one, similar to 60 FPS to 120 FPS. Time will inform if upcoming weaker GPUs such because the RTX 4060 will nonetheless have the identical spectacular outcomes, however it needs to be promising.
Settings overload
Console players have it straightforward with out as a lot customization generally! PC video games not solely have dozens of graphics settings, however it additionally has totally different ranges for every one. Add to that DLSS 3, which now has its personal hierarchy of graphic settings to be taught.
Hogwarts: Legacy has a whole lot of settings to tinker with, together with DLSS tiers.
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DLSS 3 settings defined
Dozens extra settings variations have entered the fray – making it complicated for players when selecting your graphics settings. After activating DLSS, Body Technology, and Reflex, you will have a couple of extra decisions to make.
DLSS characteristic choices
- DLSS Auto: This can attempt to preserve the frames as greatest it may to your monitor’s refresh charge
- DLSS High quality: The most effective visible efficiency, with modest or not a lot FPS uplift
- DLSS Balanced: A very good mixture of upper frames and sustaining graphical constancy.
- DLSS Efficiency: You’ll discover considerably much less spectacular visuals, however FPS frames are significantly larger.
- DLSS Extremely-performance: Higher FPS, however worse visuals – sometimes once you actually need to overreach current {hardware} or to hit a particular FPS at the next decision. (8K Avid gamers, you’ll need to be taught this one!)
- DLSS Body Technology: This setting will simply be a easy “On or Off” toggle in your sport settings. Keep in mind, you’ll want Ada Lovelace RTX 40 collection GPUs to work.
Nvidia Reflex and Enhance
These are sometimes discovered close to DLSS choices, however could also be elsewhere in a video menu as nicely (as in Cyberpunk 2077). Nvidia Reflex will typically be turned on robotically in most video games with Body Technology being energetic. That’s not all the time true, nevertheless, and plenty of video games allow you to disable Reflex manually even when operating DLSS 3 Body Gen. (We don’t advocate doing that.) You’ll even have the choice for a “Boost” characteristic in lots of video games. Reflex Enhance overclocks your GPU so it may assist in CPU restricted situations much more.
Much more choices
To make issues a bit extra difficult, some video games even mean you can choose solely Nvidia’s DLAA together with Body Technology and Reflex. Plague Story’s Requiem is one such title. DLAA principally runs DLSS at your native monitor decision for enhanced visible sharpness and readability. When given this selection, it presents the very best attainable graphical setting you possibly can obtain, balanced out by the apparent efficiency price. You possibly can often select DLSS as an alternative if the DLAA efficiency is simply too low.
In most video games, similar to Hogwarts Legacy, DLAA will robotically be grayed out when you choose DLSS.
The most effective DLSS 3 settings
Right here’s how we use DLSS 3 settings in our personal rigs. For essentially the most highly effective {hardware}, such because the RTX 4080 and 4090, DLSS High quality ought to preserve respectable frames in most video games, even at 4K, and doubly so with DLSS Body Technology enabled. In case you want a bit extra pep in efficiency, DLSS Balanced can be the subsequent best step. It’s also possible to all the time simply set DLSS to Auto and see should you’re pleased with the outcomes, as they may fluctuate from game-to-game.
In case you have barely much less highly effective {hardware}, such because the RTX 4070 or some cell RTX 40 GPUs, DLSS Balanced and DLSS Efficiency turn into good settings to ensure you’re hitting good frames, with the nod nonetheless going to DLSS Balanced as most popular. We’d sometimes advocate avoiding DLSS Extremely Efficiency, because it upscales from such a low decision picture that it degrades visible constancy a noticeable quantity.
Some video games are simply extra demanding than others, so that you’ll be capable to decide if modifications are wanted, particularly when including ray tracing.
DLSS 3: Let’s play some video games!
