Nvidia locked its native DLSS 3 frame generation technology behind the Ada Lovelace architecture, requiring PC gamers to purchase RTX 40-series hardware to access the performance boost. That hardware exclusivity left owners of older cards behind. Now, PC gamers are bypassing those restrictions using a $7 Steam utility called Lossless Scaling. The software brings functional frame generation to older graphics cards, including the Nvidia RTX 2070 Super, without needing official driver support.
The application originally launched on Steam in December 2018 to provide simple upscaling tools. Over the past eight years, the solo developer updated the program with a proprietary machine learning model known as LSFG. This spatial scaler processes the final image output after rendering, making it hardware-agnostic. It runs on older hardware from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel.
Unlike native solutions that require deep game engine integration to access motion vectors, this post-production software injects AI-generated frames into almost any game. It even works on console emulators. The software recently rolled out its LSFG 3.1 update, giving users the ability to apply customizable frame multipliers like x2, x3, and x4 across their game libraries.
How Third-Party Software Undercuts GPU Upgrade Cycles
By providing a cheap, universal software alternative, Lossless Scaling directly challenges the hardware-exclusive strategies of major manufacturers like Nvidia and AMD. Native upscalers like DLSS 3 and FSR 3 rely on specific internal hardware components to function, which drives new graphics card sales. A $7 software tool achieving similar results reduces the financial incentive for users to buy expensive new components.
The continued updates to this tool since 2018 prove a clear point in the PC hardware market. Third-party software can outlast official GPU driver lifecycles and offer features that hardware manufacturers refuse to backport to older product lines.