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What NVIDIA ICAT does
ICAT stands for Image Comparison & Analysis Tool. NVIDIA describes it as an application for image-quality comparisons, originally developed for its testers and engineers before being made publicly available. The official ICAT page links to the download and version 0.6.17 release notes. That page does not state the operating system, minimum GPU, system requirements, or installation steps, so check NVIDIA’s download and release-note information for those details.
ICAT compares media you provide; it is not an automatic game benchmark or an image-quality scoring system. NVIDIA’s product page lists these supported formats:
- Still images: JPEG, PNG, and WEBP.
- Video: MP4 and WEBM.
Choose a view for the comparison
NVIDIA documents two viewing modes. Split Screen is suited to simultaneous inspection, while Single Screen is suited to switching between overlaid inputs. Both support zooming and panning.
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| Mode | Inputs | How to inspect |
|---|---|---|
| Split Screen | Up to four | View inputs side by side, or play videos in sync. |
| Single Screen | Up to two | Overlay the inputs and move a slider to reveal or cover either one. |
ICAT’s product page also lists media alignment and trimming, loop creation, panning and zooming to areas of focus, and adjustable video playback speed. These controls let you compare the same part of a scene more closely, including during motion.
How to make a useful visual comparison
- Capture comparable material. Load screenshots or video clips of the same game scene. Keep the game, scene, output resolution, motion, and relevant settings as consistent as practical. This is comparison methodology, not a special ICAT requirement.
- Choose the viewing mode. Use Split Screen to inspect multiple inputs at once or synchronized video. Choose Single Screen for a two-input overlay and slider-based A/B viewing.
- Align the media. Match the same scene region or moment before judging differences. For video, use the available trimming and playback controls to focus on corresponding content.
- Inspect details and motion. Pan and zoom into areas such as fine textures, edges, or small objects. For video, also watch the same moving elements over time; a still frame alone cannot show temporal stability.
- Record what you compared. Note each graphics mode and its render and output resolutions. Do not assume presets with matching names produce matching image quality.
Compare image quality before performance
When comparing upscalers, first use ICAT to find modes that deliver reasonably comparable visual quality. NVIDIA’s 2021 guidance calls this an “ISO-Quality” comparison and cautions that modes with the same name are not necessarily equivalent. Its example says that, depending on the game and resolution, DLSS Performance may be better compared with an Ultra Quality mode from a spatial upscaler. That is NVIDIA’s suggested approach, not a universal equivalence or independent test result. See NVIDIA’s discussion of DLSS and Image Scaling.
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Once you have identified visually comparable modes, measure performance separately. ICAT shows differences in supplied images and videos; it does not report frame rate or latency. NVIDIA identifies FrameView as a tool for measuring smoothness and responsiveness, while ICAT is for image-quality comparison. Its FrameView 1.7 user guide explains the distinction.
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What ICAT cannot establish
- It cannot determine a universal winner among DLSS, FSR, Image Scaling, or other upscaling approaches from a visual inspection alone.
- It does not replace a performance measurement when you want to compare frame rate or latency.
- It cannot make two captures comparable if they show different scenes, settings, resolutions, or moments in motion; those differences must be controlled in the captures.
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