So when I got my hands on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, I was curious to see whether it would be able to handle games at 8K. Overall, the NVIDIA RTX 5090 is around 33% faster than the RTX 4090. So, is 8K gaming now possible with this new GPU and DLSS 4? Let’s find out.
For our 8K benchmarks, we used an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D with 32GB of DDR5 at 6000Mhz, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090. We also used Windows 10 64-bit, and the GeForce 571.86 driver. Moreover, we’ve disabled the second CCD on our 7950X3D. Plus, we’re using the ASUS ROG SWIFT PG32UCDM monitor, which is a 32” 4K/240Hz/HDR monitor. We also used DSR 4X to get an 8K resolution on our monitor.
Now the big two questions some may have are a) does 8K work on a 4K PC monitor and b) are there any visual improvements? Let’s answer these questions.
With DSR, you CAN use an 8K resolution on a 4K PC monitor. This is nothing new really. It’s similar to how 1440p users can use 4K resolutions. All you have to do is enable DSR 4X on the NVIDIA Control Panel, and then select the new 8K resolution. Then, once you launch your game, you can use Borderless Fullscreen to game at 8K.
But are there any visual improvements? Well, believe it or not, DLSS Performance Mode at 8K can provide a better image quality than Native 4K with DLAA. Here are two examples. You can clearly see how much better 8K with DLSS Performance Super Resolution looks than Native 4K with DLAA. And again. We are comparing 4K with DLAA (which produces a better image than 4K with TAA). In a way, we put 8K at a disadvantage here. And despite that, it still looks better than 4K.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, 4K DLSS Performance (which reconstructs the image from 1080p) offers a better image quality than Native 1080p. And this is exactly what’s happening with 8K DLSS Performance.
Truth be told, you’ll need a really big screen to benefit from these visual improvements. On a 65” TV (like the LG CX), it’s easier to notice the visual improvements of 8K. On my 32” PC monitor, it was almost impossible to notice them. So, make sure to also keep that in mind.
So, we’ve established that 8K DLSS Performance can look better than Native 4K. But how about performance? Is the NVIDIA RTX 5090 able to run games at 8K?
In numerous non-RT and non-PT games, it’s possible to game at 8K even without Frame Generation. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth runs with 65-75FPS at 8K/Max Settings with DLSS Quality Mode. By dropping it to Performance Mode, you can get framerates between 75-95FPS. Tekken 8 also runs smoothly and without any issues at 8K. The Last of Us Part I could also run with 60FPS. Or how about A Plague Tale: Requiem? Without Ray Tracing, it ran with a minimum of 64FPS at 8K/Max Settings with DLSS Performance Mode (without Frame Generation).
But what about some ray-traced games? Without DLSS 4 Multi-Frame Gen, you can get to 60-70FPS in some of the most demanding games like Avatar and STALKER 2. Surprisingly enough, Avatar did not suffer from any input latency issues. I don’t know what Ubisoft has done, but the game felt really responsive at 8K with DLSS Performance Mode and Frame Gen X2. On the other hand, STALKER 2 had some noticeable latency issues. They were not game-breaking, but most of you will be able to spot them. I also tried Star Wars: Outlaws and Dragon Age: The Veilguard which have support for DLSS 4. Star Wars: Outlaws felt responsive and fully enjoyable at 8K with DLSS 4 Performance Mode and Multi-Frame Gen X4. DA: The Veilguard ran with over 120FPS at 8K with DLSS Quality Mode with Multi-Frame Gen X4. With DLSS Performance Mode, my framerates went up to 175FPS (something that also reduced the input latency). So, with the exception of STALKER 2, all of the above ray-traced games felt responsive at 8K.
For the ultimate 8K test, I’ve tried some path-traced games with DLSS 4. And, to my surprise, both Alan Wake 2 and Cyberpunk 2077 were playable. CP2077 was fully playable at 8K with DLSS 4 X4. The control movement/response was actually pretty great. In my opinion, this is one of the best examples of DLSS 4 Multi-Frame Gen X4. Alan Wake 2 had worse input latency and felt laggier at 8K. It wasn’t unplayable. However, I could easily notice the laggier mouse movement. Still, we’re talking about 8K gaming here. The fact we can even get “smooth” framerates at 8K in fully path-traced games is already an incredible feat.
In conclusion, 8K gaming is possible with the RTX 5090 and DLSS 4. It’s not something I recommend though unless you have a 60Hz 4K/8K monitor and you want to take advantage of the extra power of a high-end GPU. As for the input latency when gaming at 8K, this is something we can only judge per game. In the games I’ve tested, only STALKER 2 and Alan Wake 2 felt laggier. They weren’t unplayable. But, as I said, they were laggier. On the other hand, Avatar, which was running at lower framerates than STALKER 2, felt super responsive. So yeah, some games may feel worse than others at the exact same framerates.
As I’ve also showcased, there are visual benefits when gaming at 8K, even with DLSS Performance Mode. But, let’s be realistic here. I don’t recommend this to anyone. So, no. You shouldn’t get an RTX 5090 just so you can game at 8K. This was simply a fun experiment and nothing more!
