Find the best DLSS settings for MSFS 2020 at 1080p, 1440p and 4K, plus practical fixes for blurry cockpit text and weak FPS gains.
For MSFS 2020, DLSS Quality is the best starting point at 1440p and 4K; use Balanced only when the GPU still cannot hold your target frame rate. At 1080p, TAA usually keeps cockpit text clearer. DLSS Performance and Ultra Performance are poor choices for normal monitor resolutions.
DLSS is available only on the PC version of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 with a compatible NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics card. It is not available on GTX, AMD or Xbox hardware.
Best MSFS 2020 DLSS mode by resolution
The right mode depends mainly on output resolution because each step towards Performance gives DLSS fewer source pixels from which to reconstruct the final image.
| Output resolution | Recommended setting | When to change it |
|---|---|---|
| 1920×1080 | TAA at native resolution | Use DLSS Quality only when clearly GPU-limited and willing to accept softer instruments. |
| 2560×1440 | DLSS Quality | Try Balanced only if Quality does not deliver enough GPU headroom. Use TAA when panel clarity matters more than FPS. |
| 3440×1440 ultrawide | DLSS Quality | Balanced can be useful with demanding clouds, complex aircraft or large airports. |
| 3840×2160 | DLSS Quality | Balanced is the sensible fallback. Performance is a last resort for unusually heavy situations. |
Ultra Performance is intended for exceptionally high output resolutions. At ordinary 1440p or 4K monitor resolutions, it leaves too little source detail for convincing cockpit lettering, thin runway markings and distant scenery.
How should I configure DLSS in MSFS 2020?
Start with native output resolution and DLSS Quality, then change one setting at a time in a repeatable flight.
- Set the display resolution to native. Using a lower desktop or simulator resolution before applying DLSS compounds the loss of detail.
- Select NVIDIA DLSS as the anti-aliasing method. Choose Quality first, regardless of what an automatic graphics preset selected.
- Keep Render Scaling at 100. If MSFS locks or hides that control while DLSS is active, that is expected. Do not combine DLSS with an additional reduction in render scale.
- Test a demanding representative flight. Use the aircraft, airport, weather and cockpit view you normally fly rather than judging the setting from the main menu or an external view.
- Move to Balanced only when GPU-limited. If the simulator is limited by the MainThread, reducing DLSS quality will make the image softer without addressing the real bottleneck.
DLSS Super Resolution does not require DirectX 12 merely to upscale the image. DirectX 12 becomes relevant when using DLSS Frame Generation, which is a separate feature.
Why does DLSS make cockpit text blurry or ghosted?
DLSS can soften glass-cockpit fonts and create trails around moving text because those fine details are being reconstructed from a lower internal resolution across several frames.
- Move from Balanced or Performance back to Quality.
- At 1080p, switch to TAA; there are often too few source pixels for DLSS to preserve small labels cleanly.
- Confirm that the simulator is using the monitor's native resolution and that Render Scaling has not been reduced.
- Disable NVIDIA Image Scaling rather than stacking a second upscaler over DLSS. Our guide to safe NVIDIA driver settings for MSFS covers the driver options that should remain application-controlled.
- Use TAA for aircraft with especially small or densely packed displays if DLSS Quality remains distracting.
The Glass Cockpit Refresh Rate setting changes how frequently displays update; it does not increase their rendered resolution. Raising it will not cure DLSS softness and may add CPU load. Aggressive sharpening can make lettering look harsher, but it cannot restore detail missing from the reconstruction.
If the whole panel or exterior livery looks blocky rather than merely soft in motion, DLSS may not be the cause. Check texture resolution, anisotropic filtering and available VRAM using our steps for diagnosing pixelated aircraft and cockpit textures.
Why does DLSS not improve FPS in MSFS 2020?
DLSS improves frame rate only when rendering load on the GPU is the limiting factor; it cannot remove a CPU or MainThread bottleneck.
Use the simulator's developer FPS display in the same demanding scene. If it reports a GPU limitation, moving from TAA to DLSS Quality—or from Quality to Balanced—should create useful headroom. If it reports a MainThread limitation, reduce settings such as Terrain Level of Detail, Object Level of Detail and traffic instead.
A frame-rate cap or V-Sync can also hide a DLSS gain. Temporarily remove the cap while testing, then restore it after choosing a mode. Stutters caused by scenery streaming, memory pressure or CPU spikes may remain even when average GPU frame time improves; our method for finding MSFS's actual performance bottleneck explains how to separate these cases.
Should I enable DLSS Frame Generation as well?
Frame Generation can be used alongside DLSS Super Resolution, but it creates additional displayed frames rather than changing the DLSS reconstruction mode.
In MSFS 2020 it requires DirectX 12 and supported RTX 40-series-or-newer hardware. It works best from an already playable base frame rate; at very low native FPS, latency and visual artefacts become more noticeable. It may make a CPU-limited flight look smoother, but it does not speed up the simulation thread or improve control response in the same way as genuine rendered frames.
Keep Super Resolution on Quality initially, establish stable base performance, and then follow our instructions for setting up frame generation correctly. Do not drop straight to DLSS Performance simply because Frame Generation is enabled.