AMD’s FSR 4.1 and Nvidia’s DLSS 4.5 are much closer than earlier generations, but they aren’t interchangeable in every respect. Both use machine learning for reconstruction, yet Nvidia still has an edge in image quality and temporal stability, while AMD offers a more flexible hardware story.
Independent testing by ComputerBase across seven games found DLSS 4.5 taking the overall image-quality lead, with FSR 4.1 generally finishing second. But the gap varies considerably by game, especially in foliage-heavy scenes.
FSR 4.1 vs DLSS 4.5 — Quick verdict
DLSS 4.5 is the better overall upscaler in 2026. Its second-generation transformer model produces cleaner fine detail, stronger temporal stability, and fewer distracting artifacts in most comparisons.
FSR 4.1 is much more competitive than FSR 4, though. It reduces motion smearing and improves foliage reconstruction enough that the difference can become difficult to spot during normal gameplay.
Upscaling quality by tested game
ComputerBase’s editorial ranking across seven games.
| Game | DLSS 4.5 | FSR 4.1 |
| Anno 117 | I | II |
| ARC Raiders | I | II |
| Assassin’s Creed Shadows | I | II |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 | I | II |
| Kingdom Come: Deliverance II | I | II |
| Resident Evil Requiem | Tie | Tie |
| The Last of Us Part I | I | II |
DLSS 4.5 ranked first in most of the seven games, while FSR 4.1 tied in Resident Evil Requiem.
Image quality
DLSS 4.5’s second-generation transformer model is designed to extract more information from motion data, game-engine samples, and the surrounding scene. That translates into sharper edges and more consistent detail, particularly when the internal render resolution is low.
FSR 4.1 takes a different step forward. AMD’s update focuses heavily on reconstruction quality in motion rather than simply applying more sharpening. Testing found less blur and better detail preservation than FSR 4.
Motion stability and ghosting
This is one of DLSS 4.5’s strongest areas.
Fast-moving objects, thin geometry, and changing lighting can expose weaknesses in temporal reconstruction. DLSS 4.5 generally keeps these elements more stable, while FSR 4.1 has reduced the smearing that affected its predecessor. AMD itself lists reduced ghosting and improved temporal stability among FSR Upscaling’s improvements.
The difference is smaller than before, but Nvidia remains ahead overall.
Fine details and foliage
Foliage is where FSR 4.1 makes perhaps its biggest gains.
Testing by TechSpot in Star Wars Outlaws, Mafia: The Old Country, and Assassin’s Creed Shadows found FSR 4.1 significantly less prone to smearing grass, branches, and overlapping vegetation. In some scenes, it even looked better than DLSS 4.5.
DLSS 4.5 still tends to resolve fine geometry more clearly. Its output can look slightly over-sharpened in some situations, but that is generally preferable to foliage turning into a soft, unstable mass.
1080p vs 1440p vs 4K
At 1080p, neither technology has much room to work with. The limited number of source pixels makes reconstruction artifacts easier to spot, so native rendering or a higher-quality mode can make more sense when performance allows.
At 1440p, both become considerably more convincing. DLSS 4.5 has the clearer advantage in motion and fine geometry, while FSR 4.1 is close enough that the choice can depend on the individual game.
At 4K, the gap narrows further because both technologies have substantially more source information. This is also where aggressive Performance modes become more useful. Nvidia says DLSS 4.5’s improvements are particularly visible in Performance and Ultra Performance modes.
Performance
Better reconstruction does not come for free.
In ComputerBase‘s seven-game 4K test, an RTX 5070 Ti averaged 62.7 FPS with DLSS 4.5 Quality, compared with 69.3 FPS using DLSS 4 Quality. DLSS 4.5 Performance averaged 81.4 FPS.
That makes DLSS 4.5 roughly 9% slower than DLSS 4 in Quality mode on that GPU, according to the same test. The trade-off is the improved reconstruction quality.
FSR 4.1 also carries a performance cost compared with FSR 3.1. On an RX 9070 XT in the same seven-game 4K workload, the older FSR 3.1 Quality mode averaged 77.5 FPS versus 73.5 FPS for FSR’s newer AI Quality mode.
So neither should be treated as a free FPS switch.
GPU compatibility
This is where AMD has an interesting advantage, although the picture is more complicated than the old “FSR works everywhere” reputation suggests.
AMD’s current FSR Upscaling 4.1 supports Radeon RX 7000- and RX 9000-series discrete GPUs. The newer FSR Frame Generation 4, however, requires RX 9000-series hardware.
DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution works across GeForce RTX 20, 30, 40, and 50 series. However, Nvidia says RTX 20 and 30-series cards lack native FP8 support, making the newer transformer models more expensive to run; those users may prefer an older DLSS model in some games.
The bigger difference is frame generation.
Frame Generation differences
DLSS 4.5 has Dynamic Multi Frame Generation and 6X Multi Frame Generation on RTX 50-series GPUs. Nvidia’s system can generate up to five additional frames for each traditionally rendered frame, with the multiplier dynamically adjusted to the display’s refresh rate.
AMD’s FSR Frame Generation 4 is considerably simpler. It uses ML-based frame interpolation on RX 9000-series GPUs and can also work alongside third-party upscalers where the required motion-vector and depth data are available.
For ordinary 2X frame generation, both approaches can provide smoother animation. But if you’re specifically targeting very high-refresh-rate 4K gaming, Nvidia’s multi-frame approach gives DLSS 4.5 a substantial feature advantage.
Game-by-game results
That’s an important caveat. There is no universal winner in every scene. Some games might show better results with FSR 4.1, whereas in others DLSS 4.5 will be the clear winner. Overall, DLSS 4.5 performs better in most games.
FSR 4.1 vs DLSS 4.5: Which should you use?
If your GPU supports both, use DLSS 4.5 by default. It remains the safer choice for image quality, motion stability, and fine-detail reconstruction.
Choose FSR 4.1 when you prefer its foliage handling in a particular game, or when AMD hardware makes it the natural option.
At 1440p and 4K, the difference is often small enough that game-specific tuning matters more than the technology’s name. At lower resolutions, however, reconstruction quality becomes harder to hide.
The more interesting question for late 2026 may be how far AMD can push FSR’s ML reconstruction on RX 7000-series cards, while Nvidia’s advantage increasingly shifts toward its multi-frame generation stack rather than basic upscaling alone.
