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Glossary:High-fidelity upscaling

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Comparison of all 3 main upscalers in Hitman 3.
Comparison of all 3 main upscalers in Hitman 3.

Graphics and video

Resolutions

Video settings

Hardware

For a list of games, see games with high-fidelity upscaling.

Resolution plays a crucial role in a game’s visual fidelity and computational performance. Striking a balance between optimal performance and visual clarity is essential, especially when dealing with weak hardware or demanding graphics settings. One common issue is that non-native resolutions can often appear subpar due to scaling to the native screen resolution. Historically, most games relied on relatively low-fidelity scaling methods, such as Bilinear or Nearest Neighbor filtering, which often resulted in less-than-ideal visual quality.

With the rise of newer graphical features such as ray tracing, reduced performance limited their adoption and appeal, so developers started to devise ways to offload the load while maintaining a decent level of visual fidelity and thus lead to the creation of higher fidelity upscaling methods which utilized specialized algorithms and instructions either done through machine-learning or hand-made to better scale non-native resolution.

Resolution Scale Values
Preset Input Resolution (Output: 1080p) Input Resolution (Output: 1440p) Input Resolution (Output: 4K)
Ultra Quality (1.3x) 1476 x 830 1969 x 1107 2953 x 1661
Quality (1.5x) 1280 x 720 1706 x 960 2560 x 1440
Balanced (1.7x) 1129 x 635 1506 x 847 2259 x 1271
Performance (2.0x) 960 x 540 1280 x 720 1920 x 1080
Ultra Performance (3.0x) 640 x 360 853 x 480 1280 x 720

Here's a table of resolution scaling values and each preset for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Do note that these values do not apply to XeSS 1.3+ as its resolution scaling numbers have been adjusted lower.

Nvidia

Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS)

Deep Learning Super Sampling is a set of image upscaling algorithms developed by Nvidia for real-time use in video games, using deep learning algorithms to upscale non-native resolution to native resolution that is accelerated through specialized hardware only present in NVIDIA's RTX series of GPUs.[1]

DLSS was first announced with the release of the Nvidia RTX 20 series in September 2018 and the first titles featuring it released between then and March 2019. Needing per-game training and only being featured in a handful of games with generally subpar results made DLSS at the time rather disappointing and not recommended. An improved version of DLSS, unofficially labeled as 1.9, was shipped with the game Control in August 2019, providing better image quality than 1.0, but only at certain qualities and resolutions such as 4K.[2]

DLSS 2.0 was released in March 2020 providing much better picture quality, performance and adjustable quality options over previous versions, and since it didn't need per-game training it was implemented into many more games and is now generally recommended on a supported GPU.[3]

DLSS 2.1 was released in September 2020 providing support for VR [Note 1], and introducing the Ultra performance quality option, generally meant for computationally intensive scenarious such as 8K gaming.[4] Later versions of DLSS wouldn't introduce new features, mostly improving upscaling quality and fixing issues with ghosting on fast moving objects, and these versions can be used on older DLSS 2.0 implementations through replacing a single .DLL file. As of 2026, the latest DLSS release is 310.5.1 (4.5).

At CES 2025, Nvidia announced an improvement to the DLSS upscaling model called "DLSS 4" which is backwards compatible with all RTX GPUs and all DLSS 2 implementations, alongside a new feature added to the Nvidia App to override the version of DLSS used in games to the latest release.[5] It was added with driver version 572.16.

At CES 2026, Nvidia announced DLSS 4.5, another improvement to the DLSS upscaling model backwards compatible with all RTX GPUs,[6] but performance is noticeably lower on older GPUs making it generally not worthwhile to upgrade from DLSS 4.[7]

Nvidia Image Scaling (NIS)

Nvidia Image Scaling is an image scaling technique that uses directional scaling in four directions along with an adaptive sharpening filter, basically a spatial upscaler similar to what FidelityFX Super Resolution 1.0 does. There are two versions of NIS: a driver-level version that can be applied system-wide, and an SDK that can be used by developers to implement functionality on a per-program basis.

