Dune Awakening and F1 25 Showcase the Power of NVIDIA DLSS 4: Real Gains or Marketing Hype?

The era of ultra-performance gaming continues with the launch of Dune: Awakening and EA Sports F1 25, both embracing NVIDIA’s latest DLSS 4 technology. For players with RTX 40 and 50 Series GPUs, this means access to a full suite of performance-boosting features like Super Resolution, Frame Generation, Multi-Frame Generation, and NVIDIA Reflex.

Funcom’s new multiplayer survival game, Dune: Awakening, is now live for Deluxe and Ultimate Edition owners. Powered by DLSS 4, it delivers an average performance boost of 4.9X at 4K when all features are enabled. Benchmarks show the RTX 5090 pushing over 338 FPS, while the RTX 5080 hits 270 FPS and the RTX 5070 Ti lands at 239 FPS

. Even the base RTX 5070 achieves a solid 198 FPS.

Importantly, NVIDIA now allows DLSS overrides through its app, letting players toggle the new transformer model to improve visual fidelity. Combined with NVIDIA Reflex, which reduces system latency by up to 50%, the experience should theoretically feel as smooth as it looks.

F1 25 takes things further.

Codemasters’ latest entry in the Formula One series adds Ray Reconstruction to the DLSS 4 package, replacing the default denoiser to deliver better lighting and reflections. With every DLSS feature enabled, performance reportedly skyrockets by 7.9X at 4K Ultra High settings-even during intensive moments like a rainy night race in Bahrain with 20 cars. The RTX 5090 hits 372 FPS, and even the RTX 5070 Ti averages over 200 FPS.

Still, the numbers aren’t the whole story. Some users argue the frame generation comes with tradeoffs: visual artifacts, fake frames, and potential input lag. However, others praise the tech for delivering smoother gameplay when configured properly. Many have found that combining DLSS Quality mode, maintaining a baseline framerate of around 50 FPS, and enabling Fast Sync results in a surprisingly responsive experience-though it does require a bit of tweaking.

If your rig can’t handle it, GeForce NOW is still an option. And for those feeling lucky, NVIDIA’s Summer of RTX is back with giveaways including RTX 50 Series GPUs, high-end PCs, and game bundles. The company also launched the new RTX Watch & Win promotion, giving fans a chance to win Steam gift cards just by tuning into major game show trailers and NVIDIA’s socials.

While DLSS 4 may not be a magic bullet for everyone, for those with the right setup-and a little patience-it’s more than just marketing speak. It’s a glimpse at the future of high-performance gaming.