DLSS 4.5 beats FSR 4.1 in 6 out of 7 games in blind testing

Hardware outlet ComputerBase ran a blind test pitting NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 against AMD FSR 4.1 across seven games—Assassin's Creed Shadows, Era 117, Arc Raiders, and four others. DLSS 4.5 won the image quality vote in six of them.

The blind format matters here: voters had no idea which tech they were judging. DLSS 4.5 pulled ahead on sharpness, noise reduction, and motion clarity. FSR 4.1 typically landed second, while the previous-gen FSR 4.0 consistently trailed. In several scenes, a notable share of participants picked "no visible difference," suggesting the gap has narrowed in specific contexts.

The Last of Us Part I was the lone outlier—the only game where FSR 4.1 outpolled DLSS 4.5. That could stem from engine-level FSR tuning or a test scene that plays to FSR's algorithmic strengths. Across the board, though, NVIDIA's update widened the lead.

For RTX 40/50 owners, DLSS 4.5 is a straightforward enable. AMD users shouldn't write off FSR 4.1—it's a clear step up from 4.0, and its open nature leaves room for further optimization. If image quality is your priority, wait for more game-specific data. If you chase frames, pick whichever fits your hardware.