Having the latest graphics card from NVIDIA RTX means not only acquiring the most powerful hardware on the market, but also taking advantage of the best software services available to customize your gaming experience as best as possible. One of these advanced technologies is DLSS (or Deep Learning Super Sampling), which It uses the latest technology of artificial intelligence at Nvidia and trains it on supercomputers by exposing it to tens of thousands of high-quality images. Then the Tensor cores in the graphics cards do their part to raise the image resolution and get a result that matches the original display resolution while improving performance at the same time. What is DLSS in detail and how does it work its magic, and what benefit does it bring to players? This will be explained.
What is DLSS technology?
DLSS is a graphics technology available only with GeForce RTX graphics cards, which increases frame rates in games while delivering smooth and beautiful graphics at the same time. This allows gamers to get the required performance even with increased graphical settings and high-resolution gameplay. The technology generates frames with a true resolution lower than the original and then uses deep learning and artificial intelligence to increase the quality of the image so that it looks sharp and beautiful at the original resolution while obtaining an increase in performance.
For example, with DLSS it is possible to run a game in 4K resolution by generating frames in true 1080p resolution and upscaling them to 4K, with a performance increase that can reach 200-300% in some cases. In sum, these are the improvements that DLSS offers:
- Better image quality: DLSS technology delivers image quality comparable to the original resolution even with a quarter or half the number of pixels generated by temporal feedback techniques for sharper, clearer images and more stable frame-to-frame performance.
- Wide range of all GeForce RTX cards and enabled display resolutions: The AI network uses Tensor cores to optimize frame rates while retaining the flexibility needed to be able to apply these improvements to a wide range of graphics cards, resolutions, and settings.
- One network for all games: The technology trains on high-quality images that are not necessarily related to games to identify certain patterns of high-quality images, this network is general and unified, which means that it can be launched for any game, and thus obtaining a greater number of games that support DLSS technology.
- Customizable options: DLSS technology provides four different settings: Quality, Balanced, Performance, and Ultra Performance. These settings control the accuracy of the internal display on which the final image will be based. This means more options for the user and the ability to increase performance further if needed.
DLSS 2.0 is an upgraded version of the first DLSS that uses a new deep learning network, and is capable of delivering twice as much performance as the original version thanks to AI improvements in GeForce RTX GPUs. DLSS 2.0 also offers better image quality than the first version. Using DLSS 2.0 with Performance mode enabled, GeForce RTX graphics cards can run games at the highest settings while maintaining a high frame rate.
It’s hard to tell the difference between a real 4K game and a 1080p upscaled 4K game using DLSS 2.0, and it’s almost impossible to tell the difference between a real 4K game and a Quality mode that uses upscaled 1440p. to 4k.
Also, there is a DLSS 2.1 version of the technology that supports Ultra High Resolution with 9x upscaling (making 8K gaming possible for the first time), as well as support for virtual reality and dynamic resolution.
What are the benefits of DLSS games?
DLSS is now supported in a large number of games. In order to use the feature, you must use a graphics card with RTX graphics features from Nvidia in addition to downloading the latest drivers. Modern game engines support the technology, including Unreal Engine 5, Unity 2021, Frostbite from Dice, Id Tech 5, Rage from Rockstar, DECIMA from Guerrilla Games, DAGOR and Red Engine in addition to AnvilNext from Ubisoft Luminous Engine, Disrupt Engine and Infinity Ward. Linux games that use the Vulkan library also support DLSS, thanks to the Linux definition adding support for these games using Proton.
List of games that support the engine and the expected performance improvement:
- Amid Evil: up to 75% faster
- Anthem: up to 40% faster
- Battlefield V: up to 40% faster
- Bright Memory: faster up to 85%
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War: up to 80% faster
- Call of Duty: Warzone: faster up to 70%
- Control: up to 50% faster
- CRSED: F.O.A.D.: up to 40% faster
- Cyberpunk 2077: up to 60% faster
- Death Stranding: up to 90% faster
- Deliver Us the Moon: up to 80% faster
- Doom Eternal: faster up to 65%
- Edge of Eternity: up to 100% faster
- Enlisted: up to 55% faster
- F1 2020: up to 50% faster
- F1 2021: faster up to 65%
- Final Fantasy XV: up to 25% faster
- Fortnite: up to 200% faster
- Ghostrunner: up to 80% faster
- Gu Jian Qi Tan Online: up to 35% faster
- Iron Conflict: up to 100% faster
- Justice: up to 90% faster
- Marvel’s Avengers: up to 80% faster
- MechWarrior 5 – Mercenaries: up to 75% faster
- The Medium: up to 100% faster
- Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition: up to 100% faster
- Minecraft with RTX: up to 100% faster
- Monster Hunter World: up to 50% faster
- Moonlight Blade: up to 100% faster
- Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord: up to 50% faster
- Nioh 2: faster up to 58%
- Outriders: faster up to 72%
- Pumpkin Jack: up to 100% faster
- Ready or Not Alpha: up to 100% faster
- Red Dead Redemption 2: up to 45% faster
- Rust: up to 50% faster
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider: up to 50% faster
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege: up to 50% faster
- War Thunder: up to 50% faster
- Watch Dogs: Legion: up to 60% faster
A look at the performance of DLSS technology in some games
Let’s highlight the performance of DLSS technology in some games:
Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2 by Rockstar is one of the games that has DLSS support, making GeForce RTX graphics cards the most capable of running this game with the best performance possible on PC.
In order to activate DLSS technology in the game, you have to open the main menu and select Settings, then Graphics, then check the Nvidia DLSS option and choose the appropriate setting for you.
Minecraft
Minecraft is one of the best games that have implemented DLSS technology which makes the possibility of enabling ray tracing an option with a smooth gaming experience even in high resolution, the optimization percentage exceeds 100% which is really amazing.
In order to activate the technique in Minecraft, you must open the Settings menu, then select Advanced Video, and then activate the Upscaling option (which indicates that DLSS is enabled).
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberbank 2077 is one of the most technically advanced games in terms of graphics, in 4K resolution Cyberbank 2077 works better with ray tracing at Ultra settings and DLSS enabled than with ray tracing at Ultra settings without using DLSS.
In order to activate the technology in the game, you must open the Settings menu, then choose Graphics, and then access the DLSS option and choose the appropriate setting.
Fortnite
When the game Fortnite from Epic got the advantages of GeForce RTX graphics, it had a very big jump in performance with DLSS technology, which is one of the most effective games that launched the technology.
In order to activate the technology in this game, you must update Windows 10 and profiles, open the Settings menu, then choose DirectX 12, and you will find the option to activate DLSS in the Advanced Settings menu at the bottom. You can enable ray tracing as well, and customize the settings associated with it.
Control
Control by Remedy is one of the games that supported GeForce RTX graphics early on, and with ray tracing support, DLSS technology provides a necessary leap in performance while maintaining image quality.
In order to activate DLSS in Control, you must first choose Options from the menu, then Display, then Nvidia DLSS where the actual display resolution you want to upload (eg 1440p or 1080p) is specified.
With this technology, Nvidia changed the rules of the game and succeeded in achieving the difficult equation; Increased performance without sacrificing image quality, and with the easier launch of the second version of the technology, it’s only a matter of time before DLSS reaches more games. Artificial intelligence is paving the way for an exciting future for the gaming world.