Time to place this idea to apply. We’re going to play some significantly intense video games and see how DLSS 3 can assist. These video games had been examined at 4K, usually with Extremely or comparable max settings, and ray tracing on. The {hardware} is an MSI Titan GT77 laptop computer with a 4090 inside, which has similarities to an RTX 3090 Ti desktop GPU in efficiency.
Take into account that that is at 4K, so folks enjoying at decrease resolutions similar to 1440p or 1080p will all the time see larger FPS typically. Ray tracing additionally considerably lowers body charges when on, so disabling that’s one other approach you possibly can obtain larger numbers. The concept with DLSS 3 is that we are able to have our cake and eat it too! You possibly can expertise ray tracing on Extremely, then flip on DLSS 3 to attain higher efficiency with out compromising on different visible settings.
DLSS 3: Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 has been round for a couple of years now, and not too long ago it obtained DLSS 3 help. This sport is infamous for crushing nearly any GPU when ray tracing is on Extremely so it’s welcomed information.
Ray tracing Extremely, DLSS Off at 4K.
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Let’s go over how a few of the settings have an effect on the general efficiency by actually pushing the system. On the MSI GT77 Titan, ray tracing on Extremely with none DLSS offers us a measly 27 FPS on this portion. That body charge is simply too low to really play, so let’s see how DLSS 3 can assist us with out having to scale back every other graphics settings.
DLSS Set to Balanced, with out Body Technology or Reflex.
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Subsequent, let’s activate DLSS to Balanced, however with out switching on Body Technology or Nvidia Reflex. Our body charge jumps to 61, a a lot better end result. The sport nonetheless appears to be like nice and behaves a lot smoother with this further FPS enhance.
Our subsequent possibility can have us as soon as once more setting DLSS to Balanced, however this time we’re additionally going to activate Body Technology within the menu. Nvidia Reflex, on the adjoining “Video” menu, may also be on. The end result right here is considerably higher—a whopping 87 FPS. Do not forget that we began with simply 27 FPS earlier than turning on any DLSS options.
How does it play with DLSS 3 Body Gen energetic? Fairly nicely, truly. It feels superior in each option to native rendering, or with simply common DLSS on. The sport play is easy, and no manifestly apparent artifacts or points current themselves. (They will nonetheless occur, nevertheless, similar to UI components being a bit quirky at instances.)
The one draw back right here is that you simply’re growing latency, which is considerably by Nvidia Reflex. The latency on this sport is suitable, because it’s principally a single participant sport the place you’re exploring and infrequently participating in sooner scenes.
A sooner paced sport, similar to a web-based multiplayer esports title, just isn’t an excellent match for DLSS 3 attributable to this latency issue. In Cyberpunk 2077, it really works fantastically. It’s also possible to activate Body Technology and Reflex with out DLSS, providing you with FPS of round 47, however right here the better profit appears to be pairing it with DLSS so you possibly can obtain most body charges.
From Brad Chacos’ RTX 4090 overview.
Brad Chacos
In Brad Chacos’ RTX 4090 desktop GPU overview, we are able to see that even this ferocious flagship will get huge assist from DLSS 3. Taking part in it at 4K decision with ray tracing at Extremely pins the sport to 42 FPS, however DLSS efficiency with Body Technology brings it to 138 FPS. These are staggering numbers—with ray tracing nonetheless on!
DLSS 3: Hitman 3
Hitman 3 with out DLSS at 4K, and all settings maxed out to their highest.
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Hitman 3 is a well-liked sport that additionally taxes programs fairly closely. With ray tracing on and DLSS off, this scene gave us solely round 30 FPS at maxed-out 4K settings. This sport is very similar to Cyberpunk 2077, within the sense that it’s a slower paced fashion sport, so DLSS 3 could be a massive assist right here.
Hitman 3: DLSS Balanced solely, no Body Technology or Reflex.
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Switching DLSS on to Balanced, however holding Body Technology Off, wielded 64 FPS. That’s absolutely a big enhance, and makes the sport really feel tremendously extra playable and easy.
