We've seen a few mods that unlock Frame Generation on older GeForce RTX 30 Series cards; however, they mostly replace NVIDIA's DLSS Frame Generation with AMD's inferior FSR Frame Generation, which still suffers from frame-pacing and image fidelity issues. As per a new report over at VideoCardz, there's a new mod project called 'DLSSG SM86' that has actually managed to get DLSS Multi Frame Generation in 2X and 4X modes running on a GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3080 Ti.
SM86 is the internal CUDA architecture code for the GeForce RTX 30 Series, and this mod is impressive because it doesn't replace the original DLSS models associated with a game's files or mess with the rendering pipeline. It works by creating an SM86-compatible backend or proxy for GeForce RTX 30 Series GPUs that runs alongside the game, redirecting calls to its own DLSSG 310.1 implementation, which is the DLSS 4 Frame Generation runtime library.
The GitHub page for 'DLSSG SM86' confirms that the mod is limited to DLSS Multi Frame Generation 4X, which leverages AI to generate three additional frames. Game settings still determine the mode, as this isn't a mod that forces or overrides anything. With one Redditor posting footage of Cyberpunk 2077 running on their GeForce RTX 3080 12GB card alongside DLSS 5 Neural Rendering, we're hoping this means NVIDIA is looking to expand Multi Frame Generation support to more generations of GeForce RTX GPUs.
Officially, the GeForce RTX 30 Series isn't supported when it comes to both Frame Generation and Multi Frame Generation, with the former available on GeForce RTX 40 Series cards, and the latter still exclusive to the GeForce RTX 50 Series. With Frame Generation no longer requiring an updated Optical Flow Accelerator with the arrival of DLSS 4's revamped Transformer-model version, it's now possible to run it on a GeForce RTX 30 Series card.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Does DLSSG SM86 require replacing a game's existing DLSS files or changing the rendering pipeline?
How does the mod handle DLSS Multi Frame Generation 2X versus 4X on RTX 30 Series GPUs?
Can users choose the frame generation mode in-game, or does the mod force a specific setting?
What performance, latency, and frame-pacing differences might RTX 30 Series users see compared with official RTX 50 Series support?
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As for why Multi Frame Generation is exclusive to the RTX 50 Series, NVIDIA chalks it up to RTX Blackwell's 'Flip Metering' capabilities, which ensure consistent and stable frame pacing. So even though this mod brings Multi Frame Generation to the RTX 30 Series, it's unclear whether performance, latency, and frame pacing match the RTX 50 Series. Still, at the very least, this is some proof that NVIDIA should seriously consider bringing standard DLSS Frame Generation 2X support to the RTX 30 Series. For cards like the RTX 3080, it could easily become an invaluable tool for improving smoothness and performance in single-player titles.
