NVIDIA Image Scaling (NIS) can improve performance by rendering a game below your monitor’s native resolution, upscaling the result, and applying sharpening. It is most useful when the GPU—not the CPU—is limiting performance. It does not guarantee a fixed FPS increase, and image quality decreases as the render resolution becomes lower.
The dependable setup path is NVIDIA Control Panel → Manage 3D settings → Image Scaling. Enable it, choose a lower NIS resolution in the game, and use the NIS indicator to confirm that scaling is active.
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What NVIDIA Image Scaling does
NIS is a driver-level spatial upscaler and sharpening filter. The game renders fewer pixels, NVIDIA scales that image to the monitor’s output resolution, and sharpening increases edge contrast. Unlike DLSS, NIS does not require the game developer to integrate a supported upscaling mode.
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NVIDIA documents broad compatibility with DirectX 9, 10, 11 and 12, Vulkan, and OpenGL applications. That does not mean every title, display mode, anti-cheat system, capture tool, or laptop graphics configuration behaves identically. Exclusive fullscreen and a display connected directly to the NVIDIA GPU are generally the safest paths. See NVIDIA’s NIS support guidance.
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“Any game” therefore means that NIS can work without native game support in the way DLSS requires. It is not a guarantee that every game will activate scaling automatically.
Before you start
- A Windows PC with a supported NVIDIA GeForce GPU and current NVIDIA drivers.
- A game that is at least partly GPU-limited.
- A baseline FPS and frametime reading from the same scene you will test afterward.
- A monitor connection routed through the NVIDIA GPU where possible.
If the game is CPU-limited, capped by V-Sync or an FPS limiter, waiting on shader compilation, or suffering from streaming or VRAM problems, reducing resolution may produce little improvement.
How to enable NVIDIA Image Scaling
- Right-click the Windows desktop and open NVIDIA Control Panel.
- Open Manage 3D settings.
- On Global Settings, find Image Scaling and set it to On.
- Choose a sharpening value. Start near the middle of the range rather than immediately selecting an aggressive setting.
- Enable Overlay Indicator while testing.
- Click Apply.
- Restart the game. If its new resolutions are missing, reboot Windows.
NVIDIA identifies sharpening as a 0–100% setting and documents both global and per-program configuration in its Control Panel reference.
Global or per-game settings?
Global settings are convenient, but Program Settings are safer when only one title needs extra performance or when other games already use DLSS, FSR, XeSS, or native resolution.
- Open Manage 3D settings → Program Settings.
- Select the game, or add its executable manually.
- Configure Image Scaling for that title and click Apply.
NVIDIA App also consolidates many game and driver controls under its Graphics section. Labels can change between app and driver versions, so use Control Panel when the NIS option is not obvious. Older GeForce Experience instructions and Alt+F2/Alt+F3 shortcuts are version-dependent legacy guidance, not required setup steps. See NVIDIA’s NVIDIA App overview.
Choose the in-game resolution
- Launch the game and open its graphics or display settings.
- Select Fullscreen or Exclusive Fullscreen if available.
- Keep the display output at the monitor’s native resolution where the game permits it.
- Select one of the additional lower resolutions created by NIS.
- Apply the setting and check the NIS indicator.
Do not simply lower the resolution and assume NIS is active. Image Scaling must be enabled, the game must use a compatible path, and the selected resolution must be one that NIS generated. For example, a 2880×1620 render can be upscaled to a 3840×2160 output. NIS’s lower render resolution is not the same as changing the monitor’s native output.
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Which NIS percentage should you use?
These are NVIDIA’s published presets. Availability can vary by display and Windows; notably, the 50% 1080p entry is not supported in NVIDIA’s table.
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| NIS percentage | 4K display | 1440p display | 1080p display |
|---|---|---|---|
| 85% | 3264×1836 | 2176×1224 | 1632×918 |
| 77% | 2954×1662 | 1970×1108 | 1477×831 |
| 67% | 2560×1440 | 1706×960 | 1280×720 |
| 59% | 2259×1271 | 1506×847 | 1129×635 |
| 50% | 1920×1080 | 1280×720 | Not supported in NVIDIA’s table |
Use 85% as the first test. Move to 77% or 67% if you need more performance. Reserve 59% and 50% for situations where the higher presets are not enough; fine detail, foliage, distant geometry, and motion stability become more compromised. NVIDIA’s complete table is available in its support article.
There is no universal FPS percentage. Results depend on the GPU, game engine, CPU, ray tracing, VRAM pressure, native resolution, and target refresh rate.
How to confirm NIS is working
With Overlay Indicator enabled:
- Green “NIS”: scaling and sharpening are active.
- Blue “NIS”: sharpening is active, but scaling is not.