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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Can you upload those 8K videos as 8K on youtube?
Yep, it may take a few days to process the 8K version, but if you use an 8K TV/monitor, you'll eventually get the 8K option.
John, how did you get your hands on a 5090? Is DSOG doing that well?
I have to wait until they are released. Planning on the TUF.
Nvidia started giving him a test card since last year I think, got a 4090 from them too.
i play all games at 8k resolution(non path traced games ) .i use nvidia 4x dsr supersampling (with 0 percent smoothness ) and man its beyond beautiful .all games even 15 years old games turn to eye candy .u just realize how beautiful are games .4k with taa copmared to 4k with 4x dsr is like 1080 vs 4k to my eyes .i couldnt go back to 1080 after trying 4k .its the same story here .just try metro exodus or uncharted 4 or crysis 1 rtemastered,.
Can I teach you how to form sentences in latin-based characters please? It's "word. Next word" not "word . Next word". Thank you.
Ummhummh! Rich man, richly leisure, richie problems. Peasants gtfo save bread n water poor ar$es.
More fake resolution.
only 20 fps is possible full path tracing in an xbox one game from 2013.
Stop it, John, get some help. No one f*king cares about 8k gaming. Why every time you simp new rtx you have to do this? Is this some kind of sick fetish?
"But, let’s be realistic here. I don’t recommend this to anyone. So, no. You shouldn’t get an RTX 5090 just so you can game at 8K. This was simply a fun experiment and nothing more!"
i think supersampling worth it to buy a better gpu .nvidia 4x dsr makes a big difference visually .
8K is a joke. On Steam, only 4% of players has 4K, and 8K resolution is not even listed in the stats. But I am not against this tests, is ok to see how powerful a graphic card is, just for fun.
"oN StEAm"…. stfu, steam is pretty much on any PC, from a 10years old laptop to a 3rd word country PC.
Of course 4K numbers are low.
$500 Consoles already run games at 4K since years ago, 4K should be the norm on PC nowadays.
Can your toes touch your an*s? the answer is who gives a fck.
SD to HD Ready to Full HD, was something logic a must have thing, no problem everyone is happy you can see and feel the the difference. 4K & 8K what is the logic justification?! get ride of the anti aliasing?! better textures?! it can be good only in VR headsets, otherwise painfully u$ele$$. People in the last 10yrs dream about 60FPS games but now NO you need 120FPS or it's not playable, FFS some hardcore gamers still playing 30FPS/720p and having a blast, looks like it's not about the video games anymore, and more about technology. Dafaq is wrong with this twisted and sick new generation of gamers????
Hard-core gamers? Lmfao you're not a hard-core gamer if you're "still" playing at 30fps 720p, you're a casual gamer. "Still" means they're using ancient hardware incapable of playing any game released in the last decade. Would a "hard-core" gamer limit themselves on the games they could play? No, no they do not. You've never played video games huh? The difference between 1080 & 1440/4k is night and day. The difference between 60fps & 100+fps is night and day. Once you've experienced higher resolutions and higher frame rates, you'll understand.
Yep, nothing to do with new gamers. I have been playing games since 1984, and now cannot go back to playing at 60 fps. It looks like a slideshow. 100 fps minimum, ~120 fps average for me these days. Luckily Lossless Scaling helps framegening old locked 60 fps games to 120 Hz.
Great, another 2 years of Sucking Nvidias $2k D*CK.
This article is very misleading. The only games that your article somewhat implies are playable at actual 8k are tekken and tlou, as for everything else you used upscaling and/or frame generation.
*EDIT* OK you did mention 8K AND DLSS4, my morning brain skipped over the last part there. Still, it seems like a pointless article to me as it's not native 8K and the answer will be obviously yes as you have a plethora of dlss upscaling presets and frame generation settings to use to play at "8k"
Nothing wrong with DLSS and Frame Generation when it looks so good. Silly not to use.
Except frame generation will always add noticeable latency & anyone that says they do not notice the latency are either lying or ignorant.
Nobody cares lad. Nobody cares…
If the base framerate is 72 fps FG to 144 fps, its imperceptible.
Olders games that are less demanding on modern hardware can be played at 8k without upscaling or frame generation. Do you need someone to write an article telling you that or do you have enough common sense to know?
Yeah no $#!+, Sherlock. We all know that older titles can be played at 8K native. I think a lot of us are curious about whether or not a 5090 can play MODERN titles at 8K native.
It's been >5 years since we got the first 8k monitor and it's still the only one on the market… and also costs $3000. Who are we kidding here?
its a scenario like those classic RPG games in which you can 2 shot lvl1 enemies when you are at lvl1 and also 2 shot lvl 100 enemies when you are at lvl 100, you just see the bigger number with no actual difference, more Ks are irrelevant there is no actual value. more interactivity and better physix are on the top of Wishlist that we are not getting.
I want to ask author of this article. Does 5090 work with 4k DSR resolution at 240hz on your monitor which has DP 1.4? Because on 4090 if you use 240hz mode it uses DSC and that disables DSR or if you want DSR you have to disable in monitor DSC, but then you have only 120hz mode.
John, what do you set the SMOOTHNESS slider at?