NIS was actually a part of the Nvidia Driver features since 2019 and the SDK was released for developers in November 2021. NIS didn't get much notoriety since it has only been implemented in a handful of games and its driver implementation is a bit confusing to use, although it can be used on any Nvidia GPU from Maxwell (GTX 745) and up unlike Radeon Super Resolution.[8]

AMD

FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR)

FidelityFX Super Resolution is a set of open-source image upscaling algorithms developed by AMD for real-time use in video games, using traditional hand-written algorithms to upscale lower-resolution images to a higher resolution. It does not involve the use of machine learning, unlike DLSS and XeSS, and runs on traditional shading units, thus negating the need for specialized hardware to function and can work on different vendors of GPUs. AMD billed this as a solution to extend the useful life of older GPUs especially during the early 2020s chip shortage where graphics card prices were at a premium.

FSR 1.0 was released in June 2021 with a handful of games supporting it and, although overshadowed by temporal-based solutions, it generally provides a sharp image compared to the standard bilinear upscaling most games used. An advantage of FSR 1.0 is its ease of implementation, not requiring motion vectors like temporal upscalers do. Do note though that FSR's standardized presets are not enforced, so some titles such as Dota 2 offer resolution sliders instead. [9] The driver level implementation of FSR 1.0 is known as Radeon Super Resolution.

FSR 2.0 is a new version that changes the upscaler to a temporal one similar to DLSS and XeSS and was touted to have significantly better picture quality than FSR 1.0 at all modes while still not using machine learning algorithms, being open source and being supported on a wide range of hardware. Announced on March 17, 2022, alongside Radeon Super Resolution and Adrenalin 22.3.1 and released on May 12, 2022, with the first title supporting it being Deathloop.[10] and the source code being published on June 22, 2022.[11] Reception for FSR 2.0 was positive as it has much improved picture quality compared to FSR 1.0 and can come close to DLSS 2.x's while still providing a similar performance uplift and working on non-RTX GPUs, even though it falls short at some fine detail or moving objects when compared to DLSS or native image.[12]

First major improvement to FSR 2.0, dubbed FSR 2.1, released on September 8, 2022, promising significant improvements in overall image quality and reducing ghosting and shimmering artifacts present, as highlighted in Farming Simulator 22, being the first game to support this new iteration.[13]

FSR 2.2 and FSR 3 were revealed during AMD's RDNA 3 announcement. FSR 2.2 is a minor update and is said to improve ghosting issues in cases where fast on-screen motion occurs. It was first released in Forza Horizon 5 on November 8, 2022, and later in Need for Speed Unbound on December 2, 2022. FSR 2.2's source code was released on February 16, 2023.[14]

FSR 3.1 was announced on March 20, 2024, promising improved upscale image quality, de-coupling the frame generation from the scaling, an API for easier debugging, and Vulkan and Xbox Dev Kit support with a code release date of Q2 2024 and games adding support throughout 2024.[15] It was first released on 27 June 2024 with the implementation in several games ported by Nixxes Software, including Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, Horizon Forbidden West, Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut, Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, adding Frame Generation and Native AA options for those games. Source code will be released on GPUOpen in July 2024.[16]FSR 3.1's source code was released on 9 July 2024 for DirectX12, Vulkan, and as an Unreal Engine 5 plugin.[17]

FSR 4 was announced as an update to both the upscaling and frame generation components promising better performance and quality through the use of specialized hardware present in RDNA 4 graphics card, with the possibility of being added to RDNA 3 based hardware.[18]

FSR 4 was made available alongside the launch of the Radeon RX 9070 series on March 6th, 2025 as a driver override for whitelisted FSR 3.1 titles, proivding substantially improved image quality in comparison to FSR 3.1 at the expense of offering less performance.[19][20]

FSR 4's SDK was released on August 20, 2025, initially accidentally including the open source code but then it was removed and re-released as static files as the file structure has changed with the use of multiple DLL files for each feature.[21]

FSR Redstone is an upcoming update planned to improve the existing FSR Upscaler and Frame Generation solutions and introducing new features to improve Ray Tracing visual quality.[22]

Radeon Super Resolution (RSR)

Radeon's equivalent of Nvidia's Image Scaling, a driver-level implementation of FSR 1.0 added in Adrenalin 22.3.1, only usable on Radeon RX 5000 GPUs and above and require games with exclusive full-screen mode initially.[23]

In Adrenalin 22.7.1, RSR received enhanced support for borderless full-screen applications.[24]

Intel

Xe Super Sampling (XeSS)

