AMD unveiled FidelityFX Super Resolution, a new spatial upscaling technology, at Computex 2021 earlier this month with the goal of providing a high-quality, high-resolution gaming experience. With this new technology, AMD made a lot of noise as the rival to NVIDIA’s DLSS 2.0. Now that AMD FSR has officially launched, the benchmarks show that it looks rather amazing. However, let us first go through all you need to know about AMD FSR before we get into the specifics of whether it compares to DLSS.
AMD FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution): Explained!
In this article, we’ll go into detail about AMD FSR, FidelityFX Super Resolution, and how to activate it for enhanced gameplay in supported titles. So, feel free to read it all or use the table below to jump to the part you want to read.
What is AMD FSR?
The image upscaling technology AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution uses seeks to enhance a gamer’s overall experience. AMD FSR will cleanly upscale the borders of in-game objects to provide the appearance of a higher render resolution while you are playing at a lower one. It was introduced as the newest effect in AMD Fidelity FX Suite, the company’s open-source image quality toolbox for game developers.
With FidelityFX Super Resolution, gamers may anticipate on average 2.4x the performance when playing at 4K in FSR Performance mode in a few titles, according to AMD’s official blog.
Additionally, you’ll be happy to learn that AMD FSR will work with PCs and next-generation gaming consoles including the Xbox Series S/X and PS5.
Will AMD FSR Improve My Gameplay?
AMD’s FSR directly competes with NVIDIA DLSS, a well-known upscaling technology that uses a different set of techniques to produce comparable outcomes. Although the technologies appear to be comparable, there are some key distinctions between them (more on this below).
Definitely. Players will notice an improvement in performance in games that feature AMD FSR because it aims to provide higher resolution textures and greater framerates without placing a significant load on the GPU of gamers (check out the list below). On the Radeon RX 6900 XT, the company tested FSR technology in well-known games like Godfall, The Riftbreaker, and others. Using the chart below, you can compare performance between AMD FSR set on and off:
Use this as a case study Imagine playing a game on a 4K monitor with FSR enabled and the output resolution set to 4K. The technology will make sure that the game plays at a lesser resolution internally (for example, 1080p, depending on the option you have selected), then FSR reconstructs and upscales the output image to make it nearly look like 4K.
In this method, your graphics card won’t have to work as hard, and you’ll obtain 4K-like game output with higher framerates. Similar to this, you can receive quality up to 1440p while playing at 1080p resolution without taxing your GPU.
AMD FSR offers four quality options for customisation, each of which can be selected based on your requirements. Ultra Quality, Quality, Balanced, and Performance are these modes.
The in-game frame rates will increase in the Ultra Quality option while you get the highest level of detail and the resolution that is most similar to the native resolution. However, compared to what you set, the output resolution will be a little lower. As a result, FSR will render at 2954 x 1662 at Ultra Quality for 4K resolution, which is 3840 x 2160.
The resolution will continue to decrease if you select other options like Performance and Balanced.
How Does AMD FSR Work?
As FSR has less input data to deal with, you will still get greater frame rates, but the image quality will be lower. However, FSR will function effectively at lower resolutions, making it a benefit for users of older GPUs (especially during theongoing global chip shortage).
Let’s discuss about AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution’s operation now that you have a general understanding of what it is.
AMD FSR uses a cutting-edge algorithm that renders an image with two passes after rendering it at a lower resolution than the gamer-specified native resolution (explained below). It guarantees that the output is flawless and matches the native resolution exactly.
How is AMD FSR Different from NVIDIA DLSS?
Edge-Adaptive-Spatial Upsampling is the name of the first pass (EASU). With the aim of recreating and upscaling the image input to a higher quality, EASU is an edge reconstruction algorithm.
Robust Contrast Adaptive Sharpening (RCAS), the second pass, collects pixel detail from the upscaled image and further sharpens it to improve clarity. The results are immediate because both operations occur simultaneously within the game’s graphic pipeline.
Compatibility is one of the main distinctions between AMD FSR and NVIDIA DLSS. Temporal Upscaling, a technique used by DLSS, is based on neural networks and artificial intelligence (AI). DLSS uses AI on specialised tensor cores on its RTX GPUs to gather data from numerous frames and integrate it into one. These specialised cores, however, are exclusive to NVIDIA RTX GPUs and are hence proprietary. The DLSS feature is thus only available on NVIDIA RTX 20- and 30-series graphics cards.
