AMD’s FSR4 technology significantly enhances performance and visual quality across RDNA3 GPUs, from lower-end Steam Machines to high-end RX 7800 XT and RX 7900 XTX cards, especially in ray-traced games and demanding titles. While FSR4 outperforms its predecessor FSR3 in many scenarios, broader adoption and developer support, particularly on Linux and Proton platforms, remain crucial for maximizing its impact.
AMD has successfully launched FSR4 (FidelityFX Super Resolution 4) for RDNA3 GPUs, marking a significant advancement in machine learning-based super resolution technology. This update is particularly impactful for lower-end RDNA3 hardware, such as Valve’s Steam Machine, which uses a simplified Navi 33 processor akin to that in the RX 7600 series. The integration of FSR4 into Proton Experimental for Steam Machine allows many games to seamlessly replace FSR3 with FSR4, enhancing performance. While FSR4 might not be a complete game changer for Steam Machine users, it is a valuable tool that improves gameplay experience, especially when optimized settings are applied for 1440p gaming on living room displays.
Benchmark tests on Steam Machine reveal that despite its limited horsepower, it can still deliver a reasonable 1440p gaming experience with FSR4. For example, in the demanding game Crimson Desert, FSR4 performance mode boosts frame rates by up to 42.8%, surpassing native performance significantly. Although FSR4 sometimes offers slightly lower performance boosts than FSR3, it delivers better visual quality, especially when using more aggressive upscaling modes. Other titles like Resident Evil Requiem and Cyberpunk 2077 show mixed results, with FSR4 offering moderate performance improvements, highlighting that upscaling effectiveness varies by game and rendering techniques.
Moving to desktop RDNA3 GPUs like the RX 7800 XT and RX 7900 XTX, FSR4 proves to be a more substantial performance enhancer, especially in ray-traced scenarios. For instance, in Resident Evil Requiem with full ray tracing at 1440p, FSR4 balanced mode outperforms FSR3 quality mode by a small margin, while the RX 7900 XTX at 4K sees massive frame rate boosts—up to 119% in performance mode. These gains are particularly notable because ray tracing benefits greatly from reduced input resolution, which FSR4 exploits effectively. However, in titles with less ray tracing, the performance gap between FSR4 and FSR3 widens, with FSR3 sometimes offering higher frame rate increases but at a cost to image quality.
Gameplay testing on high-end RDNA3 GPUs further demonstrates FSR4’s capabilities. Alan Wake 2 at 4K with low ray tracing settings runs smoothly at 60 FPS on the RX 7900 XTX using FSR4 performance mode, while Cyberpunk 2077 also maintains solid frame rates with optimized ray tracing and FSR4 upscaling. The RX 7800 XT, while slightly less consistent, still delivers good performance with FSR4 balance mode at 1440p. These results underscore FSR4’s transformative potential across the RDNA3 lineup, from low-end Steam Machines to flagship GPUs, enhancing both performance and visual fidelity in demanding modern titles.
In conclusion, FSR4 is a significant improvement for RDNA3 GPUs, offering superior performance and image quality compared to FSR3, particularly when using performance mode. While AMD has been slow in rolling out this technology, its impact is undeniable, especially for ray tracing workloads on higher-end cards. However, adoption remains limited compared to NVIDIA’s DLSS, and AMD needs to work more closely with developers to integrate FSR4 widely, especially on Linux and Proton platforms. The video emphasizes the importance of community and media pressure to encourage broader support for vendor-specific features like FSR4, ensuring gamers benefit from the best available upscaling technologies.