Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 may not be the longest game out there, but there’s one good reason that some gamers may jump back in to play it again and again.
As reported by Tech4Gamers, the game gets an incredible performance boost using DLSS3. Is it enough of a boost for gamers to invest in DLSS3? We’ll explain what this means below.
DLSS3 is the newest version of Nvidia’s powerful upscaling technology. In fact, as explained in this PC World article, it is a definitive generational leap from DLSS 2. It does retain DLSS 2’s base technology, which is to render video games at a lower resolution, and then use machine learning to make it look like its rendering at the higher resolution. This all works to increase the game’s overall performance, by reducing the CPU workload considerably.
DLSS 3 adds frame generation to that technology. DLSS adds even more frames to the ones that the game already renders, to increase the graphical quality. However, frame generation can adversely affect latency. So, Nvidia adds another layer to compensate for that: Nvidia Reflex. Reflex is itself technology to reduce input latency, by getting the CPU and GPU to work directly and reduce bottlenecks.
Now, most gamers right now do not and cannot experience the benefits of DLSS3. This technology can only be operated by the Nvidia RTX 40-series cards, also known as the Ada Lovelace cards. RTX 30-series cards are not powerful enough, and do not have the necessary added technology, to make use of all of DLSS3’s abilities.
And this is where we go back to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Nvidia demonstrates that an RTX 4080 can reach 60 to 70 FPS at 4K in Ultra graphics settings. That’s a respectable performance metric, but nothing to write home about.
So, when you enable DLSS 3 Frame Generation, you can increase that framerate to 120 to 130 FPS. In some scenarios, it can reach 100 % frame generation. Now, these frames are a concern for competitive games, like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, but again, Nvidia’s Reflex should address any such potential issues.
That is a performance level a generation above what is possible on either the PlayStation 5 or the Xbox Series X. Of course, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is not the first game to fully utilize this technology, but it’s definitely a major title to do so. If Activision continues to optimize for RTX 40-series cards with DLSS3 and other features, Call of Duty may be the main driver for PC gamers to upgrade to RTX 40-series cards.
