DSR - Does anyone use it and do you even see a difference?

ClockworkNinja

ClockworkNinja

New member
I see a lot of games come with this option now. Does DSR actually make a difference to you?

For the people who don't know yet, DSR is when you render your game at 3k/4k resolutions then it gets downscaled to fit on a 1080p panel. I tried it with a few games and the only difference I see is that I don't need AA on. other than that its the same.

I mean, a 1080p screen can only show so many pixels anyway. Maybe I'm just understanding it wrong. I'm very interested in what other have to say about this. Seems like another Nvidia gimmick to me.
 
ClockworkNinja said:
I see a lot of games come with this option now. Does DSR actually make a difference to you?

For the people who don't know yet, DSR is when you render your game at 3k/4k resolutions then it gets downscaled to fit on a 1080p panel. I tried it with a few games and the only difference I see is that I don't need AA on. other than that its the same.

I mean, a 1080p screen can only show so many pixels anyway. Maybe I'm just understanding it wrong. I'm very interested in what other have to say about this. Seems like another Nvidia gimmick to me.
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That's a good question actually. I only tried it in a couple of games, but other than making games with no AA look a bit better, I don't see any use for it.
 
ClockworkNinja said:
I see a lot of games come with this option now. Does DSR actually make a difference to you?

For the people who don't know yet, DSR is when you render your game at 3k/4k resolutions then it gets downscaled to fit on a 1080p panel. I tried it with a few games and the only difference I see is that I don't need AA on. other than that its the same.

I mean, a 1080p screen can only show so many pixels anyway. Maybe I'm just understanding it wrong. I'm very interested in what other have to say about this. Seems like another Nvidia gimmick to me.
Click to expand...

Good question.

I used DSR in Battlefield 4 and rendered the game at 4k. Game ran fine cos of my 780Ti, but AA definitely destroyed the frames. Luckily, at that resolution, you don't need AA.

Rendering at 4k on a 1080p panel definitely removed the jaggies. I don't know if the same applies when you use a 4k screen though, but I did enjoy the crispness.
 
So far the only benefit I get out of it is the resizing of the vehicle crosshairs in BF4. They are much smaller, helping with accuracy. But that's it.
 
ClockworkNinja said:
I see a lot of games come with this option now. Does DSR actually make a difference to you?
Click to expand...

It is game dependant. However, being able to completely annihilate the need for post-processes does wonders for your FPS.

I use DSR whenever I can and will stipulate the reasons and results I've noticed in 3 vastly different games below:

Battlefield 4:
- Running at QXGA with Everything on Ultra and AA/PPAA off.
  • All scopes have better defined lines making target-acquisition a lot easier. Mostly noticeable on 3.4x scopes upwards and vehicle crosshairs (mostly the jets).
  • Weapon Models are crisper and enemies are easier to spot in shrubbery.
  • Frames are constantly 70+

DOTA 2:
- Running at 4K Everything at Max
  • All models look sharper and clearer.
  • Effects, i.e. Desolator Effect is more pronounced and less blurry.
  • Frames are 200+

Shadow of Mordor
- Running at 4K everything but AA/PP maxed.
  • Absolutely gorgeous, it becomes apparent quickly that this game is a DSR flagship.
  • My Frames actually improved after a patch and now idle around 105.
  • The most obvious changes are how smooth edges look especially on bleed/poison weapons weilded by the Uruk.
 
I use it often on older games. There's definitely an improvement on many of the textures and the removal of jaggies. I recently used it on Psychonauts and it made it look a lot better.
 
Eugene said:
I need to try this.
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You should ;) I did encounter a strange bug though. When you pause the game, the faded out background becomes very aliased. Then when you unpause it goes away. It's rather odd.

If you're using a controller I also recommend the Psychopad mod. It replaces the keyboard prompts with controller buttons. Takes forever to install though.

ClockworkNinja said:
Psychonauts has this now?! Time for a replay then.
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It's not game specific. ;) All it does is add in custom resolutions, which are then downscaled to your native resolution. In theory, all games should be able to use it, as long as they have support for Ultra HD resolutions.
 
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Dsr...In its current state its rubbish, I've tested the hell out of it and still get random black screens every now and then.
 
ClockworkNinja said:
Do you get this problem randomly, or only on specific games?
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Its random, like I said I've tested it a lot and it's done it with pretty much every game except for a select few.

Isengard said:
I haven't experienced that when using it, but I've only used it for brief periods.
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Yeah I made sure to test it, if you're running @120Hz like I am make sure you turn dsr off or drop down to 60Hz, dsr made my 120Hz gaming experience pretty shit with all the black screens and crashes, even got a full on lock up while playing COD AW.
 
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