[BUG] DLSS Implementation Appears Sub-optimal / Not Functioning as Expected

Hello, Im a big fan of DLSS and other upscaling technologies and im very happy POE1 finally got it, but it seems the implementation still needs some work as its not functioning as it should be.

System Information:
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
Driver Version: 576.28
Game Version: 3.26.0f
Location Tested: Personal Hideout Waypoint (for consistent results)
Resolution: 3840x2160 (4K)
API: DirectX 12
V-Sync: Off (for uncapped FPS measurements)
FPS Limit: Uncapped for initial tests; 120 FPS limit for efficiency tests.

A. DLSS Tooling and Driver Interaction Issues:

1. NVIDIA DLSS Overlay Inactivity: The internal NVIDIA DLSS overlay (forced via registry tweak) only displays in the Login Menu and not while in-game. This is unique to PoE1, as the overlay functions correctly in all other games I've tested.

2. Inability to Force Latest DLSS DLL/Transformer Model: I am unable to force the game to use the newest DLSS DLL versions or the latest Transformer model via NVIDIA control panel, GeForce Experience, or Nvidia Inspector. Similar to the overlay, this functionality works for all other games I've tested, indicating an unusual restriction specifically within PoE1.


B. Performance & Efficiency Anomalies (Uncapped FPS):

My initial benchmarks focused on maximum FPS and GPU power consumption in my hideout with no FPS limit.

Native 366 FPS 296W
DLAA 288 FPS 300W
QUALITY 360 FPS 295W
BALANCED 363 FPS 252W
PERFORMANCE 396 FPS 256W
U-PERFORMANCE 380 FPS 253W

First DLAA shouldnt take a 22% hit in fps to Native, more like 5%. Second DLSS Quality should push more FPS than native. Third DLSS ULTRA Performance should push more and not less FPS than DLSS Performance.


C. Power Efficiency Anomalies (120 FPS Limit):

Native 123W
DLAA 148W
QUALITY 128W
BALANCED 115W
PERFORMANCE 105W
U-PERFORMANCE 108W

Again DLAA shouldnt take a 20% hit to Native. Quality should be much lower Watt than Native -not more. Ultra Performance again is less efficient than performance.

Summary of Core Issues (TL;DR):

Currently, DLSS in Path of Exile 1 is not performing as expected for several reasons:

Sub-optimal Integration: NVIDIA's DLSS overlay and external DLL forcing mechanisms, which work in other games, are blocked or non-functional.

Inconsistent Performance Scaling: DLAA shows an unusually high performance penalty, and DLSS Quality mode provides virtually no FPS benefit over native, sometimes even a slight drop.

Inverse Efficiency Scaling: DLSS Ultra Performance mode consistently yields lower FPS (uncapped) and less power efficiency (capped) than DLSS Performance, which contradicts how DLSS modes typically scale.

Limited Overall Gains: Despite rendering significantly fewer pixels, the efficiency and FPS gains from DLSS are marginal (~15% more efficiency, ~8% more FPS for optimal modes) compared to what's expected from an advanced upscaling technology like DLSS.

These issues suggest that the DLSS implementation requires further optimization. I hope this detailed report helps in diagnosing and resolving these problems.

Thank you for your time and effort!

i am having a similar experience with my 5070 on the most current nvidia driver set , one thing i notice is it shader spikes a lot more when dlss is on as well, for now im honestly just keeping it off. all of the symptoms above are present in my game when dlss is enabled

There are also graphical bugs with it in Ritual and the wisps woods.


DLSS on:



DLSS off: