Lossless Scaling: Setup & Best Settings Guide

How to set up Lossless Scaling (LS) for smooth frame generation (LSFG) and upscaling in almost any PC game, which settings to use for different setups, and how to fix the usual problems (stutter, latency, artifacts, and it "not working").

Researched September 2026 — current as of LSFG 3.1 (June 2025) plus the Performance Mode hotfix (July 14, 2025), the latest official Steam update. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• Set the game to windowed or borderless fullscreen. LS can't capture exclusive fullscreen, except when LS outputs to a second display.
• Cap the game's frame rate with the in-game limiter, RTSS, or the driver limiter at a number your PC holds steadily. A stable base frame rate is the most important thing.
• Get the base frame rate high enough. The developer's minimum is 30 FPS. 40+ is preferred and 60 is ideal at 1080p.
• Start with LSFG 3.1, Fixed mode, X2. Tune from there.
• Leave GPU headroom. Frame generation runs on your GPU too. If the game is at 100% GPU usage, LS will make things worse.
• Press Scale (or use the hotkey), then click back into the game window within the delay.
• Use Flow Scale at high resolutions. Set it to 75% at 1440p or 50% at 4K to cut LSFG's GPU cost with little quality loss.
• Save a Game Profile so your settings apply automatically when that game's .exe runs.

What Lossless Scaling Does

Feature | What it's for

LSFG (frame generation) | Adds generated frames between real ones. The game looks smoother, but your inputs still run at the base frame rate

Scaling (upscaling) | Render the game at a lower resolution and upscale it with LS1, FSR, NIS, SGSR and others. Also good for pixel-art and old games

Dual GPU mode | Run LS on a second GPU so the game's GPU does no extra work

Game Profiles | Per-game settings, applied automatically

LS works on almost anything that runs in a window: games without built-in frame gen, emulators locked to 30 or 60 FPS, older titles, even video.

System Requirements (Steam Store)

Minimum | Recommended

OS | Windows 10 version 2004 | Windows 11 24H2

GPU | Modern integrated graphics | GeForce RTX 30 / Radeon RX 6000 / Intel Arc series

API | DirectX 11 | DirectX 11

A community port, lsfg-vk, brings LSFG to Linux (including Steam Deck). You still need a copy of LS for it.

Step-by-Step First Setup

• Launch the game and set Display Mode = Borderless / Windowed Fullscreen.
• Turn V-Sync off in the game and cap the frame rate (see the table below).
• Launch Lossless Scaling. Leave it running.
• In LS, choose:
• Frame Generation: LSFG 3.1
• Mode: Fixed
• Multiplier: X2
• Flow Scale: 100% at 1080p, 75% at 1440p, 50% at 4K
• Scaling type: Off, if you only want frame gen
• Click Scale and switch back to the game, or use the global hotkey (Ctrl+Alt+S by default, rebindable).
• Turn on Draw FPS in LS to confirm it's working. It shows base and generated frame rates.

Choosing Your Frame Cap and Multiplier

Pick a base frame rate your PC always holds, then a multiplier that reaches (or divides evenly into) your refresh rate.

Monitor | Suggested base cap | Mode | Result

60 Hz | 30 | Fixed X2 | 60 (only if you can't reach 60 natively; latency is noticeable)

120 Hz | 60 | Fixed X2 | 120

144 Hz | 48 | Fixed X3 | 144

144 Hz | 72 | Fixed X2 | 144

165 Hz | Uncapped or 60 | Adaptive, target 165 | 165

240 Hz | 60 | Fixed X4 | 240

240 Hz | 80 | Fixed X3 | 240

Fixed vs Adaptive:

• Fixed multiplies your base frame rate by a whole number. It gives the best image quality and pacing when base × multiplier matches your refresh rate. LSFG 3 unlocked multipliers up to X20, but high multipliers (X5+) only make sense for very high refresh displays.
• Adaptive (AFG) targets a set output frame rate and adjusts the multiplier as it goes. It's great for games capped at awkward rates (like 60 FPS on a 144 or 165 Hz monitor) or uncapped games. It's the recommended mode with a second GPU. It costs somewhat more GPU and image quality is slightly lower, because most displayed frames are generated.

Every Important Setting Explained

Frame Generation

Setting | Recommendation

LSFG version | LSFG 3.1 (the current model)

Performance | Off by default. Turn it on for weak GPUs, iGPUs or handhelds. The developer says it cuts LSFG's GPU load by up to half with a slight quality drop, and it can look better overall if it lets the game keep a higher base FPS

Flow Scale (called "Resolution Scale" in older builds) | 100% at 1080p, 75% at 1440p, 50% at 4K. Lower = cheaper motion estimation

Multiplier / Target | See the table above

Scaling

Type | Best for

LS1 | LS's own upscaler for modern 3D games. Has a sharpness slider

FSR | Modern games, good all-rounder

NIS | Modern games, NVIDIA's spatial scaler (works on all GPUs)

SGSR | Snapdragon's very lightweight spatial upscaler, useful on weak hardware

Integer | Pixel art at exact multiples. Perfectly sharp pixels

XBR | Smoothing pixel art

Anime4K | Cartoons, anime and cel-shaded content

• Scaling mode: Auto fits the window to your screen, while Custom lets you set a factor.
• To gain performance through scaling, lower the game's own resolution in windowed mode and let LS upscale it to fullscreen.
• If the game has its own DLSS or FSR upscaling, that usually looks better than any spatial upscaler. Use LS just for frame gen in that case.

