AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution vs. NVIDIA DLSS: What’s the Difference?

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Source: Harish Jonnalagadda / Windows Central

With the unveiling of AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution at Computex, NVIDIA finally has some competition on the image upscaling front. This also means that all the best graphics cards will now have access to one or the other technology. If you’re wondering how AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) compares to NVIDIA DLSS, let’s break things down right here.

What is NVIDIA DLSS?

Starting with the first technology, NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) is a marvel. Although supersampling has been around for some time as an anti-aliasing method, DLSS (and especially the latest DLSS 2.0) is a new release. It is a proprietary technology that uses artificial intelligence to maximize frame rates while improving the look of your games. When ray tracing and DLSS are combined, the results can be particularly impressive.

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If a game is developed to be DLSS compatible, it is split into what NVIDIA calls super-sampled “perfect frames” which are then examined by the supercomputer and neural network that NVIDIA created. This is initially done at a lower resolution with a focus on anti-aliasing, but simultaneous runs through the frames focus more on image sharpness with extra pixels for higher resolution.The supercomputer looks at the perfect frames in high resolution, compare them to the following low resolution frames and make changes to eventually create another high resolution image. This is repeated thousands of times by NVIDIA to properly teach artificial intelligence. The knowledge is then sent to the GPU and its Tensor cores via driver updates.

Source: Harish Jonnalagadda / Windows Central

While the first version of DLSS was supposed to see every game powered through the NVIDIA supercomputer, DLSS 2.0 has seen huge improvements. There is now a large network that can handle all games, which should mean more games will receive the DLSS treatment. Either way, the end result is beneficial for gamers looking to maximize frame rates while maintaining the best possible look of the game.

Since the frames are rendered at a higher resolution but are still displayed, for example, on the monitor at 1440p, you will see much more detail without a noticeable effect on frame rates. This allows players to increase game settings and continue to see smooth gameplay. So why not always use DLSS? It is only available in some games, although the list is constantly growing. And it’s also only available on NVIDIA RTX 20 and 30 series graphics cards with dedicated Tensor cores. If you are an AMD fan, FidelityFX Super Resolution is the rebuttal.

What is AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution?

AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution is certainly a mouthful, but it has already been reduced to FSR. This is AMD’s response to NVIDIA DLSS, scheduled to launch on June 22, 2021. While DLSS uses artificial intelligence and neural networks to achieve its goals, AMD relies on advanced spatial upscaling algorithms instead. On AMD’s GPUOpen website, it states that it “does not rely on history buffers or motion vectors. Nor does it require any in-game training.” This is arguably the biggest difference between two technologies attempting to achieve the same ultimate goal.

Details are still limited on the upcoming technology. What we do know is that FSR has the support of 10 game studios and game engines with more coming next year. We also know that there are four different quality presets available, including Performance, Balanced, Quality and Ultra Quality. This should allow you to choose whether you need to maximize frame rates or maximize image quality. And we also know that AMD claims that FSR can offer up to twice the performance in 4K resolution compatible games when using the Performance preset.

Source: AMD

Another big difference between DLSS and FSR is the compatible hardware. NVIDIA’s DLSS is stuck on its RTX GPUs, but AMD’s FSR is open-source and available on much more hardware. AMD claims that FSR will be enabled on all of its Radeon RX 6000, RX 5000, RX 500, and RX Vega GPUs. It will also work with Ryzen CPUs and their integrated Radeon graphics. Not only that, but it will also work with modern NVIDIA GPUs, including GTX 10 series cards that are not compatible with DLSS. Following AMD’s main announcement, it was also revealed that the Radeon RX 470 and RX 480 GPUs will be FSR compatible.

While NVIDIA’s DLSS is limited to its PC-based GPUs, FSR is evidently extending to Xbox consoles. As reported by IGN, a Microsoft spokesperson said:

At Xbox, we’re excited about the potential of AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution technology as another great way for developers to increase framerate and resolution. We will have more to share on this soon.

The Xbox Series X | S Game Development Kit gained access to some of the AMD FidelityFX graphics tools in April, so this should be a huge plus for consoles.

Which technology is better?

Whether FSR or DLSS is the “best” technology remains to be seen. Both aim to achieve the same goal by increasing frame rate and image quality without a noticeable drop in performance, but they do so with different processes. Keep in mind that the first release of DLSS was nowhere near as good as DLSS 2.0 on almost all fronts, and that FSR will likely have some issues to fix before it reaches maturity. However, this is an exciting development for all players and we can’t wait to test it.

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