AMD FSR 4 Now Available on Radeon RX 7000 “RDNA 3” GPUs: Enhanced Image Quality and Frame Rates Compared to Native 4K, Yet Lower Than FSR 3.1

Unlocking AMD’s FSR 4 on Radeon RX 7000 GPUs: A User’s Breakthrough

In a remarkable turn of events, a Reddit user has successfully activated AMD’s FSR 4 upscaling technology on the Radeon RX 7000 series, known for its “RDNA 3″architecture. This enables not only enhanced image quality but also potential improvements in frames per second (FPS), elevating the gaming experience.

Details from the Experiments: FSR 4 on Radeon RX 7900 XTX

User Virtual-Cobbler-9930 shared an extensive thread on the Radeon subreddit, detailing their trials with FSR 4 operating on a Radeon RX 7900 XTX. Typically, this cutting-edge upscaling feature is exclusive to the newer Radeon RX 9000 “RDNA 4″series, due to substantial advancements in AI and machine learning capabilities. However, the results from this experimentation indicate that users of the RX 7000 “RDNA 3″may also benefit from FSR 4, enhancing both visual fidelity and FPS in select scenarios.

Methodology: Tests Across Multiple Titles

The tests were conducted on three popular games: Cyberpunk 2077, Oblivion Remastered, and Marvel’s Rivals. Notably, the tests were executed on a Linux platform, but insights pertaining to Windows performance were also shared. The process involved the use of Optiscaler to overlay the necessary DLLs for FSR 4 over the existing FSR 3.1 implementation, with frame generation intentionally disabled for this round of tests.

Performance Insights: Cyberpunk 2077

In the evaluation of Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K resolution, the results were compelling. The user recorded an average of 56.28 FPS with FSR 4, compared to 85.06 FPS using FSR 3.1, both with the quality preset enabled. The visual results confirmed that FSR 4 delivered superior image quality, affirming its potential over the previous version.

Cyberpunk 2077 FSR quality comparison — FSR 4 Quality (Below) vs FSR 3.1 Quality (Above) in Cyberpunk 2077 – Image Source: Radeon Subreddit

Visual Fidelity vs. Frame Rate: Insights from Oblivion Remastered

Turning to Oblivion Remastered, FSR 3.1 provided higher FPS, yet it suffered from numerous artifacts. The switch to FSR 4 significantly minimized these issues, though it did incur a performance decrease of approximately 20-30%.Players have the option to leverage the FSR balanced mode or enable frame generation to enhance FPS further.

Marvel’s Rivals: Balancing Quality and Performance

Lastly, in Marvel’s Rivals, FSR 4 averaged 41 FPS, in contrast to the 74 FPS achievable with FSR 3.1. While FSR 3.1’s performance was superior, FSR 4 contributed improvements in certain visuals. However, the significant FPS reduction does not justify the quality upgrade in a fast-paced eSports environment.

Please note, that while FSR 4 Quality preset do gain additional FPS at 4K, compared to plain native without upscalers (imgur), that gain could be almost nullified at lower resolutions like 1080p. Simply because it RDNA3 can’t push higher FPS with FSR 4 due to architecture. Hope that makes sense.

via Radeon Reddit

Conclusion: Weighing the Trade-offs

In summary, enabling AMD’s FSR 4 on the Radeon RX 7000 “RDNA 3″GPUs presents an intriguing opportunity for gamers. However, the architectural limitations affecting the AI capabilities required for FSR 4 imply that users will likely experience a drop in FPS in exchange for enhanced image quality. This presents a valuable trade-off for gamers seeking both performance and visual fidelity.

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