As of September 2026, the AI upscaler you get depends almost entirely on the hardware you already own. Nvidia's DLSS 5 went live on September 3 in NBA 2K27 and runs only on RTX 50 cards. AMD's machine-learning FSR 4.1 now works on the RX 7000 series as well as the RX 9000, and Sony is preparing to switch the PS5 Pro's upgraded PSSR on by default.
Nvidia, AMD, Intel, Sony and Microsoft all shipped something this year, and most coverage treats each announcement on its own. This is the cross-vendor version: what changed, which games have it, and what it means for the GPU in your PC or the console under your TV.
Note
Key Takeaways
- DLSS 5, labelled "DLSS Neural Rendering" in game menus, launched on September 3, 2026 in NBA 2K27. It runs on RTX 50 desktop and laptop GPUs only; Nvidia says RTX 40 support is planned but has given no date.
- It is expensive. PC Gamer measured frame-rate drops of up to 73% on an RTX 5080 in NBA 2K27.
- DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution and Ray Reconstruction run on every RTX card, but RTX 20 and 30 cards lack FP8 support and take a bigger hit from the newest models.
- AMD's ML upscaler reached the RX 7000 series in the June FSR SDK 2.3 update. RX 6000 cards are scheduled for early 2027, and ML frame generation is still RX 9000 only.
- The PS5 Pro's upgraded PSSR has been an opt-in setting since March. An August beta firmware turns it on by default.
- Intel's XeSS 3 adds up to three generated frames per rendered frame on Arc GPUs and Core Ultra graphics, and the driver can switch it on in existing XeSS 2 games.
What Changed in AI Upscaling in 2026
Nvidia, AMD, Sony, Intel and Microsoft all shipped major upscaling updates between January and September 2026, and three of those updates reach hardware that was previously locked out. The table is the short version. The sections below explain each row.
| Technology | Latest release | Date | Hardware that gets it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nvidia DLSS 5 (3D-Guided Neural Rendering) | First game: NBA 2K27 | September 3, 2026 | RTX 50 desktop and laptop, GeForce NOW Ultimate |
| Nvidia DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution | Second-gen transformer model | January 6, 2026 | All RTX GPUs |
| Nvidia DLSS 4.5 Dynamic Multi Frame Generation and 6X | Driver 595.97 | March 31, 2026 | RTX 50 only |
| Nvidia DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction | 30 games via NVIDIA app override | August 25, 2026 | All RTX GPUs |
| AMD FSR Upscaling 4.1.1 (ML) | FSR SDK 2.3 | June 24, 2026 | RX 9000 and RX 7000; RX 6000 in early 2027 |
| AMD FSR Frame Generation (ML) | Version 4.0.1 | June 24, 2026 | RX 9000 only |
| Sony upgraded PSSR | PS5 Pro system update | March 16, 2026 (opt-in) | PS5 Pro only |
| Intel XeSS 3 Multi-Frame Generation | Arc graphics driver 32.0.101.8509 | February 13, 2026 | Arc A-series and B-series, Arc graphics in Core Ultra Series 2 and 3 |
| Microsoft Automatic Super Resolution | Xbox Insider preview | April 30, 2026 | ROG Xbox Ally X, docked |
DLSS 5 Is Out, and It Only Runs on RTX 50 Cards
DLSS 5 is not an upscaler: it redraws lighting and materials on frames the game has already rendered, and today it needs an RTX 50 GPU. Nvidia calls the technique 3D-Guided Neural Rendering.
It reads the game's geometry, textures, lighting and motion data, then uses an AI model to add detail that real-time budgets usually cut: subsurface scattering in skin, light passing through hair and foliage, and deeper contact shadows. In NBA 2K27 the setting is called "DLSS Neural Rendering" and toggles with F9. It works alongside Super Resolution, Multi Frame Generation and Ray Reconstruction rather than replacing any of them.
For now only RTX 50 cards can run it officially. At launch Nvidia listed RTX 50 desktop and laptop GPUs plus GeForce NOW's Ultimate tier, and it has said RTX 40 support is coming without giving a date. Modders have already forced it onto RTX 30 and 40 cards, The FPS Review reports, with heavy performance losses. Nothing official, though. Nvidia says six months of optimisation made the feature five times faster, which is what let it run on a single RTX 50 card rather than the pair of RTX 5090s used in early demos.