DLSS Balanced, with Body Technology and Reflex On.
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Lastly, switching DLSS to Balanced, however turning on each Body Technology and Reflex, give us really spectacular outcomes. We’re now round 91 FPS, an enormous leap from the unique 30 FPS with out DLSS 3. The sport feels a lot smoother, and behaves very nicely. It’s tough to even discover the DLSS course of occurring until you’re pixel-peeping for it.
Like with the opposite video games, latency may also be elevated, and helped with Nvidia Reflex. This title is one which advantages far more from the upper FPS and higher efficiency, and any further latency just isn’t very noticeable. It’s also possible to choose solely Body era and Reflex with out DLSS, providing you with round 50 FPS. We’d nonetheless advocate going all the best way with DLSS High quality or Balanced nevertheless, so that you get the entire mixed DLSS 3 advantages.
DLSS 3: Hogwarts Legacy
Hogwarts legacy: No DLSS, Ray Tracing Extremely 4K.
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Persevering with the pattern of extremely taxing ray traced titles, we arrive at Hogwarts Legacy. With none DLSS, and when set to Nvidia DLAA, this scene in Hogmeade netted us solely 36 FPS at 4K. Ick. Ray tracing and all settings are set to Extremely.
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We see higher outcomes with DLSS set to Balanced, with body charges hitting round 59. The sport feels a lot better already, and even the body charge time appears extra constant. (It’s also possible to activate simply Body Technology with out DLSS, getting round 56 FPS, however your latency may also improve extra that approach, so higher to pair it with DLSS.)
DLSS Balanced, Body Technology and Reflex On.
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DLSS Balanced alongside Body Technology and Reflex give us 82 FPS, an enormous enhance from the 36 FPS we first noticed. The sport performs significantly higher, with far more constant and easy efficiency. With out DLSS 3, we’d should decrease ray tracing or alter different settings to attain higher outcomes, so that is definitely a way more preferable possibility. Reflex stored the sport feeling good and responsive.
DLSS 3: Flight Simulator 2020
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is a notoriously tough sport to max out due to its fantastically expansive open world. It’s a extremely CPU bottlenecked sport, making an ideal pairing with DLSS 3.
From Brad Chacos’ RTX 4090 overview.
Brad Chacos
The outcomes listed below are nothing in need of spectacular. With the desktop RTX 4090 and a Ryzen 9 5900X processor, 4K native hits a playable 65 FPS—a regular end result for this closely CPU-bottlenecked sport. Turning on Body Technology and bypassing that bottleneck brings us to 122 FPS, nearly doubling the visible smoothness by blowing previous the bottleneck with AI frames. Nvidia Reflex helps to maintain the latency in verify, and this can be a sport usually nicely suited to DLSS 3 enhancements.
This title additionally has quite a few detailed UI and in-cabin graphics that should be generated correctly, so it’s an important check of how DLSS 3 can render minute particulars in sharp readability. Whereas it’s not all the time excellent, the enhance in FPS and bypassing CPU bottlenecks are greater than a win right here.
DLSS 3: Remaining ideas
Nvidia’s DLSS 3 combines the good advantages of DLSS, together with Body Technology and Nvidia Reflex. Whereas help continues to be restricted to pick video games and {hardware}, and there are generally niggling artifacting and textual content points, it’s terribly promising. By permitting GPUs to stretch their legs nicely past conventional {hardware} limits, we are able to expertise larger and higher frontiers in video games as builders make the most of the know-how.
Positive, you’re getting some extra latency, however Nvidia Reflex does a great job at holding it beneath management. Usually, it makes DLSS 3 video games even extra responsive than operating at native decision. Whilst you’re not prone to need to play Counter-Strike or the like with it on, DLSS 3 is a large enhance to video games similar to Cyberpunk 2077.
With every thing operating nicely, DLSS 3 seems like black magic. Video games shouldn’t run this good or look this easy. In case your PC helps it, we extremely advocate checking it out.
