What is NVIDIA DLSS and how does it work?

The above gives a good starting point on how DLSS works, but knowing a little more can help you tweak to get the most out of the technology and your GPU. As mentioned already, with DLSS enabled, your GPU will first render a game at a lower resolution before upscaling the image it produces to the resolution you set as a target. In almost all cases, you will want to configure the target resolution to match your monitor’s native resolution. So if you have a 1440p monitor, set the output resolution to 1440p. In most games, you do this simply by setting the “display” resolution.

Now comes the most complicated part. DLSS may seem like magic, but ultimately it involves a tradeoff. The various machine learning models that underpin the technology are trained to interpret motion vectors, as well as depth and brightness information when scaling an image. Over the years, GPUs and NVIDIA models have improved in this area, but ultimately a certain amount of fidelity is lost every time you upgrade an image. How much is lost depends on the DLSS mode you’re using, which determines the internal (or starting) rendering resolution your GPU should upgrade from:

Quality: When set to Quality mode, your GPU will render a game at 66.7% of your target output resolution. For a 4K monitor, this means you start with a 1440p image. With a 1440p monitor, your starting point is 960p. DLSS offers the best image quality of the different presets, but only expect a moderate increase in frame rate.

Balance: When set to Balanced mode, your GPU will render a game at 58% of your target output resolution. In 4K, this means a starting point of 1253p. At 1440p, meanwhile, you’re upscaling from an 835p image. As the name suggests, Balanced mode is intended to provide a happy medium between image quality and a higher frame rate.

Performance: When set to Performance mode, your GPU will render a game at 50% of your target output resolution. This results in an internal resolution of 720p when used in conjunction with a 1440p monitor and an internal resolution of 1080p when the output is 4K resolution.

Ultra-performance: When set to Ultra Performance, your GPU will render a game at 33.3% of your output resolution. This mode is intended for use with 8K monitors. Expect a blurry image if used with a 1440p or 4K monitor.

Generally, if you’re using a 1440p monitor, DLSS quality is a good starting point for most games. If you’re unhappy with your performance or want an even higher frame rate, switch to Balanced mode. Beyond that, the final image can become quite blurry. For 4K monitors, Balanced mode is a good start, then upgrade to Performance if you need or want more frames.