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NVIDIA's AI Upscaler, known as DLSS, has been here for years, but what is it, and is it actually worth getting a 50 series GPU for the latest version of DLSS? In this episode of Tech Translated, Phil breaks down everything you need to know about DLSS, including the controversy of DLSS 5, what GPUs you should get for DLSS, and how it compares to FSR and PSSR 2.
If you’ve ever wondered, “Do I actually need this, or is it just marketing?" Tech Translated is the series for you. Make sure to subscribe to the channel and let Phil know what he should talk about in the next episode!
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AI is rapidly changing how our video games look and perform, and NVIDIA's DLSS is leading that shift
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NVIDIA recently announced DLSS 5, which has been a controversial reveal to say the least
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But is DLSS really a game changer or just clever tech marketing that makes you think you need a new GPU
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Technology is its own language, and I'm here to translate it. I'm Phil Rodriguez, and welcome back to Tech Translated
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DLSS stands for Deep Learning Super Sampling, and it's NVIDIA's method of using AI to boost your game's performance
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The benefit is simple. You get to enjoy games the way that you want, whether it's focusing on visuals, frame rate, or a nice balance of both
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What's great about DLSS is it continues to improve as NVIDIA releases new GPUs
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Older cards often get DLSS upgrades through free updates, so you don't have to replace your GPU every year, which is great because graphics cards are not cheap
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With that said, some newer DLSS features as well as evolutions of DLSS are reserved for the latest GPUs, but we'll get into that in a bit
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If my explanation of DLSS hasn't translated yet for you, that's okay because I'm going to dumb it down to the point a 5-year-old can understand it
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This segment of Tech Translated is called Explain It Like I'm 5. Imagine you are drawing a picture of a cat, but you only have a very small piece of paper
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Because the paper is tiny, you can't draw all the whiskers or the individual hairs
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Your drawing looks a bit blurry and blocky. DLSS is like having a super smart robot friend who
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looks at your tiny blurry drawing and says, I've seen millions of cats before. I know exactly where
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those whiskers should go. Then the robot takes your tiny drawing and recreates it on a giant
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poster filling in all the missing details so it looks sharp clear and beautiful even though you only did the work for the tiny version Now that I simplified DLSS as much as possible I can elaborate more on the different kinds of DLSS One of the most used forms of DLSS is
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super resolution. Normally, your PC has to render each individual frame at full resolution, which
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can really strain performance. Super resolution changes that by rendering the game at a lower
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resolution, then using AI to upscale the image so it still looks close to native quality
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So frames could be rendered at 1080p, then upscaled to 4K. Ray tracing is another type of technology that involves making your game look as sharp and realistic as possible
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and we broke that down into a YouTube short, so check out our channel for that translation
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Spoiler alert, it's really cool. Another popular kind of DLSS is frame generation
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It performs a similar task as super resolution, but this time with frame rate
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It uses AI to yze every frame rendered by the GPU and fills in the gaps with AI frames, all without hurting the resolution
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This is for the people who want to achieve that smoother performance on their PC, prioritizing frames above all else
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By using various types of DLSS, you essentially get better performance from your game, since you don't actually have to push your PC to render in native 4K or play in frames that are too high
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I feel like I just made DLSS sound pretty awesome, so you're probably wondering
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how do I turn it on or enable DLSS? And is there a best setting to enable
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On PCs, DLSS can usually be enabled within settings, so you can decide which DLSS setting
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you want to turn on or off. As much as I wish I could provide you with optimal settings
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it really depends on the game and the GPU you have. However, if you guys want a full DLSS
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of the most popular PC builds for 2026? Let me know and we can make a Setup Essentials episode about it on the channel Now that you know what DLSS is and how it works I have to break the news that DLSS is just one version of game upscaling technology
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DLSS is exclusive to devices and software for NVIDIA, but other big players in the gaming world have their own DLSS
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AMD's is called FSR, which stands for FidelityFX Super Resolution, while PlayStation has PSSR, or PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution
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No matter what each of these companies calls their tech or how confusing it may sound
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each is attempting to do the same thing. Upscale your games. PSSR in particular is currently only available on the PS5 Pro
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while FSR and DLSS are available primarily on PCs. AMD-based consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X also have FSR
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although the Nintendo Switch 2 gets DLSS because of their NVIDIA GPU
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You're probably asking yourself, okay, so which company does the best job making my game look better
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Honestly, the results vary. Optimization from the developer, partnerships with companies and game studios
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are a few examples of the factors that may make a game look better on DLSS versus FSR
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DLSS 4.0, which was released in January 2025, was just recently upgraded to DLSS 4.5
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So what are some of the differences? Remember earlier when I talked about frame generation
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DLSS 4.0 created a new version of that called multi-frame generation, which improved it even further by generating up to four times more frames than the original frame generation
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DLSS 4 improves multi generation even further by allowing up to 6 times the frame generation and improving the performance of super resolution which is crazy to me because I think it works so well already Both of these are examples of updates reserved only for the 50 series GPUs And if you ask me DLSS 4 is a slight upgrade over 4 and not worth upgrading over if you have
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a 40 series, but anyone with a 30 series or below who games on their PC should absolutely upgrade if
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they can even find the model they're looking for in stock. DLSS 5 will release in fall 2026 and
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it's taking DLSS to a whole new level. It uses AI to improve character models and NVIDIA is
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promising collaboration with studios to make sure DLSS doesn't harm but only enhance the artist's
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intent. It's been a controversial announcement to say the least as some people feel like it changes
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too much of the character design but I definitely want to hear what you guys have to say in the
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comments. Okay we are just about at the end of translating DLSS and at this point it's time for
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me to label our subject as a breakthrough or shit. NVIDIA's DLSS is definitely a breakthrough
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By using AI, gamers like myself are able to enjoy incredible visuals and frame rates with all sorts
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of budgets, and that is a huge win. And I do have to give credit where it's due to NVIDIA here
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because they basically pioneered this technology themselves while the industry plays catch up
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Fair play, NVIDIA. Fair play. Anyways, thank you guys for tuning in to another episode of
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Tech Translated. Links are in the description for your GPU needs. And while you're down there
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leave us a like and subscribe so you don't miss the next episode of Tech Translated
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As always, I'm Phil Rodriguez, this is Tom's Guide, and I will see you in the next video
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you
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