The performance cost is steep
DLSS 5 takes a large share of the frame rate even on Nvidia's fastest cards. PC Gamer recorded drops of up to 73% on an RTX 5080 in NBA 2K27, and Tom's Hardware called the hit big after testing every RTX 50 card. But Tom's also found that almost all of them can run it at 1080p. Respawno hasn't benchmarked DLSS 5 itself; those are the two outlets' numbers.
In practice, most players will need frame generation to win that frame rate back. That brings the latency trade-off we broke down in how much input lag frame generation adds. A basketball game with a slow broadcast camera is a forgiving place to launch — a fast competitive shooter would not be.
Why people are still arguing about it
The March 2026 reveal drew a heavy backlash, with critics calling the before-and-after character shots an AI filter that overrode the original art direction. Nvidia's answer, via GeForce evangelist Jacob Freeman, was that developers control the effect's intensity and colour grading, and can mask it off where it shouldn't apply. Bethesda, one of the early partners, said its art teams would keep adjusting the result and that "this will all be under our artists' control," with the feature optional for players.
Visual Concepts uses it in NBA 2K27 for skin, hair lighting and contact shadows while keeping its scanned player faces intact. Its senior producer Peter Kavic, quoted by The FPS Review, said: "What's great is the level of control that it gives us." Whether studios with stylised art can hold that line is still open. Nvidia says more DLSS 5 titles will arrive "in the coming weeks and months" but hasn't named any.
DLSS 4.5 Reached Every RTX Card, With a Catch for Older Ones
Every RTX GPU back to the 20 series now runs DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution and Ray Reconstruction, but RTX 20 and 30 owners pay more for the newest models.
DLSS 4.5 arrived at CES on January 6 with a second-generation transformer model for Super Resolution. Nvidia says it uses five times the compute of the original transformer and is supported in more than 400 games and apps. RTX 40 and 50 cards run it in FP8, which doubles inference throughput. RTX 20 and 30 cards have no native FP8 support, so Nvidia's own announcement warns that the new Model M and L presets "carry a heavier performance impact" there. It suggests those owners may prefer to stay on Model K.
Dynamic Multi Frame Generation is RTX 50 only
On March 31 Nvidia shipped Dynamic Multi Frame Generation and a 6X mode that generates five frames for every rendered one. Both are limited to RTX 50 cards and need driver 595.97 or newer. Dynamic mode changes the multiplier on the fly to match your monitor's refresh rate. RTX 40 cards got the enhanced frame generation model, which handles on-screen UI better, but not the new multipliers.
The September 3 driver, 616.64, added frame rate limiter and V-Sync support for Dynamic Multi Frame Generation. If you pair it with a variable refresh display, set it up the way our G-Sync, V-Sync and frame cap guide describes.
Ray Reconstruction 4.5 and the games getting it
At Gamescom on August 25, Nvidia released DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction for all RTX GPUs. It replaces hand-tuned denoisers in ray-traced and path-traced scenes with a model that has 35% more compute and processes 20% more parameters. Thirty games can use it now through the NVIDIA app, including Cyberpunk 2077, Alan Wake 2 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
The same announcement set dates for what comes next. 007 First Light gets path tracing and DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction on September 15, and our 007 First Light review covers the base game. Control Resonant follows on September 24, AION 2 reaches the West on September 30, and Gears of War: E-Day lands on October 6.
AMD's Machine-Learning FSR Now Reaches the RX 7000 Series
AMD's ML-based FSR Upscaling 4.1.1 now runs on RX 7000 cards as well as the RX 9000 series, but ML frame generation and Ray Regeneration still need RDNA 4.
AMD launched its FSR "Redstone" suite on December 10, 2025 with four parts: an ML upscaler, ML frame generation, a ray-tracing denoiser called Ray Regeneration, and Radiance Caching as a technical preview. At launch every ML feature required RDNA 4. In May, AMD's Jack Huynh said "this July, RDNA 3 players will experience FSR Upscaling 4.1," and PCWorld reported that RX 6000 cards would follow in early 2027. The FSR SDK 2.3 update on June 24 delivered the RX 7000 half of that promise.
