Nvidia's DLSS technology makes 1440p look like 1800p, says PC hardware reviewer

DLSS is a technology that takes upscales 1440p resolution to 4K using Turing's Tensor cores. (Source: TechSpot)

TechSpot, a website known for its reviews on hardware such as CPUs and GPUs, investigated Nvidia's new RTX technology known as DLSS, an advanced form of super sampling that is similar to anti aliasing. The website found that DLSS can improve the image quality of a 1440p image to look like an 1800p image.

Matthew Connatser, Published 09/29/2018

Gaming Geforce

Tim Schiesser of TechSpot has published an article detailing the uses of DLSS in the two benchmarks it is currently found in: FFXV benchmark tool and Epic's Infiltrator. DLSS is a technology that falls under Nvidia's RTX technologies, and it only works on Turing GPUs. Using Tensor cores (which are designed for AI operations), Nvidia's DLSS is intended to upscale a 1440p image into a 4K image while having a superior quality than standard 1440p. Schiesser found that DLSS was able to improve image quality significantly.

Schiesser's review, when examining DLSS in FFXV, notes that DLSS 4K was able to get better detail on some objects such as trees and had higher performance than 4K TAA, but failed to get the same kind of quality offered by a truly native 4K resolution. The review also noted that FFXV's implementation of TAA was remarkably bad and blurred much of the details, with Schiesser saying that it's "rubbish." The review called 4K DLSS "far superior" compared to 1440p. Schiesser also tested the benchmark Infiltrator, which allows for custom resolutions. The reviewer found that 1800p with TAA upscaled to 4K performed and looked identical to 4K DLSS.

In his closing remarks, Schiesser stated he was impressed by DLSS and its image quality, but had modest expectations for the technology since these two benchmarks are not actual games. Schiesser also criticized the lack of future DLSS compatible games and the 2000 series as a whole (particularly the 2080), saying:

Anyone with an older GPU, say a Pascal-based 1080 Ti, could simply run games at 1800p and get similar performance and visual quality to DLSS on an RTX 2080.

These criticisms are similar to those expressed on Turing's launch.