Column 5 Interesting Facts: AMD: Is FSR Technology the Future of the PS5 and Xbox Series?

What is FSR?

FidelityFX SuperResolution, simply called FSR, is a new intelligent upscaling technology from AMD, a large American manufacturer of semiconductors, microprocessors and graphics cards. In short, this technology allows a game to be made much smoother without reducing the definition. The image is therefore calculated by the machine at a lower resolution, then an algorithm ensures that the resolution of the image is artificially increased while maintaining good flowability. If the concept is dreaming, the FSR is currently only available for 7 games, including Godfall and Anno 1800. Other titles will obviously become compatible with the times, such as Resident Evil Village, Far Cry 6 or still Baldur’s Gate III.

Is it the same as DLSS?

Forgive us Normand’s answer, but yes and no. Yes, because the goal is the same: to increase the number of FPS (frames per second) in the game without compromising the visual quality. No, because Nvidia’s DLSS is based on a completely different technology: It uses dedicated AI processing units that can be found in GeForce RTX graphics cards. If the result in the game is ultra efficient, this technology is only offered on GeForce RTX graphics cards.

For reading: DLSS, 4K at 60 FPS according to Nvidia: our explanations

Does it work with all graphics cards?

While DLSS is currently only compatible with GeForce RTXs, AMD’s FSR distinguishes itself in that it is available on a very wide variety of cards, both GeForce and Radeon. To give you an idea, it’s even offered on a GTX 1060 or a Radeon RX 580, GPUs that are at least two generations back!

And does it work really well?

We were able to test the FSR technology on Godfall and Anno 1800 and one thing is certain: We were very impressed with the increase in performance. While it is not possible with Godfall with a Radeon RX 6700XT, for example, to exceed 40 FPS in 4K, 75 FPS can be achieved by activating the FSR. Ditto for Anno 1800, although the gain is lower: We go from 41 FPS in 4K without FSR to 58 FPS by activating. Visual loss will be relatively little seen in 4K, although we will distinguish outlines a little more blurry. On the other hand, if we lower the resolution, the picture deteriorates significantly, which makes activating the FSR less interesting. It is therefore a particularly interesting technology in 4K at the moment.

Will we see the FSR for PS5 and Xbox Series?

This is the big question we can ask ourselves right now: will the FSR land on ninth generation consoles? On these computers we usually have to be content with a 4K resolution limited to 30 FPS. With a technology like the FSR, on the other hand, it seems quite possible to democratize the 4K at 60 FPS we have so much hoped for on home consoles. Also, remember that the latest generation of consoles have a processor and graphics card from AMD: everything seems to be there when the technology from the American manufacturer arrives on consoles. Microsoft has already announced that it will work with AMD to enable developers to incorporate FSR into future games for the Xbox S and X series. It is very open and should therefore be used by everyone. However, nothing has been announced on the part of Sony for the time being, although nothing prevents the PS5 from using it. In short, even more so than on the PC, where Nvidia’s DLSS is already well established, AMD’s FSR remains particularly promising.

If you are definitely interested in learning more about all of these new display technologies, keep an eye on JV as we regularly publish articles on the topic.

Also read:

Buy the Radeon RTX 600XT at the best price