Noob question regarding DLSS.
Posted by Kenye_Kratz@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 19 comments
My understanding of DLSS is that it "upscales" an image from something like 1080p so that it resembles something closer to 4k.
When reading minimum system requirements or the capabilities of a graphics card, is DLSS factored in? For example, if I were looking at an RTX 3070 and the description says its ideal for 1440p, does that mean native 1440p or "upscaled" 1440p? Or can I just settle for 1080p and rely on DLSS to make the image look cleaner and closer to 4k?
Apologies if I haven't framed the question correctly, complete novice here.
webjunk1e@reddit
It generally describes the performance characteristics of the GPU at native, i.e. a "1440p card" is one that can do native 1440p generally in games. There may be games where it can only handle 1080p or games where it can render native 4K. It also doesn't account for crazy settings. Like, obviously, if you enable path tracing, 1440p native isn't happening.
TBH, is really kind of meaningless, especially in this day and age. It held more meaning in the past before upscaling was a thing and games didn't quite scale as wide as they do now, anywhere from low to higher than ultra with path tracing. You're always going to be doing a balancing act with settings, resolution, and frame rate, per game, to get the exact experience you want, regardless of the capabilities of the card. Even something like a 5090 still has to make the occasional compromise, it's just less than other models.
Kenye_Kratz@reddit (OP)
Ok thanks.
If I could frame the question in another way, what kind of build would give me a similar image quality to PS5 pro (which I think is either 1080p or 720p upscaled via AI to 4k) at a minimum of 60fps?
webjunk1e@reddit
A PS5 Pro is roughly equivalent to a 3060 Ti/3070.
secretagentstv@reddit
It depends on the game. The 5070 is a great 1440p GPU but, the 9070 XT is better and they are close in price.
Using DLSS isn't a replacement for rasterization performance, 1440p is the best value in gaming performance and longevity. Even the 9060 XT/5060 Ti do well in 1440p. 4k is bleeding edge/high end hardware and requires more frequent GPU upgrades.
Kenye_Kratz@reddit (OP)
Ok thanks. I'm not fussed about native or not, does 1080p with DLSS turned on give me an image of a similar quality to the PS5 pro?
secretagentstv@reddit
Games on PS5 have graphics settings adjusted by the developer. On a PC, you have more control over those setting and can adjust to your preference. You also have the option to mod games, and that is a rabbit hole.
DLSS is just upscaling, the performance you get and visual quality depends more on your hardware. You should be more concerned with the hardware.
Commercial_Soft6833@reddit
I have a 5070 and I only play battlefield 6 so take this with a grain of salt (bf6 is well optimized)
It is paired to a 9800x3d and 32gb ram...I play in 4k on a 32" oled and it handles it very well.
However most settings are turned down to medium, and DLSS setting is performance (instead of quality)
With the extra pixels you don't notice the lower quality settings like you would on 1080p... it looks great and runs great. I can't speak on any other games.
No_Spare1827@reddit
well u sort of got it, while the ratio depends on your specific settings it will for example take a 4k scene and render it at say up to 70% of 4k then uses "AI" not the scary generative AI but more machine learning to add detail and sharpen the image to simulate a 4k image.
And no DLSS isn't in game requirements or at least I hope it isn't or we are all F-ed, As for the marketing of a 1440p card it really depends not sure what games u play but Valorant at 1440p is very different than say Expedition 33 at 1440p, so the answer can vary but in general yes the 5070 is a great card for 1440p gaming as for how much juice it has in the tank being limited by the 12gbs of VRAM who know but I doubt its going to be obsolete any time soon.
DLSS is a really useful tool to have that can improve framerates and sometimes makes the game look even better than it did at native thanks to the latest transformer models, allowing for sharp visuals usually at the cost of very minor details. And as much as Frame Gen gets hate I actually like it as it can really help in those heavy AAA titles that want all u got to run
lmk if this helps
beattraxx@reddit
So im currently using a 4090 and have a 32" 4k monitor
Should I set the game to 1440p and use DLSS quality to get to 4k again? Haven't really read much about DLSS since most games run pretty fine on native resolution but Crimson Desert for example is on the lower side of fps (probably due to Denuvo)
No_Spare1827@reddit
No, just make sure ur resolutions is at 4k in windows and in game then enable DLSS it does all of that for u, now I usually will use the quality setting to gem me more FPS while keeping great visuals but balanced also works well but once u start getting into performance and ultra performance is when u will start to notice the loss of visual quality but u will get a fair amount more FPS.
So no just keep the resolution at 4k and enable DLSS everything is automatic
Kenye_Kratz@reddit (OP)
That's a really helpful explanation thanks.
DWolvin@reddit
Generally they will say if they expect dlss to be used in the minimum specs, if it's not spelled out it's not being used.
Kenye_Kratz@reddit (OP)
Ok thanks. And when a modern GPU is described as being "ideal for 1080p", I can assume that with DLSS the image will actually look sharper than 1080p?
I'm coming from a PS5 pro, where as far as I understand many games were outputting at 1080p but being upscaled to 4k via PSSR. If I was happy with the image on the pro, will I get something similar with a GPU that has DLSS that can comfortably output games at 1080p?
DWolvin@reddit
Not necessarily sharper, but the speedup by calculating fewer pixels will allow you to turn on more eye candy, or just get higher framerates.
Kenye_Kratz@reddit (OP)
Got it thanks.
richard987d@reddit
my 3090 with 24gb vram is doing well in a lot of new games
Choconolait@reddit
If the game is well optimized and devs are confident about it, they will specify that kind of informations on the requirement. If the game isn't, they tend to write it as obscure as possible and will simply opt out which resolution and fps they were targetting.
ComprehensiveOil6890@reddit
Currently using a 5070, it is a native 1440p card. To upscale to 4k dlss used 720p
cha0ss0ldier@reddit
The resolution to upscale to 4k using dlss depends on thr setting you have it'll at. DLSS 4k "Quality" upscale from 1440p for example