The PS5 Pro’s PSSR upscaling gives multiple games a huge visual upgrade – can it compete with Nvidia’s DLSS 3 successor?
- Digital Foundry believes that PSSR is a huge advancement for PS5 games
- Some of the biggest improvements are visible in Stellar blade
- Nvidia’s DLSS 3 successor may have some competition
Sony’s PS5 Pro was released on November 7, 2024, giving many people the chance to finally put the new PSSR upscaling method to the test, with strong comparisons to Nvidia’s DLSS on PC.
Digital foundry John Linneman praised the impact PSSR has made on the visual quality of multiple titlessaying: ‘It’s a huge leap, it’s probably the best implementation I’ve seen so far in terms of image quality.’
This comes after multiple Digital Foundry tests in titles like Ratchet & Clank: Rift apart And The Last of Us Part II performed before the official release of the console. The noticeable improvement for Linneman now that the console has been released is visible in Stellar blade (which runs at 80fps using the game’s PSSR Pro mode and VRR). Despite the inability to achieve a constant 60 frames per second in games like Elden Ringthe improvements in picture quality bode well for Sony’s eventual PlayStation 6 console, which will likely take advantage of this technology to deliver even more impressive graphics and performance.
Nvidia’s DLSS 3 is the leading upscaling method for RTX 4000 series GPU owners, delivering great image quality and frame rates for multiple games (even with ray tracing enabled).
Considering PSSR’s jump over FSR 3 with better anti-aliasing for smoother edges of on-screen objects (in performance mode), this is the closest thing to Team Green’s upscaler – and while PSSR falls short of Nvidia’s DLSS (especially compared to Ratchet & Clank Rift apart), it manages to do an excellent job of offering a decent level of image stability within its performance modes, as stated by Digital Foundry.
How would PSSR fare against the successor to DLSS 3?
We still have no official word on when Nvidia might unveil the new RTX 5000 GPU series, so there’s little to go off of when it comes to the successor to DLSS 3, which will likely launch alongside the new GPUs. What we do know is that Nvidia has been pushing DLSS 3 as a major selling point of RTX 4000 series GPUs, allowing PC gamers to get the most out of their hardware.
Since PSSR isn’t better than DLSS 3, it’s hard to imagine the new upscaler going toe-to-toe with what Team Green is cooking up. However, don’t let this cause you to write off PSSR beyond the competition.
It’s already a good start for Sony for this generation of gaming hardware, and by offering better performance than DLSS’s main competitor, AMD’s FSR, it seems like PSSR has arrived at the perfect time, especially since Team Red is also planning a To deliver AI-driven FSR 4. There’s also plenty of chance that PSSR will receive numerous updates and improvements over time.
Does this justify a PS5 Pro purchase? If you’re using a PC or planning to make the switch to the platform, I don’t think so. But if you plan to stick to console only, especially with titles like GTA6 now closer than ever (there won’t be a PC version at launch), it might be worth considering a purchase if you want the best Sony has to offer.