Teardown Adds DLSS and FSR Upscaling: DirectX 12 Requirement and GPU Support

Where the new options live​

The options are under Options > Graphics > Upscaling. The developer's FAQ adds a prerequisite that the announcement leaves out. You need to be running the game in DirectX 12 to see the new upscaling options. The FAQ also covers the case where the options are missing: switch to DirectX 12 to access the upscaling settings.

If you can't find the setting, check these in order:

1. Confirm the game is running in DirectX 12, as the FAQ requires.
2. Open Options, then Graphics, then Upscaling.
3. Update your graphics drivers. This is general advice. The developer's patch notes don't mention drivers.
4. Compare what the menu offers against your GPU. Teardown hasn't published a full compatibility list with the update.

Which FSR version you get​

The FAQ gives specifics on AMD's side. If your hardware supports ML-based FSR upscaling, Teardown uses FSR 4.1.1. Otherwise it falls back to FSR 3.1.5. Which route you get therefore depends on your GPU. The same FAQ says DLSS and FSR sit alongside the existing TAA option, so the old anti-aliasing path is still there.

The two technologies are not interchangeable. MIXED News notes that Nvidia's DLSS is designed for supported GeForce hardware, while AMD offers FSR across a wider range of devices depending on the version and implementation. MIXED also says the patch announcement does not publish a complete compatibility matrix.

What upscaling will and won't fix​

Teardown is an unusual engine. Its FAQ says there are no polygons and that ray tracing is part of the core voxel renderer. Upscaling therefore targets the GPU's rendering cost. The FAQ also warns that, because of heavy physics use, the game can be either CPU-bound or GPU-bound depending on the situation. A collapsing building that overwhelms the CPU or the physics simulation may not speed up much when you drop the render resolution.

The developer promises no specific gain. The announcement says performance gains will vary depending on your hardware and settings. MIXED News also points out that the announcement covers upscaling and does not mention frame generation. Upscaling reconstructs a rendered image, while frame generation is a separate feature that produces additional frames. Don't expect the new menu to include a frame-generation toggle.

A quick way to test it yourself​

Use a repeatable method rather than a gut feeling:

• Pick one demanding scene, such as a large collapse or a busy sandbox build.
• Record your frame rate with the existing setting (TAA).
• Switch to an available DLSS or FSR mode without changing the output resolution or any other graphics settings.
• Repeat the same action and compare both frame rate and image quality. Pay attention to fine detail and motion, which can look different from native rendering, especially in aggressive performance modes.
• If the frame rate barely moves, you are probably CPU- or simulation-limited in that scene.

Early quirk worth knowing​

A user bug report on the Teardown issue tracker, filed against game version 2.2.0 on Windows 11 25H2, says the upscaling quality setting resets to Performance. That happens when you switch back to Default and then to DLSS or FSR again. It is a single report and not an acknowledged developer issue, but it's worth knowing if your quality choice doesn't stick. Re-select your preferred quality after changing methods.

The bottom line​

This is a practical, low-risk update. It gives GPU-limited players another way to trade resolution for frame rate, and the DirectX 12 requirement and the FSR 4.1.1 or 3.1.5 split are the details to check. Treat upscaling as one tool, not a cure for every slowdown, because Teardown's physics can leave the CPU as the bottleneck.