XeSS is an image upscaling technology developed by Intel which combines the best of both DLSS and FSR into one package - it utilises a deep learning algorithm, while also being cross-platform and vendor-agnostic. It upscales non-native resolution utilising one of the available instructions in the order of best performance and visual quality: XMX (Xe Matrix Extensions) available exclusively on Intel's own ARC GPUs, DP4a which is available on Nvidia's GTX 10 Series and newer and AMD's RX 6000 Series and Newer and Intel's Tigerlake Xe Graphics and newer, and if neither are available a model that runs on Shader Model 6.4 supported gpus is used.[25]

The first XeSS 1.0 game released was The DioField Chronicle on September 22, 2022, followed by Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Death Stranding: Director's Cut. Visual Quality is close to DLSS 2.x, but lacking in certain areas like transparencies and it can produce unwanted moiré patterns. Performance improvement is mixed, where weaker DP4a GPUs, like the GTX 1060, and Shader Model 6.4 supported GPUs, like AMD's pre-RDNA2 line-up, don't see a benefit at all, meanwhile higher-end GPUs see performance similar to that of enabling DLSS, albeit a little lower.[26][27]

XeSS 1.1 was revealed on March 23, 2023, and released the following day, promising improved image quality and performance for XMX and DP4A models. XeSS uses DLL files and thus game implementations could be independantly updated by users, although results may be worse in performance.[28]

XeSS 1.2 was released alongside Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart on July 26, 2023, and its files released on August 16, 2023. This version comes with dynamic resolution scaling support, performance improvements, and consolidating the files to only the libxess.dll file, negating the need for XeFXLoader and others while still maintaining backwards compatibility with older versions.[29]

XeSS 1.3 was released on April 4, 2024, using an improved AI model which improves image quality, adding 3 more presets (Native AA, Ultra Quality Plus, and Ultra Performance), alongside an overall adjustment to the resolution scaling values across the board.[30]

XeSS 2.0 was announced on December 3, 2024, alongside Intel's Battlemage GPUs, introducing support for DX11 and Vulkan and integrating Frame Generation and Latency Reduction.[31]

Misc.

Temporal Anti-Aliasing Upsample (TAAU)

Released alongside Unreal Engine 4.19, TAAU is an upscaling technique that combines TAA and spatial upscaling into one pass. This allows the technique to converge to sharper images than if the spatial upscaling was performed as a later separate pass. However, it is important to note that there are other developers using similar techniques, but with slight variations in the implementation. Unreal Engine's TAAU implementation has been superseded by TSR.[32]

Temporal Super Resolution (TSR)

TSR is a temporal upscaler made as a successor to TAAU. It was made by Epic Games for their new Unreal Engine 5, but has also been backported to Unreal Engine 4.26. The quality of the image is said by Digital Foundry to be better then FSR 1 but not as good as DLSS 2.x.[33]

MetalFX (MTLFX)

MetalFX (MTLFX) is an upscaling framework developed by Apple that integrates with their Metal graphics API and provides the ability to upscale a low-resolution image to a higher output resolution. The framework supports two different modes: a spatial upscaling mode akin to FSR 1.0, as well as a temporal anti-aliased upscaling mode similar to FSR 2.0. The framework requires a Mac with the M1 chip or an Intel-based Mac running macOS 13 or later.[34]

Game Support

For a list of games, see games with high-fidelity upscaling.

Force upscaling in unsupported games

There are various methods to add upscaling to unsupported games, some are universal whereas others are engine specific.

Universal methods

Magpie

A free and open-source program which allows scaling any windowed application to act as if it is fullscreen borderless, has options for various scaling algorithms including FSR 1 and NIS, and has various settings for sharpness, can incur a performance impact on the CPU.

Upscale using Magpie
  1. Open Magpie.
  2. Switch to a windowed application/game.
  3. Press ⊞ Win+⇧ Shift+A.

Driver Scaling

NIS and FSR 1 are available for use from the driver suite of Nvidia GPUs starting from Maxwell (GTX 700) and newer, and AMD GPUs starting from RDNA 1 (RX 5000) and newer, although do note while NIS is both available in Nvidia's Control Panel and Geforce Experience, both do not have to be enabled and may conflict with one another.

