Nvidia’s DLSS 4 is so much more than just ‘fake frames’

This year at CES, Nvidia presented the next generation of its DLSS upscaling technology, which is trained with the help of artificial intelligence, alongside the new GeForce RTX 5090, 5080, and 5070 (Ti) graphics cards. The company touted its major advantages — and now that RTX 5090 reviews are live, we can confirm that DLSS 4 indeed feels like black magic, supercharging frame rates and making games feel just as snappy as the beloved Doom 2016.

That’s because DLSS 4 now supports Multi Frame Generation (MFG), an AI-based multiple intermediate frame calculation that can artificially generate up to three images and insert them between two “real” frames, thus quadrupling the frame rate. Of course, this feature only works on new Blackwell-based RTX 50-series GPUs.

But are the AI frames generated in this way a step forward or is it all hogwash? Let’s take a close look at DLSS 4 and its multi-frame generation works along with some early impressions.

Nvidia DLSS 4 in detail

Adam Patrick Murray / Foundry

Nvidia DLSS 4 builds atop the existing DLSS 3 and DLSS 3.5 feature set. It’s made up of the following five functions:

• DLSS Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing (“DLAA”)
• DLSS Multi Frame Generation (“MFG”)
• DLSS Ray Reconstruction (“RR”)
• DLSS Frame Generation (“FG”)
• DLSS Super Resolution (“SR”)

The classic upscaling technology DLSS Super Resolution renders games a lower internal resolution, then upscales to a higher output resolution with the help of AI. Super Resolution also works on older graphics cards from the GeForce RTX 20-, 30-, and 40-series, but it gets more complicated with the other DLSS features.

While the simple DLSS Frame Generation (FG) is reserved for the GeForce RTX 40- and 50-series graphics cards, the latest DLSS Multi Frame Generation feature is only supported by the latest generation. DLSS Ray Reconstruction, which improves visual fidelity in ray traced games, is mastered by all RTX graphics processors.

Nvidia itself graphically summarized the entire feature set of DLSS 4 by generation.

Nvidia

Together with DLSS 4, Nvidia is also introducing a new Transformer AI model, which replaces the previously used Convolutional Neural Network (“CNN”) as the neural network behind DLSS. Nvidia promises gamers even better upscaling, more precise ray reconstruction, refined AI edge smoothing (DLAA), and more performance with the switch. We can confirm it looks great in action.

The advanced architecture of the new neural network uses the principle of “Deep Attention” as well as the global context to generate significantly sharper details and significantly reduce artifacts such as ghosting.

Nvidia

What is Multi Frame Generation?

Nvidia DLSS 4 now supports Multi Frame Generation, an intermediate image calculation that can artificially generate up to three AI-calculated images and insert them between two classically rendered images. Standard DLSS 3 Frame Generation only inserts a single AI frame between rendered images. Nvidia shows the difference in two easy-to-understand diagrams below:

The new technology uses several neural networks, as well as the Nvidia Optical Flow Accelerator and the optimized tensor computing units inside the new Blackwell GPU architecture powering the RTX 50-series. Note that Multi Frame Generation will not be backwards compatible with prior RTX generations.

Nvidia promises huge leaps in performance through the use of DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation and makes this clear using the example of the particularly performance-hungry action role-playing game Cyberpunk 2077.

Adam Patrick Murray / Foundry

In PCWorld’s testing, both visual smoothness and responsiveness skyrocketed after flipping on DLSS 4’s Multi Frame Generation in Cyberpunk 2077 (using the RT Overdrive preset and 1.7x DLSS scaling). Without any sort of Frame Generation on, the game runs at 71fps; enabling DLSS 4 MFG lets it run an absolutely staggering 251 percent faster, and a just-as-insane 91 percent faster than the 5090 with DLSS 3’s single Frame Gen active. Hitting such high speeds looks and feels so good.

But what effect do these so-called “fake frames” have on the gaming experience and image quality?

DLSS 4: Is it true progress or “fake frames”?

Gamers who use Multi Frame Generation must be aware that when it’s on, “artificial” frames are added to each “real” rendered frame. But is this ultimately real progress, as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang described the feature at his contentious CES 2025 keynote, or is it just “fake frames” as some enthusiasts have been shouting from the rooftops in online forums?

Of course, the whole thing needs to be considered in a differentiated way and in independent tests. It’s understandable that buyers of a $1,999 graphics card want significantly better performance without “tricks” compared to the previous generation. (Fortunately, the RTX 5090 delivers solid traditional performance gains too.) But as the calendar flipped over to 2025, PCWorld declared that AI upscaling killed native graphics gaming. We’re better off for it.

After using it, DLSS 4 feels like it drives that theory home. Whether DLSS 4 adds true extra “frames” in the traditional sense or acts more like motion smoothing on steroids is an important technical distinction that demands further discussion and testing. But there’s no doubt that games look and feel so much smoother and snappier with DLSS 4 MFG and Nvidia Reflex active. It provides a big boost to the quality of your gaming experiences, period (though I’d still hesitate to turn it on in competitive multiplayer games).

We have more DLSS 4 coverage coming, but here’s a tease from our RTX 5090 review: Turning on DLSS 4 makes Star Wars Outlaws, a fun game prone to performance concerns, feel just as good as the legendary Doom 2016, which many gamers consider the paragon of fast-action shooters. “It’s like a whole new game,” PCWorld’s Will Smith says. It’s high praise coming from a guy who has been reviewing graphics cards and making games for decades.

An initial conclusion

The use of artificial intelligence and features based on it (like DLSS 4) should be welcomed if, for example, intelligent AI upscaling improves both the picture quality and the frame rate — like DLSS Super Resolution does. The intelligent and extremely powerful AI edge smoothing using DLAA is also a gain, especially for enthusiasts.

The fact that Nvidia no longer compares its new generation of graphics cards with native rendering performance from the previous generation, instead marketing somewhat “embellished” frame rate values with long bar charts in benchmarks, isn’t very helpful. Comparisons of a GeForce RTX 4090 with DLSS 3 and Frame Generation against a GeForce RTX 5090 with DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation say absolutely nothing about the actual increase in rendering performance and are a source of uncertainty for buyers. The poor initial reception by gamers is understandable and justified.

That being said, now that we’ve tested it, DLSS 4 truly is a revolutionary, game-changing technology. Trying to show such a gigantic experiential leap forward is hard to do with simple frame rate graphs. I don’t like that Nvidia failed to show how the RTX 5090 compares to the 4090 in traditional performance during its blockbuster CES keynote, but it’s somewhat understandable now that we’ve experienced the difference with our own eyes and hands. DLSS 4 is that good.

Perhaps the bigger takeaway here? Hardware and software-side AI features such as upscaling, frame generation, latency improvers, and dedicated AI hardware are here to stay and will play an even greater role in the future. The days of native rendering are coming to an end. You certainly don’t have to like that, but I think enthusiasts need to start accepting it. The game has changed.