Rendering and Capture

Setting | What it does | Suggested

Sync mode | How LS presents frames (V-Sync style vs allow tearing) | Default, or Off (allow tearing) with VRR/G-Sync

Max frame latency | How many frames the LS output queue can hold | Low values for lower latency

Capture API | DXGI or WGC | Try WGC first on Windows 11 24H2, and switch if you see stutter

Queue Target | 0 = unbuffered, lowest latency. 1 = default. 2 = smoothest for uncapped or unstable base FPS | 1, or 0 if your base FPS is locked and your GPU has headroom

G-Sync / VRR support | Lets LS work with variable refresh | On if your monitor supports it (also enable G-Sync for fullscreen in the driver)

HDR support | Correct output for HDR games | On only when the game is in HDR

Draw FPS | On-screen counter | On while tuning

Preferred GPU | Which GPU runs LS | Your second GPU in a dual-GPU setup

Output display | Which monitor LS shows on | Usually your main display

Windows 11 24H2 note: 24H2 changed how DXGI capture works, and it now depends on MPO (Multiplane Overlay) support. If frame pacing broke after that update, switch the capture API to WGC.

Dual GPU Setup (Advanced)

• Plug your monitor into the second GPU, the one that will run LS.
• In Windows Graphics settings, set the game to render on the main GPU.
• In LS, set Preferred GPU to the second GPU.
• Use Adaptive mode targeting your refresh rate, and let the game run uncapped or loosely capped.

The payoff: frame gen no longer takes FPS away from the game, and latency can be lower. The second GPU needs enough power and PCIe bandwidth for your resolution and output FPS. Community spreadsheets list what different cards manage.

Recommended Presets

Situation | Settings

Emulator locked at 30 FPS on a 60 Hz screen | LSFG 3.1, Fixed X2, Flow Scale 100%, Queue Target 1

Locked-60 PC port on a 144/165 Hz screen | LSFG 3.1, Adaptive target = refresh rate

Heavy AAA at 4K, 120 Hz TV | Cap at 60, Fixed X2, Flow Scale 50%

Handheld PC / iGPU | Cap at 40, Fixed X2, Performance ON, Flow Scale 75–90%

Pixel-art game | Scaling: Integer (or XBR), no frame gen needed

Anime / cel-shaded | Scaling: Anime4K, plus Fixed X2 frame gen if you like

Anti-Cheat and Online Games

The community has found LS safe with most online games that use anti-cheat. It reads the screen rather than injecting into the game. The developer says this can't be guaranteed, though, so use it at your own risk in competitive games. It's also a poor fit for twitch shooters in general, because frame gen adds latency.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Running the game at 100% GPU. LSFG needs headroom. Cap the game lower.
• Using exclusive fullscreen. Switch to borderless.
• Leaving in-game V-Sync on. It adds latency and fights LS's own pacing.
• Base frame rate too low. Under 30 FPS base, artifacts and latency get bad. Lower the game's settings first.
• Uneven multipliers. Base × multiplier not matching your refresh rate causes judder in Fixed mode. Use Adaptive instead.
• Forgetting Flow Scale at 4K. 100% at 4K is expensive for little gain.
• Stacking with in-game frame gen. Don't run DLSS FG or FSR FG and LSFG together.
• Expecting better input latency. Frame gen makes the picture smoother. It doesn't make the game respond faster.

Advanced Tips

• Cap slightly below what you can reach. If a game averages 70 FPS, cap at 60 so it never drops below.
• Use RTSS for the most even frame caps when the game's limiter is jittery.
• Hide the HUD's flicker. UI detection has improved (LSFG 3.1 refined it), but some fast-changing HUD elements still show artifacts. Lowering the multiplier helps.
• Use profiles for launchers and emulators so each game gets its own settings automatically.
• Linux/Steam Deck: lsfg-vk (by PancakeTAS) runs LSFG through Vulkan. The developer shared it officially.
• Previous versions: older LS builds are available under Steam Properties > Betas if an update breaks your setup.

FAQ

Why isn't Lossless Scaling working? The game is probably in exclusive fullscreen, you didn't click back into the game after pressing Scale, or the capture API doesn't suit your Windows build. Switch to borderless, check the delay timer, and try WGC.

Does Lossless Scaling add input lag? Yes, some. It's lowest with a locked, high base frame rate, Queue Target 0 or 1, and in-game V-Sync off. The developer measured LSFG 3 at roughly 24% better end-to-end latency than LSFG 2 in its test (40 base FPS, X2).

What base FPS do I need? At least 30. 40 or more is better, and 60 is ideal at 1080p.

Fixed or Adaptive? Use Fixed when base × multiplier equals your refresh rate. Use Adaptive for awkward caps, uncapped games, or dual GPU.

Is it safe with anti-cheat? The community generally reports that it is, but the developer can't guarantee it.

Does it work on Steam Deck or Linux? Through the community lsfg-vk project, yes.

Should I use LS instead of DLSS/FSR frame generation? If a game has native frame gen, that's usually better quality and latency. LS is for everything that doesn't.

Sources

• Lossless Scaling on Steam (store page and requirements)
• Steam announcement — LSFG 3 (Jan 10, 2025)
• Steam announcement — Adaptive Frame Generation (Mar 8, 2025)
• Steam announcement — LSFG 3.1 and Performance Mode hotfix (June and July 2025)
• Steam announcement — Resolution Scale, SGSR and Windows 11 24H2 (Nov 16, 2024)
• lsfg-vk (Linux port) on GitHub