AMD FSR vs NVIDIA DLSS 2.0: Which is Better?
On the other hand, AMD FSR will be available on a wide range of compatible graphic cards, from the outdated Radeon RX 460 to AMD’s most recent Radeon RX 6000series. The biggest surprise, however, is that FSR will work with NVIDIA cards as well, starting with the 10/16 series and going up to the most recent RTX 30-series. Therefore, users of GeForce GTX 1070 graphics cards who had been disappointed by the lack of DLSS can now look forward to AMD’s new upscaling solution.
The fact that FSR operates at the shader level of the process makes it possible for it to be compatible with NVIDIA GPUs.
AMD FSR focuses on spatial upscaling rather than collecting data from several frames or using AI. Additionally, because there are fewer data inputs, developers will find it much simpler to use FSR in games as a result.
While AMD FSR enhances visual quality and overall performance, preliminary benchmark results indicate that it is not quite the DLSS slayer that was claimed to be. NVIDIA DLSS 2.0 is a fundamentally new technology that upscales information using significantly more advanced techniques, as we discussed above.
How Do I Enable or Turn on AMD FSR?
FSR upscales content using the original image it gets, but DLSS uses a variety of techniques, including motion vectors and temporal feedback from prior frames. Additionally, NVIDIA has a trained AI that employs 16K pictures to provide gamers a top-notch experience. In comparison to AMD FSR, DLSS provides superior image resolution that is almost imperceptible. Moreover, more devices on the market now support DLSS technology thanks to Nvidia’s release of the RTX 3050 and RTX 3050Ti laptop GPUs.
The output image is sharper and cleaner with FSR, which is immediately evident while gaming, according to recent benchmarks of titles like Godfall and Riftbreaker. When really pushing FSR to its performance limitations in games, there can occasionally be softness and blurriness that is not present in DLSS. Remember that since FSR was just announced, it will take some time until comprehensive benchmarks are accessible.
List of Games That Support AMD FSR (Current and Upcoming)
While AMD FSR is undoubtedly a nice addition to a game’s already-present supersampling settings, it doesn’t appear to be a significant threat to rival technologies like NVIDIA’s DLSS. However, since FSR is open-source, it will be simple for game creators to include this technology. FSR on a PC is recommended for gamers without DLSS who want to strike the ideal balance between running a game smoothly and having nicer textures.
- Anno 1800
- Godfall
- Evil Genius 2
- Kingshunt
- Terminator Resistance
- The Riftbreaker
- 22 Racing Series
To activate AMD FSR, there is nothing specific you need to do. No adjustments need to be made to the Radeon Graphics software on your computer. Ensure that the most recent drivers for your suitable GPU are installed.
- Asterigos
- Baldur s Gate 3
- DOTA 2
- Edge of Eternity
- Far Cry 6 (check out the gameplay trailer, along with other games announced at E3 2021)
- Farming Simulator 22
- Forespoken
- Myst
- Necromunda: Hired Gun
- Resident Evil Village
- Swordsman Remake
- Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodhunt
Then launch any supported game and navigate to the video or graphics options. The new AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution setting may be found here. Pick one of the four settings from the list above to experience a super-smooth, high-fidelity gaming environment.
AMD FSR Supported GPUs
Only 7 games on PC now support AMD FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution) as of the time this article was written. These games include:
- Radeon RX 6000/ 6000M Series
- Radeon RX 5000/ 5000M Series
- Radeon RX Vega Series
- Radeon RX 500 Series
- Radeon RX 480/ 470/ 460
- Ryzen 2000 Series CPUs with Radeon GPUs
- Nvidia RTX 30 Series
- Nvidia RTX 20 Series
- Nvidia GTX 10/ 16 Series
The following future video games will feature AMD FSR:
Bonus: Request Your Favorite Game to Support AMD FSR
Additionally, AMD has collaborated with over 40 game designers, so soon additional titles will feature FidelityFX Super Resolution.
Enhance Your Gaming Experience with AMD FSR Right Now!
The following graphic cards are currently compatible with AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution technology. If AMD decides to add new cards to its lineup or decides to support FSR on more GPUs, we will update the list below.