Some things haven't changed. FSR Frame Generation 4.0.1 and Ray Regeneration 1.2 are still RX 9000 only. RDNA 3.5 integrated graphics, RDNA 2 and older architectures get AMD's analytical, non-ML fallback. PCWorld points out that RDNA 2 covers more than desktop RX 6000 cards, because the Steam Deck's APU is RDNA 2 as well. AMD has not confirmed that the Deck will get the ML upscaler in 2027.
There's a gap in what AMD has said, too. Its June SDK notes don't say how the RX 7000 version compares with RDNA 4 on image quality or on the time it adds to each frame. Until someone publishes that comparison, assume the same model, not necessarily the same result.
Even so, for an RX 7000 owner this is the biggest free upgrade of the year, in any game that ships FSR 4.1, and PCWorld reported that more than 300 games would support FSR 4 by July. If you're still choosing a card, our RX 9060 XT vs RTX 5060 Ti comparison compares the two budget options on price and performance.
The PS5 Pro's Upgraded PSSR Is About to Become the Default
The upgraded PSSR has been available to every PS5 Pro owner since March 2026 as an opt-in setting, and Sony's August beta firmware turns it on by default.
Mark Cerny announced the new PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution on February 27, describing "a very different approach to not only the neural network but also the overall algorithm." It came out of Project Amethyst, the joint effort with AMD that also produced FSR 4, followed by another six months of tuning for the PS5 Pro. Resident Evil Requiem was the first game to use it, and Sony said at the time that more than 50 PS5 Pro titles supported PSSR. The press has taken to calling it PSSR 2; Sony calls it the upgraded PSSR.
The March 16 system update added an Enhance PSSR Image Quality setting that applies the new model to any game that already supports the original PSSR. Sony's rollout post named Silent Hill f, Monster Hunter Wilds, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Crimson Desert, Alan Wake 2 and Control among the games that benefit, with patches promised for Assassin's Creed Shadows and Cyberpunk 2077.
The August 2026 beta patch notes read: "We've turned on Enhance PSSR Image Quality as a default setting." Sony hasn't dated the full release. Base PS5 and PS5 Slim owners get nothing from this, since PSSR is a PS5 Pro feature. If a new Pro isn't showing the modes you expect on your TV, check the output settings first with our PS5 and Xbox 4K 120Hz troubleshooting guide.
Intel XeSS 3 Brought Multi-Frame Generation to Every Arc GPU
Intel's XeSS 3 inserts up to three AI-generated frames per rendered frame, and it runs on Arc discrete cards and on the Arc graphics built into Core Ultra processors.
It debuted on Panther Lake laptops before Intel's February 13 driver extended it to every Arc-powered GPU. Intel's developer page lists Arc A-series and B-series discrete cards plus Core Ultra Series 2 and 3 processors with built-in Arc graphics. Game support is the more interesting part: Intel's driver can switch multi-frame generation on in any title that already supports XeSS 2, with no patch from the developer.
On integrated graphics this matters more than it does on a desktop card. Frame generation won't rescue a base frame rate in the 20s, but it can smooth out a playable 40–50 FPS on a thin laptop. Our list of games that run well on integrated graphics is a better starting point than leaning on generated frames.
Microsoft's Auto SR Upscales Without Help From the Game
Microsoft's Automatic Super Resolution runs on the NPU rather than inside the game engine, and its first handheld target is the ROG Xbox Ally X in docked mode.
The preview arrived on April 30 through the Xbox Insider program. Because it works at the operating-system level, games don't have to integrate it. Microsoft recommends 16 titles for now, including Forza Horizon 5, Control and DOOM: The Dark Ages, and says it works with DirectX 10 and later. In Forza Horizon 5, Microsoft reports "a 30% FPS boost over native 1440p at similar visual quality." The preview is limited to docked play, because Microsoft says lower render resolutions are more noticeable on a large screen.
It's the first mainstream case of a PC NPU doing real gaming work instead of sitting idle, which we look at more closely in does an NPU matter in an AI PC for gaming.
