In the last few years, DLSS is becoming one of the settings most gamers instinctively look for whenever they launch a demanding AAA title, especially if it features an open-world setting and supports ray tracing. After all, Nvidia has improved DLSS to the point where the upscaled image looks almost as good as native while boosting your frame rates. So there's really no reason not to take advantage of it.

However, as someone who's been mostly gaming at 1440p, despite having an RTX 4090, I find myself coming back to DLAA because performance isn't an issue. I know most of you aren't using high-end GPUs, but for those who do, image quality may be what you're after once you're already hitting the frame rates you want. And that's when DLAA has the edge. It simply delivers a sharper image than native rendering with TAA, which is hard to give up once you've tried it.

DLAA fixes the one problem with native rendering

TAA is what ruins native rendering, but DLAA makes it look the way it should

I'm sure many of us have chased native 4K gaming at some point. But believe it or not, native rendering isn't all that perfect. Without anti-aliasing, you'd be dealing with jagged edges, shimmering vegetation, and distracting flickering on fine details. That's when you're forced to enable TAA to smooth everything out, and all of a sudden, you're dealing with a completely different problem. TAA ends up softening the image and can also introduce ghosting, which is especially noticeable during motion. I'm not saying this is the case for every game, but more often than not, this is the result.

When you enable DLAA, however, you're basically using the same anti-aliasing technique as DLSS, but at native resolution. The result is a sharper image that remains stable in motion. The difference isn't always dramatic enough to spot in a compressed screenshot, but it's much easier to notice while you're actually playing on an OLED monitor. It's most noticeable in large open-world games with plenty of vegetation, where TAA tends to struggle the most. All in all, this is the image quality you expect when you play at native resolution. When I tried it out for the first time and went back to native 4K with TAA, it immediately felt like a downgrade.

DLAA is a better use of GPU headroom

If you're satisfied with your FPS, why not improve image quality?

If you have a high-end GPU like the RTX 4090 or 5090, you probably have enough headroom to get decent frame rates in most AAA titles. In single-player games, you really don't need 100 FPS or higher to enjoy the story. Of course, the game would feel smoother at higher FPS, but at some point, you're far more likely to appreciate the improvement in image quality. I'm not saying my RTX 4090 crushes it at 4K, but I'm mostly playing those games on my 1440p ultrawide OLED, which is a lot less demanding on my GPU.

That means I'm often sitting comfortably above 60FPS without needing DLSS. At that point, I'd rather use DLAA to make the game look a little bit sharper. Unlike fast-paced shooters, where higher frame rates can improve responsiveness, single-player games are ultimately more about immersion. I'm taking it slow and exploring the world, so I'm more likely to notice cleaner foliage, sharper fine details, and a more stable image than the difference between 60FPS and 100FPS. Sure, your target frame rate may differ, but if you're hitting that no matter what resolution you're playing the game at, DLAA just makes more sense.

Most gamers are still better off with DLSS

But if you're already gaming at native, you're missing out by ignoring DLAA

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say that DLAA is the better option for everyone. There's no doubt that DLSS makes more sense for the vast majority of gamers with low- to mid-range GPUs who really need that FPS boost. In fact, when DLSS 4.5 looks this good, especially with Preset L in Balanced and Performance modes, there's absolutely no reason to chase native rendering if performance is your priority. It's hard to argue against a feature that makes games perform better with little to no visual impact.

However, if you already have a GPU that's powerful enough to crush games at native resolution, you're making a mistake by overlooking DLAA. You think you're getting the best possible image quality at native, when in reality, TAA is still holding quality back. DLAA is what actually gets you the image quality you're chasing. Yes, it will cost 2-5% of your FPS, but that's hardly a sacrifice when you're already exceeding your target frame rate. Moreover, you can always enable frame generation in single-player titles without worrying too much about responsiveness since your base performance is solid. That's what I do when I want the best of both worlds.

DLAA is the best image quality setting hiding in plain sight

DLAA may not be available in every game that supports DLSS, but you can always use the Nvidia app to override the game's DLSS preset and force DLAA instead. That's one of the reasons I think more people should experiment with it. Most PC gamers know exactly where to find DLSS in the graphics menu, but very few seem to care about what its anti-aliasing component can do at native resolution. If image quality is that important to you, do yourself a favor and spend a few minutes comparing DLAA against TAA. Once you do, you'll realize how hard it is to go back to TAA.