OptiScaler Pre-SR DLSS 5: Running Neural Rendering Before Super Resolution (What Is Confirmed, 2026)
Evergreen explainer: OptiScaler-DLSSNR-PreSR-Multipass runs DLSS 5 Neural Rendering before Super Resolution to cut FPS cost. Community RTX 5070 Ti numbers (~180→80 post-SR vs ~122 Pre-SR), GitHub forks, flicker/anti-cheat caveats—not watts.
TL;DR — Default / common community DLSS 5 Neural Rendering (NR) runs after Super Resolution on the upscaled frame. An experimental OptiScaler fork, OptiScaler-DLSSNR-PreSR-Multipass, can run NR before Super Resolution on the lower-resolution input, cutting reported FPS cost roughly in half in one widely cited test. On an RTX 5070 Ti in Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy at 4K DLSS Performance, community numbers go ~180 FPS (NR off) → ~80 FPS (NR after SR, ~56% hit) → ~122 FPS (NR before SR, ~25–30% hit). This is pipeline order / FPS cost, not watts — for board power see Terapep’s RTX 5090 power piece. Unofficial, game-dependent, with flicker / IQ and anti-cheat caveats.
Primary links
| What | Link |
|---|---|
| Reddit (community FPS report, u/Sad-Victory-8319) | r/nvidia — “DLSS5 placed before the upscaling step is amazing” |
| Wccftech — Pre-SR OptiScaler fork / 80→122 FPS write-up | wccftech.com/dlss-5-performance-cost-cut-in-half-with-experimental-optiscaler-mod |
| Notebookcheck — same community result summarized | notebookcheck.net/…1394954… |
| GitHub — wilsjo2/OptiScaler-DLSSNR-PreSR-Multipass (Pre-SR / multipass fork) | github.com/wilsjo2/OptiScaler-DLSSNR-PreSR-Multipass |
| GitHub — ShyVortex/OptiScaler-DLSSNR-PreSR-Multipass (same lineage + optional MFG unlock notes) | github.com/ShyVortex/OptiScaler-DLSSNR-PreSR-Multipass |
| GitHub — Dagherbou/OptiScaler_DLSSNR (earlier NR-on-OptiScaler line) | github.com/Dagherbou/OptiScaler_DLSSNR |
| GitHub — upstream OptiScaler | github.com/optiscaler/OptiScaler |
| NVIDIA — official DLSS 5 / Neural Rendering overview | nvidia.com/…/dlss-5-3d-guided-neural-rendering |
Sister Terapep posts (different angles — do not treat as duplicates): DLSS 5 Swapper how-to · DLSS 5 Manager · RTX 40 official support status · DLSS 5 power / watts on RTX 5090.
What this piece covers (and what it does not)
| Angle | Covered here? |
|---|---|
| Pipeline order: NR after SR vs Pre-SR (before upscale) | Yes |
| FPS cost reduction from processing fewer pixels | Yes (community-sourced numbers only) |
| Board watts / TGP / 12V-2x6 | No → power explainer |
| Swapper / Manager install UX | No → Swapper / Manager posts above |
| Official RTX 40 DLSS 5 shipping status | No → RTX 40 status |
Pipeline: default after-upscale vs Pre-SR
DLSS Super Resolution (SR) reconstructs a higher-resolution frame from a lower internal render. Neural Rendering is a separate Tensor-bound pass that changes lighting / materials / related response — not “just sharper pixels.”
Common / default community placement (post-SR): game renders at internal res → SR upscales (e.g. 1080p → 4K in DLSS Performance) → NR runs on the upscaled image. At 4K that means the model sees roughly four times as many pixels as a 1080p input (coverage: Wccftech, Notebookcheck, Duck-IT Tech).
Pre-SR placement (experimental OptiScaler fork): game renders at internal res → NR runs on that lower-res buffer → SR upscales the NR’d result. Same idea as “process fewer pixels first,” which is why Autopilot-style / pre-upscale routes are discussed as lower cost in community coverage.
Wccftech’s summary of the fork’s release notes: with 4K DLSS Performance, NR can work on a 1920×1080 input before SR rebuilds 3840×2160.
Post-SR (heavier): [render] → Super Resolution → Neural Rendering → display
Pre-SR (lighter): [render] → Neural Rendering → Super Resolution → display
Confirmed vs community-only
| Claim | Status |
|---|---|
| NR after SR processes more pixels than NR before SR at the same output resolution | Mechanically consistent (pixel-count argument); explained by Wccftech / Notebookcheck / Duck-IT |
| Forks expose “before or after the game’s upscaling” | Confirmed in GitHub READMEs (wilsjo2 / ShyVortex) |
| Exact FPS deltas below | Community-only (one Reddit test + press reprints) — not an NVIDIA lab chart |
| Pre-SR IQ equals post-SR IQ | Not confirmed — forks and coverage warn about flicker / visual tradeoffs |
Community FPS table (RTX 5070 Ti · Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy)
Numbers below are the set repeated by Wccftech (9 Sep 2026) and Notebookcheck (9 Sep 2026), attributed to Reddit user u/Sad-Victory-8319 (thread). Setup described as 4K, DLSS Performance, RTX 5070 Ti.
| Configuration | Approx. FPS | Approx. cost vs NR-off baseline |
|---|---|---|
| DLSS SR on, NR off | ~180 | Baseline |
| NR after Super Resolution (post-SR) | ~80 | ~56% hit |
| NR before Super Resolution (Pre-SR fork) | ~122 | ~25–30% hit (tester’s characterization) |
How to read the math (source-backed, not invented)
- 180 → 80 is a drop of 100 FPS → 100/180 ≈ 56% (Wccftech / Notebookcheck).
