AMD FSR 2.0 ‘FidelityFX Super Resolution’ Official: Similar or Better Than Native Image Quality With Faster Performance In Latest AAA Games

AMD has officially announced its next-gen FSR 2.0 'FidelityFX Super Resolution' technology that will be incorporated in the latest AAA games. The new technology will be launching in Q2 2022 but we have a first look at what you can expect from the latest FSR implementation.

Press Release: AMD launched FSR 1.0 last year to very high levels of anticipation, and it quickly became our fastest adopted software product ever¹, giving large performance improvements compared to rendering at native resolution and keeping a high level of visual fidelity. We’ve never stopped investigating better solutions to help you make better games though, so you should not be surprised to hear we have upscaled the quality of our upscaling solution! We are genuinely excited overall we have achieved with FSR 2.0 technology, and we cannot wait to share it with you soon, here on GPUOpen.

But before we spill a bit more detail on FSR 2.0, to set the scene let’s take a look back at FSR 1.0 first.

What exactly is AMD FidelityFX™ Super Resolution 1.0?

FSR 1.0 is our best-in-class open source spatial upscaling solution for producing high-resolution frames from lower resolution inputs. Designed for high performance and easy integration, it uses a collection of cutting-edge algorithms with a particular emphasis on creating high-quality edges.

Over 80 games and engines have already adopted or are adopting FSR 1.0 right now. The cross-platform codebase allows availability on PC across multiple vendor GPUs, as well as consoles and mobile gaming. It has also just become available in the latest Radeon Adrenalin driver as Radeon Super Resolution³, bringing the benefits of FSR 1.0 to games that don’t natively support it.

Spatial upscalers have a lot of advantages, but they can have some limitations too.

FSR 1.0 requires a high-quality anti-aliased source image, which is not always available without making further changes to code and/or the engine.

Upscaling quality is unavoidably a function of the source resolution input. So with a low-resolution source, there is just not enough information with a spatial upscaler for thin detail.

This is where FSR 2.0 comes in!

Introducing AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0!

We’re very excited to announce our brand-new open source upscaling technique: FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0!

FSR 2.0 is the result of years of research from AMD and is developed from the ground up. It uses cutting-edge temporal algorithms to reconstruct fine geometric and texture detail in the upscaled image, along with high-quality anti-aliasing.

Here’s what else is new with FSR 2.0:

Delivers similar or better than native image quality using temporal data.

Includes high-quality anti-aliasing.

Higher image quality than FSR 1.0 at all quality presets/resolutions.

Does not require dedicated Machine Learning (ML) hardware.

Boosts framerates in supported games across a wide range of products and platforms, both AMD and select competitors.

No Machine Learning Hardware Required and Broad Support

Like FSR 1.0, FSR 2.0 does not use Machine Learning (ML) in its upscaling algorithm. While ML is one vehicle to solve a number of problems, it is not a requirement to achieve good quality upscaling. Therefore, FSR 2.0 does not require dedicated ML hardware which means more gamers can benefit from it. FSR 2.0 will work across a wide range of products and platforms, and like FSR 1.0, that includes select competitor graphics cards.

Our engineers have been working closely with engineers at Arkane to bring FSR 2.0 to DEATHLOOP.

Take a look below at the 1:1 single frame comparison comparing native 4K with FSR 2.0 Quality Mode.

Deathloop Native Resolution:

Deathloop FSR 2.0 (Quality):

We have what you’re looking for right here, with this footage (best viewed at its full 4K resolution) from DEATHLOOP:

We will make FSR 2.0 available via GPUOpen at some point soon in the foreseeable future. The tech will be out in Q2 2022 and will work with AMD Radeon, NVIDIA GeForce, and Intel Arc GPUs too.

We’ll be sharing more about FSR 2.0 in due course, but don’t miss our GDC talk on March 23 10.30 am PT where engineers Colin Riley and Thomas Arcila do a deep dive explaining exactly how FSR 2.0 works in great detail. You also won’t want to miss AMD’s Lou Kramer and Arkane Lyon’s Gilles Marion talk either: A Guided Tour of Blackreef: Rendering Technologies in Deathloop which starts at 9 am PT just before.

Not able to do GDC? The videos for both presentations will be available here on GPUOpen shortly afterward, along with all our other GDC sessions plus some extras, so keep a close eye out! You can also find out a bit more from the official AMD FSR 2.0 announcement as well.

DISCLAIMERS AND FOOTNOTES

AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution is available on select games and requires developer integration. See https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/radeon-software-fidelityfx-super-resolution for a list of supported games. AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution is “game dependent” and is supported on the following AMD products: AMD Radeon™ RX 6000, RX 5000, RX 500, RX Vega series graphics cards, RX 480, RX 470, RX 460, and all AMD Ryzen™ Processors with Radeon™ Graphics if the minimum requirements of the game are met. AMD does not provide technical or warranty support for AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution enablement on other vendors' graphics cards. GD-187.

Testing by AMD Performance Labs as of July 22, 2021, on a test system configured with an AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900X CPU, AMD Radeon™ 6900 XT/6800 XT/6700 XT/6600 XT graphics cards, 16GB DDR4-3200 RAM, and Windows 10 Pro, with Smart Access Memory enabled and using FSR "Performance" mode vs. FSR off. Actual performance will vary. Games tested: Baldur's Gate 3 (“Ultra”); Black Desert Global Lab (“Epic”); Chernobylite (“Epic”); Deathloop™ (“Ultra”); Far Cry® 6 (“Ultra”); Gamedec (“Very High”) Grounded (“Epic”); Necromunda®: Hired Gun™ (“Epic”); Resident Evil™ Village (“Epic”); Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt (“Ultra”). Benchmark tests: Baldur's Gate 3, Vulkan®, 3840 x 2160, “Ultra” settings, FSR OFF/FSR “Performance” mode. Black Desert, DX11, 3840 x 2160, “Epic” settings, FSR OFF/FSR “Performance” mode. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt, DX12, 3840 x 2160, “Ultra” settings, FSR OFF/FSR “Performance” mode. Chernobylite, DX11, 3840 x 2160, “Epic” settings, FSR OFF/FSR “Performance” mode. Deathloop™, DX12, 3840 x 2160, “Ultra” settings, FSR OFF/FSR “Performance” mode vs. the same system with FSR off. Far Cry® 6, DX12, 3840 x 2160, “Ultra” settings, FSR OFF/FSR “Performance” mode. Gamedec, DX12, 3840 x 2160, “Very High” settings, FSR OFF/FSR “Performance” mode. Grounded, DX12, 3840 x 2160, “Epic” settings, FSR OFF/FSR “Performance” mode. Necromunda®: Hired Gun™, DX12, 3840 x 2160, “Epic” settings, FSR OFF/FSR “Performance” mode. Resident Evil™ Village, DX12, 3840 x 2160, “Epic” Settings, FSR OFF/FSR “Performance” mode. RS-430.

Based on AMD internal analysis, November 2021, FidelityFX™ Super Resolution is the fastest adopted software gaming technology in AMD’s history. GD-195.

AMD FidelityFX™ Super Resolution 2.0 will be available in select games and requires developer integration.

DEATHLOOP game settings: “Ultra” graphics preset with raytracing, DirectX® 12. AMD Radeon™ RX 6900 XT with AMD Smart Access Memory™ and FSR 2.0 “Quality” and “Performance” modes enabled (driver: AMD Radeon™ Software Adrenalin 21.50-220210a), AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900X, 16GB DDR4-3200 RAM, Qogir AM4 motherboard, and Windows® 10 Pro May 2020 update (19041.508). Results may vary.