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At the start of June 2021, duringAMD’s Computex keynotethe company revealed a number of new things including RDNA 2 powered mobile GPUs and FidelityFX Super Resolution.
Since then, AMD has also revealed both FSR 2 andFidelityFX Super Resolution 3updates.
AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution is AMD’s answer to Nvidia’sdeep learning super sampling (DLSS)andIntel Xe Super Sampling (XeSS).
But what does it do and how does it work?
What is AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution?
In theory, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution is a technology that’s designed to give gamers the best of both worlds. When activated, you’ll no longer need to choose between high frame rates and high-resolution graphics.
FidelityFX Super Resolution (aka FSR) is essentially designed to upscale your graphics while you play. Allowing you to output graphics with a higher frame rate but also at 4K as well. So while the game engine is rendering at 1080p, for example, the final output is 1440p or 4K.
AMD’s tech uses an “advanced edge reconstruction algorithm” to upscale each frame that’s being sent.
In a similar way to Nvidia’s DLSS, AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution has four different modes. Ultra Quality, Quality, Balanced, and Performance.
At one end of the spectrum, you have Ultra Quality which focuses on the best graphics while Performance gives you the highest FPS.
The idea is Ultra Quality mode would give you higher frame rates than you’d get trying to run games natively at a high resolution.
FidelityFX Super Resolution makes two passes to improve the visual quality of the end graphics that you see on yourgaming monitor.
The first is an edge-reconstruction upscaling algorithm that overhauls the graphics and the second sharpens the final image and adds more clarity.
Interestingly, the initial resolution changes depending on the mode you’ve selected. As an example, where the final output is 4K, the Ultra Quality mode would initially render at 2954 x 1662 before upscaling. While Quality Mode will use 2560 x 1440 and Balanced Mode will use 2259 x 1270 while Performance Mode uses 1080p.
Which GPUs does FidelityFX Super Resolution work with?
FidelityFX Super Resolution is designed to work with many more graphics cards than Nvidia’s DLSS offering. As it stands, FSR is supported by AMD’s RX 7000, RX 6000, RX 5000, RX 500 and 400 graphics cards. Interestingly it’ll also work on a variety of Nvidia’s GeForce GPUs too - from 10-series cards onwards.
As it stands FSR is compatible with more than 100 AMD processors with Radeon graphics and Radeon GPUs.
FSR is now generally available to use. If you have the right equipment and a game that supports it, then all you need isthe latest AMD Radeon driverto get started.
Because of the open nature of FSR, there’s a chance that it will appear on consoles too in future.
Which games support FSR
Like Nvidia’s DLSS,FidelityFX Super Resolutionrelies on game developers to add the option to use it in their games. AMD says there are 80 game developers working on achieving this and there are over 226 games that currently support it now or will do soon.These games include:
There will be more games in future andyou can see the list nowas well as request your favourite games get support.
AMD Super Resolution in action
AMDposted a short featurette on YouTube demonstrating the optimisation work it’s done forFar Cry 6. In that video, the company showed off examples of its ownRay Tracing capabilitiesand tweaks to help gamers make the most of the game.
One of those enhancements included FidelityFX Super Resolution support where the game is shown running 90FPS instead of 60FPS on the same graphics settings. While it’s not shown what settings were used exactly, nor the hardware the game was running on, it’s still quite a performance boost.
What about AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0?
Since it first launched, AMD has been working on improving AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR). In early 2022 the companyrevealed FSR 2.0.
This upgrade uses a temporal upscaling algorithm which takes previous frame data to generate much better upscaling results. It also replaces in-game temporal anti-aliasing (TAA) with optimised, higher-quality anti-aliasing tech.
AMD says thatFidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0doesn’t require machine learning like DLSS orIntel’s Xe Super Sampling (XeSS)and so will work with a wider range of graphics cards including non-AMD cards.
FSR 2.0 is said to offer “significantly higher image quality” than the original FSR at all quality pre-sets and resolutions too. And in performance mode, you can get as much as three times as much FPS.
That said, FSR 2.0 requires more powerful hardware for the best results. AMD recommends the RX 5700 XT and RX 6700 XT if you’re looking for good visuals in 4K. It’s optimised for AMD RDNA2 hardware but should still perform well on other GPUs at lower resolutions too.
FSR 2.0 is also interestingly being included in theXbox Series Xand S development kit so it should be easier for developers to work it into future Xbox games as well.
What games support AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0?
AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 requires developers to support it and add the tech to games. It’ll take time for games to support it, but some games already do. Deathloop was the first game to support FSR and more will be added in future.
The current games that support AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 and above include:
Which other games will have FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0?
There are other games coming with FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 support or being updated to support it. These games currently include:
AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 as open source
FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 is open source and AMD has now published itssource code of it on GitHub. This means it’ll be far easier for developers to ensure compatibility with future games.
The code also supports bothDirectX 12andVulkanas well as potential future support forUnreal Engine 5.
FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.1 and 2.2 updates
On 8 September 2022AMD announced FSR 2.1. This is an iterative update which improves the algorithm to further enhance the quality and reduce problems with artifacts, ghosting and more.
The improvements to FSR 2.1 include:
FSR 2.1 was offered for developers todownload for freeand was included in updates to games including Farming Simulator 22 and Hitman 3. AMD has also said that the plugin for Unreal Engine 5 has been updated to support FSR 2.1 as well. So we should see more games supporting it in future.
In November 2022AMD announcedFSR 2.2 alongside itsRadeon RX 7900 XTX and XT GPUs. FSR 2.2 provides even more quality enhancements over the previous generation. It works with Need for Speed Unbound and F1 2022, but also is supported in a future update for 3DMark that includes an FSR Feature Test.
AMD has also shown Forza Horizon 5 running with FSR 2.2 with boosts to performance including over 100 FPS while playing at 4K on extreme settings with extreme ray tracing. Impressive stuff.
AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3 promises even more
During the 2023 Game Developers Conference (GDC)AMD revealed details about FSR 3. It’s still in development, but the company claims that this version of Super Resolution will offer double the framerate boost that FSR 2 does.
FSR uses both temporal upscaling and interpolation, along with AMD Fluid Motion technology to help boost performance. The added bonus of FSR 3 is it will also offer a latency reduction for gamers.
AMD says that it’ll be an easy upgrade from FSR 2, so developers should be able to quickly make the most of the new technology. FRS 3 is also being made available under an open-source MIT license, so we should see more games using it in future.