- 180 → 122 is a drop of 58 FPS → 58/180 ≈ 32% below baseline; the tester / coverage still describe the Pre-SR penalty band as ~25–30% (Wccftech wording). Duck-IT’s table likewise lists ~25% to 30% for Pre-SR.
- Absolute recovery post-SR → Pre-SR: 80 → 122 FPS (~+42 FPS), as noted in secondary coverage.
Duck-IT also notes a same-scene comparison the tester shared: 172 FPS without NR → 122 FPS with Pre-SR — useful as a second datapoint from the same community report, still not a lab suite.
Label clearly: one game, one GPU SKU, community capture. Other titles (internal res, path tracing, Ray Reconstruction order, multipass count) can land very differently.
What is confirmed on GitHub (fork reality check)
Verified HTTP 200 repository pages (as of draft date context 20 Sep 2026):
| Repo | Role (from README / description) |
|---|---|
| wilsjo2/OptiScaler-DLSSNR-PreSR-Multipass | Experimental OptiScaler NR build: strength / colour controls, before or after upscaling, finished-picture pass, 1–3 multipass, lower model resolution to cut cost; needs user-supplied nvngx_dlssnr.dll |
| ShyVortex/OptiScaler-DLSSNR-PreSR-Multipass | Same Pre-SR / multipass NR line; description adds guarded pre-SR placement, configurable 1–3 passes, optional / related MFG unlock notes for broader RTX |
| Dagherbou/OptiScaler_DLSSNR | Earlier “NR over upscaler output” OptiScaler line credited by the Pre-SR READMEs |
| optiscaler/OptiScaler | Upstream middleware (intercept upscaler calls → chosen backend) |
README warnings that matter for readers (both Pre-SR forks):
- NR costs performance and can cause flicker or other visual problems; NR before Ray Reconstruction is still called experimental.
- Optional hybrid mode is described as RTX 50-oriented; loading may pause / look frozen.
- Avoid anti-cheat-protected multiplayer games.
- Forks do not redistribute NVIDIA’s
nvngx_dlssnr.dll— you supply a legitimate runtime separately.
None of these forks are NVIDIA products. Nothing here is an official Streamline “Pre-SR toggle” for every retail title.
Image quality and stability caveats
Rearranging order changes what the network sees:
- Pre-SR = fewer pixels, less information → often cheaper, sometimes softer / different lighting response or temporal artifacts.
- Community discussion summarized by Duck-IT: some titles (e.g. reports around Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II) felt more stable Pre-SR; others showed pixel crawling, dithering, or extra artifacts.
- Path-traced titles add another ordering problem: NR relative to Ray Reconstruction can expose the model to noisy vs denoised buffers — results differ by engine (same Duck-IT roundup).
Treat Pre-SR as a cost / look trade, not a free upgrade.
Reader checklist (FPS cost, not watts)
| Check | Why |
|---|---|
| Confirm whether your path is post-SR or Pre-SR in the OptiScaler overlay | Same “NR on” label can mean very different GPU work |
| Start with one NR pass; extra multipass costs more (README) | Multipass is a dial, not free detail |
| Compare same scene NR off / post-SR / Pre-SR with overlays or captures | Avoid mixing travel / combat / menu FPS |
| Watch for flicker, crawling, or HDR weirdness | Documented experimental risks |
| Skip anti-cheat multiplayer | Explicit fork warning |
| Separate FPS from board watts | Watts live in the 5090 power post |
FAQ
Is Pre-SR “official DLSS 5 Autopilot”?
No. Coverage notes the idea is similar to Autopilot-style pre-upscale thinking, but OptiScaler-DLSSNR-PreSR-Multipass is a community fork, not an NVIDIA shipping feature for every game.
Does Pre-SR always recover ~40+ FPS?
No. The ~80 → ~122 figure is one RTX 5070 Ti / Resonance community report amplified by Wccftech and Notebookcheck. Your delta depends on resolution, preset, scene, and whether NR was the bottleneck.
Is this the same story as “DLSS 5 melts connectors / 800 W”?
No. That is power draw / TGP / connector headroom. Cross-link only: DLSS 5 power usage on RTX 5090.
Can I use this with Swapper or Manager?
Possibly as part of a broader community toolchain, but this explainer is about pipeline order, not installer UX. See Terapep’s Swapper and Manager posts.
Will NVIDIA ship Pre-SR natively everywhere?
Not claimed here. As of this evergreen draft (20 Sep 2026), Pre-SR multipass behavior is documented on community GitHub forks, while NVIDIA’s public GeForce materials describe Neural Rendering as a product feature without endorsing these mods.
Sources
- Reddit community FPS report as cited by Wccftech/Notebookcheck (u/Sad-Victory-8319; thread may require login)
- Wccftech — Experimental OptiScaler mod / 80 to 122 FPS (Sarfraz Khan, 9 Sep 2026)
- Notebookcheck — Experimental community mod boosts DLSS 5 NR performance
- Duck-IT Tech — Pre-upscale mod nearly halves performance cost (secondary table + IQ caveats)
- wilsjo2/OptiScaler-DLSSNR-PreSR-Multipass · ShyVortex fork · Dagherbou/OptiScaler_DLSSNR · optiscaler/OptiScaler
- NVIDIA GeForce News — DLSS 5 Neural Rendering
Hero still: NVIDIA CDN DLSS 5 comparison image (hotlinked for illustration; © NVIDIA / partners as applicable).
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