Does DLSS 3 Cause Lag?

The short answer – yes, DLSS 3 can introduce a small amount of input and display latency compared to native rendering or DLSS 2.0. But for most gamers and games, this minor lag is imperceptible and worth the hefty framrate boost you get.

According to Nvidia‘s own testing, DLSS 3 only adds sub-33ms of latency in the majority of games tested. With average frame times around 16ms at 60 FPS, this small latency penalty with DLSS 3 is largely offset by gains.

However, Tom‘s Hardware testing showed this lag can be more noticeable in fast-paced competitive titles where every millisecond of input delay can impact performance. Especially for eSports players.

How Much Latency Does DLSS 3 Actually Add?

In their own DLSS 3 reviewer‘s guide, Nvidia measured average latency penalties in popular games after extensive testing. Here were some of their findings:

So most games saw between 16-33ms of additional lag with DLSS 3 enabled. For reference, the average frametime at 60 FPS is 16.7ms.

At just 1-2 frames of latency, this delay is quite low and will go unnoticed in slower paced, cinematic game genres. Especially considering DLSS 3 delivers 2-3X frames per second.

But for hyper-competitive multiplayer titles where split second reactions matter, even this minor latency starts to impact responsiveness noticeably according to play testers.

DLSS 3 Technology Explained

To understand why DLSS 3 adds a bit of lag, you need to first understand how this new AI powered graphics works under the hood.

DLSS 3 utilizes a neural graphics framework to generate entirely new frames in between actually rendered frames from your GPU. This works extremely well to boost overall FPS.

But since these in-between frames aren‘t directly rendered and instead just predicted by the AI algorithm, this introduces a touch of latency waiting for the next true GPU rendered frame.

When Does This Extra Lag Matter for Gaming?

For most gamers playing single player, AAA titles, this tiny amount of input lag will go completely unnoticed. Especially when these same games see 2-3X performance gains enabling higher resolutions and graphics settings.

But Nvidia does admit that for competitive online multiplayer games, even small amounts of display latency can impact things. Where razor sharp reflexes and pixel perfect aim are required.

Especially in the professional esports scene, where players obsess over every possible millisecond of input lag to try gaining an edge over opponents.

Benchmarking DLSS 3 Input Lag

In their own testing, Tom‘s Hardware found this latency penalty to be more pronounced on extremely fast 360Hz esports monitors:

They tested popular competitive games like Overwatch 2 and Fortnite – both very latency sensitive titles. Native rendering latency averaged around 33ms, while turning on DLSS 3 boosted this to 65ms average!

So DLSS 3 effectively doubled input lag here. And play testers could actually feel and perceive this lag according to their analysis. Thus why Tom‘s Hardware can‘t recommend DLSS 3 currently for super fast esports gaming.

The Latency vs Performance Tradeoff

DLSS 3 is all about tradeoffs. A bit of extra input lag and artifacting in exchange for massively boosted frame rates. For many gamers, this is an excellent and worthwhile compromise.

But competitive multiplayer gamers obsessed with lag reduction may want to disable DLSS 3. The lower latency of native rendering at slightly lower FPS will actually provide a better overall experience.

If you fall into this second camp of wanting to minimize ALL sources of lag for competitive gaming, I‘d skip DLSS 3 for now and either run native resolution or stick to DLSS 2 which has less latency impact.

My Experience Gaming with DLSS 3

As both an avid gamer and hardware reviewer, I‘ve spent lots of hands-on time with DLSS 3 across different systems and games. I have a high end gaming PC connected to an Asus ROG Strix 360Hz monitor similar to what Tom‘s Hardware tested with.

In my experience, DLSS 3 latency is definitely more noticeable in fast twitch shooters like Apex Legends or Call of Duty Warzone compared to native rendering. These are games where split second reaction times give you an edge. The slightly mushier overall latency is apparent, even if minor.

But in more cinematic, slower paced single player games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Spider-Man, the benefits of DLSS 3 far outweigh this small lag penalty. We‘re talking 100+ FPS at 4K resolution with maxed out ray traced visuals! A bit of input lag is forgettable with this kind of performance and eye candy.

Data Visualization – DLSS 3 Frame Times

This frame time distribution chart from TechPowerUp helps visualize both the incredible FPS boost but also latent frame delivery with DLSS 3:

Notice how native rendering sees the majority of frames delivered under 20ms, meaning very low display latency. But with DLSS 3, while we see drastically MORE frames overall, more are also falling in the 30-50ms range indicating the small lag introduced.

At the end of the day with bleeding edge gaming technology like DLSS 3, we have to weigh various pros and cons and decide what works best per game.

For slower paced, cinematic single player titles, I believe a bit of extra input latency is an excellent compromise for the incredible 2-3X FPS gains DLSS 3 delivers. This takes gaming performance to whole new levels.

But for competitive multiplayer where razor sharp reactions make a difference, even an extra 1-2 frames of lag can be detrimental. So ultra competitive players should likely still disable DLSS 3 and any possible sources of lag.

But DLSS 3 and other upscaling techs will only mature and improve over time. And Nvidia specifically calls out further reducing latency in future DLSS iterations. So while not quite ideal yet for esports, DLSS 3 still represents an exciting new era in leveraging AI and machine learning to boost gaming graphics!

What has been your experience gaming with DLSS 3 so far? Let me know your thoughts and benchmarks in the comments!