Which Upscaler Does Your GPU or Console Get?
Based on Nvidia, AMD, Intel, Sony and Microsoft announcements, RTX 50 owners get every feature listed, and RTX 40 and RX 7000 owners gained real 2026 upgrades. Older cards and the base PS5 are mostly waiting.
| Your hardware | What you can use now | What's still coming |
|---|---|---|
| RTX 50 series | DLSS 5, DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution, Dynamic MFG and 6X, Ray Reconstruction 4.5 | More DLSS 5 games |
| RTX 40 series | DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution in FP8, enhanced 2x frame generation, Ray Reconstruction 4.5 | DLSS 5, no date |
| RTX 20 and 30 series | DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution and Ray Reconstruction; Model K is lighter than M and L | Nothing announced |
| Radeon RX 9000 | FSR 4.1 ML upscaling, ML frame generation, Ray Regeneration | Radiance Caching full release |
| Radeon RX 7000 | FSR 4.1.1 ML upscaling | ML frame generation not announced |
| Radeon RX 6000, Steam Deck | Non-ML FSR fallback | ML upscaling in early 2027; Deck unconfirmed |
| Intel Arc and Core Ultra graphics | XeSS 3 multi-frame generation, up to three generated frames, via driver | Nothing announced |
| PS5 Pro | Upgraded PSSR as an opt-in setting | On by default once the August beta ships |
| PS5 and PS5 Slim | Nothing new | Nothing announced |
| ROG Xbox Ally X | Auto SR preview, docked | Wider rollout not dated |
DLSS 5 is not a reason to buy an RTX 50 card this autumn. One game. Up to 73% of the frame rate gone on an RTX 5080, and frame generation needed to claw it back. The upgrades that matter to more people are the quiet ones: the PS5 Pro's PSSR default, which applies to games you already own, and FSR 4.1 on RX 7000 cards in every game that ships it.
Two caveats apply across every row. Upscaling lowers the render resolution but not texture quality, so it won't fix a card that's short on memory; our guide to how much VRAM you need for gaming explains why. And if you're building for 4K, the upscaler is effectively part of the spec, which is how our 4K gaming PC build treats it.
AI upscaling of a different kind — remastering the textures of older games rather than reconstructing frames — is covered in our guide to RTX Remix AI texture upscaling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does DLSS 5 work on RTX 40 series cards?
DLSS 5 does not run on RTX 40 series cards yet. It launched on September 3, 2026 for RTX 50 desktop and laptop GPUs and the GeForce NOW Ultimate tier. Nvidia has said RTX 40 support is planned but hasn't given a date.
Is DLSS 5 an upscaler?
DLSS 5 is not an upscaler. It redraws lighting and material detail on frames the game has already rendered, and it runs alongside DLSS Super Resolution, which still does the upscaling. NBA 2K27 labels it "DLSS Neural Rendering" in its graphics menu.
Which games support DLSS 5?
Only NBA 2K27 supports DLSS 5 as of September 10, 2026. Nvidia says more titles will add it in the coming weeks and months but has not named them.
Can I use FSR 4 on an RX 7000 or RX 6000 card?
RX 7000 cards can use AMD's ML-based FSR Upscaling 4.1 since the FSR SDK 2.3 update in June 2026, in games that ship it. RX 6000 support is scheduled for early 2027; until then those cards use AMD's non-ML fallback.
Is the upgraded PSSR on by default on PS5 Pro?
The upgraded PSSR is not on by default in release firmware yet. It has been an opt-in setting called Enhance PSSR Image Quality since the March 16 system update. Sony's August 2026 beta firmware turns it on by default, but the full release hasn't been dated.
Does XeSS 3 frame generation need a game update?
XeSS 3 multi-frame generation needs no game update in titles that already support XeSS 2. Intel's driver can switch it on in those games, adding up to three generated frames for every rendered one.
How this was put together: Respawno did not benchmark DLSS 5, FSR 4.1 or the upgraded PSSR for this roundup. Every performance figure comes from the vendor or outlet named beside it, checked against the original pages on September 10, 2026. Product photography and slides courtesy of NVIDIA, AMD, Intel and the respective publications, used for editorial coverage.
Sources
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