The above gives a decent starting point for how DLSS works, but knowing a bit more can help with tweaking to get the most out of the tech 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 whatever resolution you’ve set as the target. In almost every case, you’ll want to configure the target resolution to match your monitor’s native resolution. So if you own a 1440p monitor, set the output resolution to 1440p. In most games, you do this simply by setting the “display” resolution.
Now comes the more complicated part. DLSS can feel like magic, but ultimately it involves a compromise. The different machine learning models that underpin the tech are trained to interpret motion vectors, as well as depth and brightness information when they upscale an image. Over the years, NVIDIA’s GPUs and models have gotten better at doing that, but at the end of the day, some amount of fidelity is lost any time you upscale an image. How much is lost depends on the DLSS mode you use, which determines the internal render (or starting) resolution your GPU has to upscale from:
Quality: When set to Quality mode, your GPU will render a game at 66.7 percent of your target output resolution. For a 4K monitor, that means you’re starting with a 1440p image. With a 1440p monitor, your starting point is 960p. DLSS Quality offers the best image quality of the different presets, but expect only a moderate increase in frame rate.
Balanced: When set to Balanced mode, your GPU will render a game at 58 percent of your target output resolution. At 4K, that 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 offer a middle ground between image quality and a higher frame rate.
Performance: When set to Performance mode, your GPU will render a game at 50 percent of your target output resolution. That translate to 720p internal resolution when used in conjunction with a 1440p monitor and a 1080p internal resolution when the output is a 4K resolution.
Ultra Performance: When set to Ultra Performance, your GPU will render a game at 33.3 percent of your output resolution. This mode is intended to be used with 8K monitors. Expect a blurry image if used in conjunction with a 1440p or 4K monitor.
As a rule of thumb, if you’re running a 1440p monitor, DLSS Quality is a good starting point for most games. If you’re not happy with your performance or chasing an even higher frame rate, drop down to Balanced mode. Beyond that, the final image can get quite blurry. For 4K monitors, Balanced mode is a good starting, and then bump things down to Performance if you need or want more frames.
