Gaming performance 2160p upscaling:
In this section, we’ll test our graphics cards by activating ray tracing, if available, and upscaling, depending on the graphics card used. As a reminder, there are currently three upscaling technologies . NVIDIA has DLSS, which can only be activated with NVIDIA cards. Depending on the generation of your GPU, you may or may not be able to benefit from all the technologies offered by the greens. At AMD, it’s FSR, which is also evolving and, for certain games, also benefits from Frame Generation.
Finally, Intel’s in-house upscaling is called XeSS, and with the arrival of this new generation of graphics cards, Intel has taken the opportunity to announce the arrival of XeSS 2, which will introduce two new features to compete with NVIDIA and AMD, who are already ahead of the game. Intel will offer Xe Frame Generation (XeSS-FG) and XeSS Low Latency (XeLL).
Today sees the arrival of DLSS 4, and in our comparative tests, only Cyberpunk 2077 is already compatible. On the next page, we’ll be showing you a selection of other games compatible with DLSS 4. Finally, it’s important to point out that some games don’t feature ray tracing, but only an upscaling solution. We’ll make this clear in the games below. For 2160p definition, upscaling in either DLSS or FSR will always be in Performance mode.
Cyberpunk 2077:
Here we go again, with Cyberpunk 2077 as our first game. Our NVIDIA cards are in the lead, thanks to DLSS 3. Please note that, for the purposes of comparison, DLSS 3 is used with our ROG Astral LC RTX 5090. DLSS 4 will be discussed on the next page. Our sample of the day achieves an average of 61.2 FPS at 2160p with ray tracing in Ultra mode! With DLSS, it reaches 219.4 FPS.
COD Modern Warfare III:
No worries in Call Of Duty Modern Warfare III, where upscaling still allows you to gain FPS, even if our RTX 5090 doesn’t really need it, with an average of 179 FPS.
Forspoken:
While the RTX 5090 is well ahead in terms of rasterization, with an average of 152 FPS, it’s the AMD RX 7000 that benefits from upscaling. Of course, you’ll have to pay close attention to image quality, but as we said, there’s no need to resort to upscaling when you see the average you get.
Horizon Zeron Dawn Remastered:
The same applies to Horizon Zeron Dawn Remastered, with our ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 far ahead in terms of rasterization.
Black Myth: Wukong Benchmark Tool :
Ah, here we go again with Black Myth: Wukong, a greedy game that benefits from ray tracing. And this is exactly where upscaling comes in handy, as our average with ray tracing enabled is 48 FPS, rising to 135 FPS when using DLSS Performance combined with Frame Generation. This game will benefit from DLSS 4 in the near future.
Far Cry 6:
No DLSS here, we’re using AMD upscaling, which explains the very low gain between DXR and upscalingmodes.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage:
The same applies to Assassin’s Creed Mirage, with our sample in first place.
F1 24 :
The last game on our test panel, DLSS Performance combined with Frame Generation allows our model of the day to dominate the other cards.
What about upscaling with our ROG Astral LC RTX 5090?
In the end, it’s not necessary at all! The card performs so well in rasterization that if the game doesn’t feature ray tracing, upscaling is not at all necessary . Once ray tracing is available, however, its use becomes necessary or even compulsory to take full advantage of 2160p definition. It will be necessary to compare the images offered by the different upscaling systems in order to judge their qualities and shortcomings, but that will be the subject of a future test. Let’s take a closer look at the performance that awaits us in games already compatible with DLSS 4.