- No indicator: NIS may be disabled, unsupported in the current display path, hidden by an overlay, or not recognized by the application.
Test the same scene before and after enabling NIS. Change one setting at a time and monitor GPU utilization, FPS, and frametime. A higher FPS number is not useful if the game has simply become CPU-limited or changed another graphics setting.
Tune sharpening without creating artifacts
If the image is soft, increase sharpening gradually. If text, wires, foliage, or geometry develop bright halos, ringing, or shimmering, reduce it. Sharpening cannot restore detail removed by rendering at a lower resolution; it only increases edge contrast.
Adjust sharpening per game when possible. Compare a static scene and camera movement, because an aggressive setting may look acceptable in a screenshot but distracting during play. Also test with motion blur disabled so you can separate NIS softness from the game’s own post-processing.
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Fix NIS when it does not work
The new resolutions do not appear
- Confirm Image Scaling is set to On.
- Click Apply in Control Panel.
- Restart the game, then reboot Windows if necessary.
- Check that the correct monitor is selected.
- Try exclusive fullscreen.
- Confirm the display is connected to, or routed through, the NVIDIA GPU.
- Test a generated resolution in the Windows display-resolution list.
- Update or reinstall the NVIDIA driver if the option itself is missing or broken.
The indicator is blue
Blue means sharpening is active but scaling is not. The game may still be using native resolution, a non-NIS resolution, borderless mode, or a display path that bypasses the NVIDIA GPU. The game may also have changed resolution after launch.
The game is borderless-only
Try the game’s own resolution-scale option first. If it has none, lower the Windows desktop resolution to the desired NIS resolution before launching, or use NVIDIA display scaling. This workaround is specifically described in NVIDIA’s NIS guidance.
The image is blurry
Move from 50% or 59% to 67% or 77%, confirm the indicator is green, and disable motion blur for testing. A small monitor viewed from a normal distance may make aggressive scaling particularly noticeable.
FPS does not improve
Check GPU utilization and frametime. Little or no improvement is expected when the CPU is the bottleneck, the game is frame-capped, shader compilation is the issue, or VRAM and asset streaming—not shader workload—are causing the problem. Also verify that scaling actually activated.
Laptop or hybrid-GPU issues
On Optimus or MSHybrid laptops, the internal panel may be driven by integrated graphics. NIS may require discrete-GPU mode, Advanced Optimus, or an external monitor connected to a port routed directly through the NVIDIA GPU. NVIDIA discusses these notebook-specific considerations in its driver guidance.
Captures look lower resolution
Some capture paths may record the lower pre-upscaled image rather than the final native-resolution presentation. This is capture-software and pipeline dependent, not a universal rule for every modern NVIDIA App recording method. NVIDIA documents the limitation in its NIS and DLSS overview.
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NIS versus DLSS, FSR, and built-in scaling
| Situation | Best first choice |
|---|---|
| RTX game with good native DLSS | DLSS |
| Game without native upscaling | NIS |
| Game with a good internal resolution slider | Test the built-in scaler |
| AMD or Intel GPU | Use the game’s supported alternative |
| Older fullscreen title | NIS is a useful fallback |
| Borderless-only title | Built-in scaling or the desktop-resolution method |
DLSS is game-integrated and AI-based, while NIS is a broadly compatible spatial fallback. NVIDIA has historically recommended DLSS instead of NIS where a supported RTX game offers a good implementation. FSR and XeSS are also game-integrated alternatives, but their results vary by title; do not assume a universal quality ranking.
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How to turn NIS off
- Open NVIDIA Control Panel → Manage 3D settings.
- Set Image Scaling to Off, then click Apply.
- Restore the game’s native resolution.
- Remove any per-game Image Scaling override if one was configured.
- Reboot Windows if NIS resolutions remain visible or the game does not return to its previous display mode.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does NVIDIA Image Scaling work on GTX cards?
NIS is a driver-level feature and can be useful on supported GeForce GTX systems; it does not require an RTX Tensor Core in the way DLSS does. Actual behavior depends on the driver, game, and display path.
Does NIS increase input lag?
NIS itself is a spatial scaling and sharpening pass, but total latency depends on the game, frame rate, display mode, synchronization, and other settings. Lowering render resolution can improve responsiveness when it raises sustained FPS, but it is not a guaranteed latency reduction.
Can NIS be enabled for only one game?
Yes. Use NVIDIA Control Panel → Manage 3D settings → Program Settings, select or add the game executable, configure Image Scaling, and apply the change.
Why did NIS not improve my FPS?
The game may be CPU-limited, frame-capped, waiting on shader compilation or asset streaming, or still running at native resolution. Check GPU utilization, frametime, and the NIS indicator rather than FPS alone.
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