Hey everyone, I’ve been curious about DLSS 4 since it’s supposed to be a big step up from previous versions, but I rarely see it talked about in the Linux gaming world. On Windows, folks can force DLSS 4 using the Nvidia app or DLSS Swapper, but those tools aren’t available on Linux. So how do we even activate DLSS 4 in Linux games? For instance, I’m playing Cyberpunk 2077 via the Heroic Games Launcher — do you think DLSS 4 could already be working there? I’ve noticed Windows users get to pick between CNN and Transformer modes in the game settings, but I don’t see those options on Linux. Why is that, and how can I get DLSS 4 running for other games?
2 Answers
DLSS usually works via DLL files on Windows, which is why swapping them out can enable newer versions like DLSS 4. On Linux, since the system handles libraries differently, you might need to manually replace these DLL equivalents and then set some variables to get DLSS 4 working. It’s a bit of a manual tweak, but doable if you’re comfortable with that kind of stuff.
You can actually enable DLSS 4 on Linux by using environment variables through the DXVK-NVAPI project. This lets you pass driver settings directly and can unlock features like DLSS 4 for compatible games. Check out the DXVK-NVAPI wiki on GitHub for how to set those variables properly.
That sounds promising! So if a game supports DLSS 4 natively, does this method just unlock it automatically?