Upscale using Nvidia Control Panel
  1. Open Nvidia Control Panel.
  2. Navigate to Manage 3D settings > Global Settings.
  3. Set Image Scaling to On and set preferred sharpness value.
  4. Select a lower resolution in whatever game being played.
Once enabled, 85%, 77%, 67%, 59% and 50% of the monitor's resolution will be available as selectable options.
Sharpness Could be tweaked further in-game using the Nvidia overlay.
Upscale using Radeon Software
  1. Open AMD Radeon Software.
  2. Navigate to Gaming > Global Graphics.
  3. Toggle Radeon Super Resolution On.
  4. Select a lower resolution in whatever game being played.
The setting can also be accessed in game through the Radeon Overlay Alt+R.

Unreal Engine 4 and 5 Games

Forcing TAAU or TSR

Unreal Engine 4 comes with TAAU and TSR in version 4.19 and 4.26 respectively, but not all UE4 games do make use of these upscalers and go unused, nevertheless either upscaler can be forced on by following the commands outlined here, although do note not all games will scale properly and visuals may bug out.

Unreal Engine 5 has had TSR since 5.0 and can be forced using the commands outlined here.

Luma Framework

Luma Framework is a mod that replaces the default UE4/5 TAA implementation with DLSS and FSR, current supported games are available here

RE Engine Games

Many RE Engine games come either with no upscaling or only FSR 1, using this mod adds DLSS, XeSS, and FSR 2+ into these games, can be used combination with Optiscaler for extra customization.

Mod DLSS/XeSS/FSR2 into RE Engine Games
  1. Download the pd-upscaler branch of REFramework and version 1.1.2 of the Upscaler Base Plugin
  2. Extract REFramework files to the game folder
  3. Create a plugins folder inside reframework folder
  4. Transfer PDPerfPlugin.dll and all of the Optiscaler files to reframework/plugins folder
  5. Rename OptiScaler.dll to version.dll
  6. Boot the game, press Insert to open REFramework overlay
The overlay shortcuts for REFramework and Optiscaler conflict so one of them must be changed.
The Optiscaler overlay only works when TemporalUpscaler is disabled, so change settings in Optiscaler when TemporalUpscaler is disabled then enable it to apply the changes.

Converting Upscalers Through Optiscaler

Many games may include only one or two upscaling options limiting the choice of what can be used depending on hardware and preference, but thanks to modding efforts conversion of upscaler inputs to others such as DLSS to XeSS/FSR (and DLSS Frame Gen to FSR Frame Gen) is possible with relative ease, although do note that Optiscaler is highly experimental and compatibility may vary by game and engine and shouldn't be used in games with Anti-Cheat.

Convert Upscaler Inputs

It is suggested to download the latest Nightly/Pre-Release version if possible, as new features are constantly being integrated.

  1. Download Optiscaler.
  2. Drop Optiscaler's files in <path-to-game>.
  3. Open Optiscaler Setup.bat and follow the steps (Try the other files if DXGI.dll didn't work).
  4. Start the game and select DLSS/XeSS/FSR.
Default upscaler for DX12 games is XeSS, and on some older AMD GPUs like GCN 4 it might give worse performance than native resolution - consider changing it to "fsr22" ("fsr31" might give a bit worse performance, and FG won't work correctly on those GPUs) in Optiscaler.ini[Note 2]
The settings could be adjusted through Optiscaler.ini or the in-game menu by pressing Insert (The keybinding could be changed in the ini file).
If the game has multiple executables to the game, such as Unreal Engine games, then install the files next to the root executable.
Selecting XeSS as the input in Unreal Engine games is discouraged as it provides less information than other upscalers leading to worse quality.
If further help is needed, there is a community server linked in both of the repositories.

Comparisons

  • A comparison between DLSS 1 at 4K and 1800p upscaled with TAA in Battlefield V.

  • A comparison between DLSS 1.9 at 4K and native 4K in Control.

  • A comparison between DLSS 2 Quality mode at 4K and native 4K in Wolfenstein: Youngblood

  • A comparison between FSR 1 Ultra Quality and Quality modes at 4K and native 4K in Anno 1800.

  • A comparison between FSR 2 Quality modes at 4K and native 4K in Deathloop.

  • A comparison between DLSS 2 Quality, FSR 2 Quality, and XeSS XMX Quality in Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered.

