The PS5 Pro’s PSSR upscaling gives multiple games a huge visual upgrade – can it compete with Nvidia’s DLSS 3 successor?

Sony’s best tech yet

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Sony’sPS5 Prowas 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’sJohn Linneman praised the impact PSSR has made on the visual quality of multiple titles, stating, ‘It’s a gigantic leap, it’s probably the best implementation I have seen yet in terms of image quality.’

This comes after multiple Digital Foundry tests in titles likeRatchet & Clank: Rift ApartandThe Last of Us Part IIperformed before the console’s official release. The stand-out improvement for Linneman now that the console has been released is visible inStellar 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 likeElden Ring, the image quality enhancements bode well forSony’s eventual PlayStation 6 console, which will likely make use of this technology to provide even more impressive graphics and performance.

Nvidia’s DLSS 3 has been the leading upscaling method for RTX 4000 series GPU owners, providing great image quality and frame rates across multiple games (even with ray tracing enabled).

ConsideringPSSR’s leap over FSR 3with better anti-aliasing for smoother edges on objects on screen (in performance mode), it brings it closest to Team Green’s upscaler - and while PSSR doesn’t manage to surpass Nvidia’s DLSS (especially in comparison toRatchet & Clank Rift Apart), it manages to do a great job at providing a decent level of image stability within its performance modes as pointed out by Digital Foundry.

How would PSSR fare against DLSS 3’s successor?

We still have no official word on when Nvidia could reveal the new RTX 5000 GPU series, so there is little to go off of when it comes to DLSS 3’s successor, which will likely launch alongside the new GPUs. What we do know is thatNvidia has pushed DLSS 3 as a major selling point of RTX 4000 series GPUs, helping PC gamers get the best out of their hardware.

Since PSSR isn’t better than DLSS 3, it would be hard to imagine the new upscaler standing toe-to-toe with what Team Green has cooking. Don’t let this make you write PSSR off of competition though.

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It’s already a great start for Sony for this generation of gaming hardware, and by offering better performance than DLSS’ main competitor,AMD’s FSR, it seems as though PSSR has arrived at the perfect time, especially asTeam Red also plans on providing an AI-driven FSR 4. There’s also plenty of chance for PSSR to receive numerous updates and improvements over time.

Does this justify a PS5 Pro purchase? If you’re on PC or plan to make the shift to the platform, I don’t think so. But if you plan on sticking with console-only, especially with titles likeGTA 6now closer than ever(there won’t be a PC version at launch), it might be worth considering a purchase if you want the best that Sony has to offer.

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Isaiah is a Staff Writer for the Computing channel at TechRadar. He’s spent over two years writing about all things tech, specifically games on PC, consoles, and handhelds. He started off atGameRantin 2022 after graduating from Birmingham City University in the same year, before writing atPC Guidewhich included work on deals articles, reviews, and news on PC products such as GPUs, CPUs, monitors, and more. He spends most of his time finding out about the exciting new features of upcoming GPUs, and is passionate about new game releases on PC, hoping that the ports aren’t a complete mess.

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