DLSS in Red Dead Redemption 2: Image Quality & Performance

Update 19/07/21: Nvidia today released a Game Reader Driver for DLSS in Red Dead Redemption 2. We didn't find any difference to FPS performance versus our original testing, as below, but you can read our update article HERE.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is notorious for its demanding game engine, with even the fastest of GPUs struggling to achieve high frame rates. So when Nvidia announced that DLSS was coming to the game, you can bet we were excited to try it out. But is the image quality as good as we have come to expect from DLSS, and is the performance uplift a real game-changer? That's what we find out today.

Timestamps:

00:00 Start
00:15 Introduction
01:38 Image quality comparisons
05:04 Performance benchmarks
08:46 Final thoughts

Driver Notes

• Nvidia GPUs were benchmarked with the 471.11 driver.

Test System

We test using a custom built system from PCSpecialist, based on Intel’s Comet Lake-S platform. You can read more about it over HERE, and configure your own system from PCSpecialist HERE.

CPU	Intel Core i9-10900K Overclocked to 5.1GHz on all cores
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Maximus XII Hero Wi-Fi
Memory	Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3600MHz (4 X 8GB) CL 18-22-22-42
Graphics Card	Varies
System Drive	500GB Samsung 970 Evo Plus M.2
Games Drive	2TB Samsung 860 QVO 2.5″ SSD
Chassis	Fractal Meshify S2 Blackout Tempered Glass
CPU Cooler	Corsair H115i RGB Platinum Hydro Series
Power Supply	Corsair 1200W HX Series Modular 80 Plus Platinum
Operating System	Windows 10 21H1

Graphics cards benchmarked:

• Nvidia RTX 3090 24GB
• Nvidia RTX 3080 10GB
• Nvidia RTX 3070 8GB
• Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti 8GB
• Nvidia RTX 3060 12GB
• Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti 11GB
• Nvidia RTX 2080 Super 8GB
• Nvidia RTX 2070 Super 8GB
• Nvidia RTX 2060 Super 8GB
• Nvidia RTX 2060 6GB

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KitGuru says: Have you tried DLSS in Red Dead Redemption 2? Let us know your thoughts – is it something you'd turn on, or would you rather stick to native resolution?

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