Notes

  1. ↑ Although very few VR games have implemented it compared to flatscreen games, and it's usually implemented way after release.
  2. ↑ Tested in Control and RX 400/500 series on Radeon.ID's 25.3.1

References

  1. ↑ NVIDIA DLSS: Your Questions, Answered - last accessed on 2019-02-16
  2. ↑ Nvidia DLSS in 2020: Stunning Results - last accessed on 2023-02-20
  3. ↑ NVIDIA DLSS 2.0: A Big Leap In AI Rendering - last accessed on 2020-03-27
  4. ↑ Nvidia: DLSS 2.1 Will Bring the 8K Era to PC - last accessed on 2024-12-04
  5. ↑ NVIDIA DLSS 4 Introduces Multi Frame Generation & Enhancements For All DLSS Technologies - last accessed on 2025-01-21
  6. ↑ NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 Delivers Major Upgrade With 2nd Gen Transformer Model For Super Resolution & 6X Dynamic Multi Frame Generation - last accessed on 2026-01-15
  7. ↑ DLSS 4.5 vs DLSS 4 Performance, There's Good News & Bad News - last accessed on 2026-01-15
  8. ↑ What is Nvidia Image Scaling? How to use the upscaling feature - last accessed on 2021-11-16
  9. ↑ Valve's Dota 2 Adds AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution - last accessed on 2021-06-24
  10. ↑ Announcing and First Look at AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 - last accessed on 2022-03-17
  11. ↑ FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0.1 (FSR 2.0) - last accessed on 2022-06-22
  12. ↑ God of War PC: AMD FSR 2.0 vs Nvidia DLSS Image/ Motion Quality Face-Off - last accessed on 2022-06-24
  13. ↑ It’s time to upscale FSR 2 even further: Meet FSR 2.1! - last accessed on 2022-09-09
  14. ↑ AMD FSR 2.2 Now Available on GPUOpen and FSR Supported in 250 Available and Upcoming Games - last accessed on 2023-02-18
  15. ↑ AMD FSR 3.1 Announced at GDC 2024, FSR 3 Available and Upcoming in 40 Games - last accessed on 2024-03-21
  16. ↑ AMD FSR 3.1 Now Available, FSR 3 Available and Upcoming in 60 Games - last accessed on 2024-06-27
  17. ↑ AMD FidelityFX™ Super Resolution 3.1 released as part of FidelityFX SDK 1.1 - last accessed on 2024-07-09
  18. ↑ AMD announces FSR4, available “only on Radeon RX 9070 series” - last accessed on 2025-01-21
  19. ↑ AMD Radeon RX 9070 Series Technical Deep Dive - last accessed on 2025-03-12
  20. ↑ FSR 4 is very impressive at 1440p - last accessed on 2025-03-12
  21. ↑ AMD releases FidelityFX SDK 2.0, FSR4 ‘briefly’ goes open source - last accessed on 2025-08-22
  22. ↑ Get ready for FSR Redstone with AMD FSR 3.1.4 and our new UE 5.6 plugin - last accessed on 2025-08-22
  23. ↑ AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 22.3.1 Release Notes - last accessed on 2022-03-18
  24. ↑ AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 22.7.1 Release Notes - last accessed on 2022-09-10
  25. ↑ Intel shows off its answer to Nvidia’s DLSS, coming to Arc GPUs in 2022 - last accessed on 2021-08-19
  26. ↑ Exclusive - Intel XeSS ML Upscaling - The Digital Foundry Tech Review - XeSS vs DLSS vs Native! - last accessed on 2022-09-30
  27. ↑ We Tested Intel's XeSS in Shadow of the Tomb Raider XeSS on Multiple GPUs - last accessed on 2022-09-30
  28. ↑ XeSS / High Quality Super Sampling from iGPU to dGPU / Intel Software - last accessed on 2023-03-25
    XeSS SDK 1.1.0 - last accessed on 2023-03-25
    Verified by User:Mine18 on 2023-03-25
    Swapping DLLs in Shadow of the Tomb Raider led to worse performance and slightly better image quality on the SM 6.4 model.
  29. ↑ XeSS SDK 1.2.0 - last accessed on 2023-08-16
  30. ↑ Intel XeSS 1.3 accelerates into the next generation of AI upscaling - last accessed on 2024-04-05
  31. ↑ Deep Dive: Intel XeSS 2 Technology - last accessed on 2024-12-04
  32. ↑ Unreal Engine 4.19 Released! - last accessed on 2023-02-20
  33. ↑ Ghostwire: Tokyo on PC debuts impressive new DLSS competitor - last accessed on 2022-03-17
  34. ↑ Apple Developer Documentation - Applying temporal antialiasing and upscaling using MetalFX - last accessed on 2022-11-12