If you have opened a game's settings menu recently, you have probably seen a confusing row of upscaling options: DLSS, FSR, XeSS, sometimes all three in the same list. They all do roughly the same job – render the game at a lower internal resolution and use clever reconstruction to make it look close to native – but they are not interchangeable, and not all of them will work on your hardware. Here is what each one actually needs and how to choose.
Key takeaway: FSR runs on almost anything, XeSS works best on Intel Arc but has a fallback mode for other GPUs, and DLSS is locked to Nvidia RTX cards only.
What each technology requires
DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) is Nvidia's upscaler, and it only runs on GeForce RTX graphics cards, because it relies on the dedicated Tensor cores built into those chips. If you have a GTX 1650 or older, or any non-Nvidia GPU, DLSS simply will not appear as an option, no matter how new the game is. Different DLSS versions matter too: DLSS 2 and 3 look noticeably sharper than the original DLSS 1 from 2018, so an older RTX 20-series card still benefits enormously.
AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) is the most universal option. It is a spatial or temporal upscaler that does not require special hardware, so it runs on AMD GPUs, Nvidia GPUs, Intel GPUs, and even the integrated graphics inside many laptop processors. This makes FSR the safest bet if you are unsure what your budget laptop can handle.
Intel XeSS sits in between. On Intel Arc graphics cards it uses dedicated XMX matrix cores for the sharpest result, similar to DLSS. On everything else, including Nvidia and AMD cards, XeSS automatically falls back to a DP4a compute path, which still works but is slightly less refined than the Arc-native version.
Quick comparison
| Technology | Works on | Best use case |
|---|---|---|
| DLSS | Nvidia RTX only | RTX laptops and desktops wanting the sharpest image |
| FSR | Any modern GPU or iGPU | Budget PCs, AMD/Intel hardware, older GTX cards |
| XeSS | Any GPU (best on Intel Arc) | Intel Arc owners, or a fallback when FSR looks too soft |
How to check what your PC supports
- Open Task Manager, go to the Performance tab, and click GPU to see the exact model name.
- If it says GeForce RTX, all three technologies are usually available in supported games; try DLSS first.
- If it says GeForce GTX, Radeon, Intel Iris Xe, or Intel Arc, DLSS will not appear – look for FSR or XeSS instead.
- In the game's graphics menu, open the upscaling or "Super Resolution" dropdown and pick the option matching your GPU brand.
- Set the upscaling mode (Quality, Balanced, Performance) and compare the image before committing to a setting.
Tip: when a game offers both FSR and XeSS but not DLSS, try XeSS first on Intel Arc hardware and FSR everywhere else – each engine tends to favour the technology it was tuned around, so it is worth testing both if the option exists.
Picking a mode once you know your technology
Whichever upscaler you land on, the Quality preset renders at a higher internal resolution and upscales less aggressively, giving the best image with a modest FPS gain. Balanced and Performance push more of the work onto the upscaler for bigger frame rate gains at the cost of some fine detail, particularly in fast motion or thin foliage. On an older or budget laptop with a weaker GPU, Performance or even Ultra Performance mode can be the difference between an unplayable slideshow and a smooth session, so do not be afraid to drop down a tier if Quality still struggles.
Before you start: always update your GPU driver from the manufacturer's official site before enabling any of these technologies – older drivers sometimes lack proper DLSS or FSR support, which can cause flickering or missing menu options.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I use DLSS on a GTX 1660 Super?
- No. DLSS requires the Tensor cores found only in RTX-series cards. A GTX 1660 Super should use FSR or XeSS instead.
- Is FSR always worse than DLSS?
- Not always, but DLSS generally produces a cleaner image at the same performance tier because it uses AI upscaling backed by dedicated hardware, while FSR relies purely on shader-based algorithms.
- Do I need to enable Game Mode or anything else first?
- No separate setup is required; upscaling is toggled entirely within each game's own graphics settings menu, provided your driver is up to date.