Starfield DLSS3 Mod Cracked, Significantly Raises Nvidia GPU Performance

Nvidia users got left holding the shortest stick when Bethesda used the AMD FSR2 upscaler for its newest open-world exploration game, Starfield, and ditched DLSS3.

Since then, there have been reports that Nvidia GPUs have poor performance running the game even in low settings.

We learn from a report by Tech4Gamers that Starfield is having difficulties reaching 60 FPS on a PC running a GeForce RTX 3060. This performance issue persists even when the game is set to its lowest resolution.

This is attested to by YouTuber zWormz Gaming, who published a video on the platform showing his test runs for Starfield on a 3060-equipped computer. The video shows that Starfield’s frame rate drops below the 60 fps benchmark when render resolution is set to more than 50% at 1080p.

Immediately after early access became available to Premium and Constellation members, Nexus Mods user PureDark created DLSS2 and DLSS3 mods for Starfield that will replace the default AMD FSR2. PureDark let the DLSS2 go live for free at Nexus Mods, but kept the DLSS3 behind a Patreon pay wall.

The DLSS2 mod only upscales the resolution of the game but does not offer frame generation, which would have enhanced the performance of Nvidia’s RTX 40 series cards. This feature defines the DLSS3 mod, which PureDark had intended to be available only to his Patreon sponsors.

However, users cracked the DRM protection on the DLSS3 mod in just a couple of days. With the mod now available for non-Patreon subscribers, users are coming forward with how the mod is helping their computers run Starfield.

Tom Warren, senior editor at The Verge, posted on X that he is getting a 65% boost on his RTX 4090’s performance with the Starfield DLSS 3 mod.

According to Warren, his GPU is now able to render Starfield at 172 frames per second with RTX and DLSS on. For comparison, his unmodded RTX 4090 runs Starfield at 104 frames per second. All of these are using the 1440p ultra setting in the game.

Are you having trouble trying to maintain a steady 60 FPS in Starfield with an Nvidia GPU? You can give PureDark’s DLSS mods a try!

For all things Starfield, stick with us at Starfield Portal.

Have an opinion on this article? We'd love to hear it!

Join the conversation