We tested Nvidia DLSS 4 on 20-series to 50-series graphics cards

Originally a super-fancy form of upscaling, “DLSS” has become gamer shorthand for a host of allegedly AI-powered graphics tricks exclusive to Nvidia’s graphics cards. In the PCWorld lab, Will Smith has been breaking down some of the different ways that upscaling and other AI tricks work in the latest version of Nvidia’s drivers and comparing how they perform on different cards. Also, a wild Brad Chacos appears!

Will and Brad show that while it’s easy to compare some of this tech if you’re watching frame-by-frame and zooming in for the finest details—especially on games that have a dedicated benchmark tool—it can be a lot harder to spot in motion in a way that actually affects your gaming experience. Also note that some of the most recent models, like Transformer Upscale, are only available on some games.

We hope this will help you make some decisions on what settings to use, or even whether or not to upgrade to a new card in these trying times. For more tests and analysis, be sure to subscribe to PCWorld on YouTube, and watch our podcast The Full Nerd every week!