People keep dismissing frame generation, but they’re missing the point

In an ideal world, the RTX 6090 should be out and readily available, would cost no more than $1200, and every game you wanted to experience in 4K at 120 FPS and above could be brute-forced to achieve those metrics with zero issues. Annnnnnnd… wake up!

Frame generation is everywhere now, and for good reason. Advances in ray tracing technology, coupled with a decrease in the gains of new GPU generations, means “fake” frames are now all but essential for high-end PC gaming.

Frame gen carries inherent issues, like increased input lag. Yet when even the most powerful graphics card in the world can struggle to hit 60 FPS at native screen resolutions because RT hobbles FPS, frame generation is an increasing necessity most hardcore PC gamers now have to accept. I love frame gen, but it’s taken a long time to get here.

Hardware evolution can’t keep up with ray tracing

Advances in software are outstripping GPU capabilities

There’s no getting around it: the last couple of graphics card generations haven’t exactly produced the sort of “wow” level upgrade factor the hardest of hardcore PC gaming enthusiasts would like to see.

As an FPS-obsessed dweeb, I can still distinctly remember upgrading my Nvidia GTX 9070 to a GTX 1080 Ti back in 2017 and being completely blown away by the gen-on-gen performance advancements. That’s rarely happened since.

I bought an RTX 4090 in late 2022 for roughly MSRP because I lucked out on a tech site’s ballot pre-order system. Fast-forward three years, and I paid $700 over MSRP for an RTX 5090 on eBay. And for what? To achieve better frame rate numbers in games that absolutely sing when ray tracing is cranked to the max.

The rule of Moore’s Law has increasingly slowed as advanced 3mn GPU nodes become ever more expensive, meaning a truly noteworthy evolution in the graphics card market feels more and more subtle. Throw in the fact an RTX 5090 demands 600W of TDP from your system’s PSU, and power supply options and cooling systems are struggling to keep up with the massive technical demands of Nvidia’s latest 50-series line of cards, and it’s no wonder even high-end hardware needs an assist from AI-assisted frame generation.

Ray tracing is so much more demanding on GPUS than traditional rasterization lighting methods. With so many Triple-A games now aiming for graphical realism over rapid FPS output, it’s understandable frame gen is coming in clutch. That’s totally the term the kidz use, right?

Frame gen is essential for path tracing

The greatest rendering effect can’t function on brute-force hardware alone

Forget about ray tracing for a second. The most graphically intensive rendering technique at the time of writing is undoubtedly incredible-looking path tracing. This ultra realistic lighting method makes my peepers want to weep; it looks so lush in motion. Yet it comes with colossal performance costs.

Take Resident Evil Requiem as a recent path-traced pupil. Booting up this soon-to-be modern masterpiece survival horror on my RTX 5090 rig, frame rate numbers without the assistance of frame generation are painful. With Leon and Grace’s undead adventure set to 4K at max settings, a PC that costs more than my car struggles to hit 30 FPS when path tracing is switched on without the assistance of Nvidia frame generation.

Provided I use Team Green’s Multi Frame Gen (MFG) x4 settings, I can hit 120 FPS in the most graphically demanding, undead-offing scenes in this brutal zombie romp. As someone who likes smooth visual experiences, sub-30 FPS play is never going to cut it over frame rate numbers that are double that of your average well-optimized PS5 Pro game.

There are obviously downsides to using AI-assisted frame gen features, though…

The downsides of frame gen

Say hello to input lag

In a wonderful dreamland, super-geeky PC scenario where AI advancements come at no hidden costs, I’d recommend you enable frame generation without hesitation in games that support it. And to be clear, in the vast majority of cases, if your hardware is up to the task, frame gen is normally worth some sacrifices. It’s far from perfect, though.

The main downside to leaning on frame generation is that you’ll most likely increase the input latency of whatever game you’re playing. Nvidia’s latest DLLS update has finally made me a frame gen believer, but then again, I own an RTX 5090. If you can’t access x6 Dynamic Multi Frame Generation, which produces surprisingly low lag, you need to think about how important latency is to your gameplay experience.

For story-driven games that support path tracing, like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, input latency of 80ms and upwards is worth the hit. Should you own a high-refresh rate monitor and find yourself regularly competing with hardcore Fortnite players doing their thang on 360Hz displays, the added input latency frame gen can add should make budding eSports champs completely ignore this AI-bolstered feature.

Frame gen isn’t perfect, but the current PC market makes it a compromised necessity

“I hate and love frame generation, like I hate and love myself.” Oops, I just pilfered an all-timer Gandalf-on-Gollum line from The Fellowship of the Ring. Despite my initial reservations, I can’t lie: I’m now a slave to frame gen. Even on my RTX 5090, I have to lean upon this technique to produce the 4K ray traced/120 FPS results I crave.

As newer incarnations of Nvidia DLSS have proven, the input lag problems that are naturally associated with frame generation are decreasing. I may not like it, but I need frame gen in its current form.

Brand

Gigabyte

GPU Speed

2.73 GHz

Memory

16GB

Power

360W TDP

CUDA Cores

10,752

The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5080 delivers next-generation performance for gaming and creative workloads, featuring advanced ray tracing, AI-enhanced graphics, and high-speed GDDR7 memory. Its robust cooling system ensures stable operation under load, while factory overclocking and modern connectivity make it ideal for high-resolution gaming, streaming, and demanding GPU-intensive tasks.