AMD Radeon RX 9000: Hands-on with RDNA4’s Latest Features

The new AMD Radeon RX 9000 cards with RDNA4 architecture bring higher performance and a suite of technologies to make gaming more enjoyable and improve responsiveness. We’ll focus on the technologies available to gamers and what stands behind names like Anti-Lag 2 or FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR4). The videos show how Anti-Lag reduces latency and how FSR boosts frame rates with demanding detail settings.

AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR)

The first generation of FSR is an algorithm that uses compute shaders to upscale images with higher quality than what traditional image interpolation methods could achieve.

If your GPU previously couldn’t handle a game at your desired detail level, one option was to lower the render resolution and interpolate the lower-resolution image up to the monitor’s native resolution.

FSR 1 works on a similar principle, but compared to basic and fast interpolation methods of lower quality (usually bilinear or bicubic interpolation), the resulting image is sharper and more detailed.

This is a software solution that utilizes the compute shaders of the graphics chip for interpolation. It’s not tied to any specialized processing units and works on all modern GPUs regardless of manufacturer.

One major drawback is that it processes only the current frame. As a result, it can’t make use of data from previous frames to improve image quality and struggles to maintain visual consistency between frames.

AMD Radeon Super Resolution (RSR)

Radeon Super Resolution (RSR) is AMD’s technology for enhancing performance and upscaling quality in games, even if they don’t natively support FSR. It builds on the principles of the first-generation AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), but with one key difference – RSR is integrated directly into the Radeon GPU drivers and functions system-wide, not just in games with native FSR support.

Compared to in-game FSR, RSR has some limitations. It doesn’t work in windowed or borderless windowed modes.

The image may not be as clean or sharp as with native FSR, because FSR can render interface elements like HUD in full resolution, while RSR upscales the entire rendered image from a lower resolution.

This feature is only available on AMD Radeon RX 5000 series graphics cards and newer.

AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 2

The second generation of FSR introduced a more advanced upscaling method that uses temporal upscaling. This allows the algorithm to combine information from multiple frames, increasing the number of samples and producing a more detailed image.

Unlike the first generation, it doesn’t rely solely on the current frame, but can also utilize data from previously rendered frames, motion vectors, and scene depth maps. This enables it to recreate finer details, reduce flickering of elements between frames, and improve stability. However, it can still produce edge artifacts on moving objects, as there isn’t enough sample data in areas where those objects overlapped in previous frames.

It remains a software-based solution using compute shaders, and doesn’t require specialized processing hardware. As such, FSR 2 runs not only on AMD GPUs, but also on modern graphics chips from Nvidia and Intel.

The result is noticeably better image quality than FSR 1, especially at lower internal resolutions.

AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3

The third generation builds on FSR 2 and brings two key innovations – enhanced temporal upscaling and frame generation, which increases framerate beyond what the game engine can natively produce.

FSR 3 improves upscaling regardless of whether frame generation is enabled. Compared to FSR 2, it delivers a more stable image, reduces flickering of fine details, preserves small structures better, and lowers the occurrence of artifacts during fast motion. Improvements also include better handling of motion vectors and depth information.

Its standout feature is frame generation, which calculates and inserts artificial frames between rendered ones. This significantly boosts perceived smoothness, particularly in demanding titles or at high resolutions.

However, for frame generation to be effective, the base framerate must already be relatively high – typically around 60 fps. At lower performance levels, the quality of generated frames drops, and artifacts become more noticeable. It’s best suited for playing demanding games on high refresh rate monitors.

A drawback is a slight increase in latency due to the need to delay the last rendered frame.

Another new feature is official support for Native AA. In this mode, the game runs at the display’s native resolution with full detail, while the temporal algorithm from FSR is used to enhance anti-aliasing quality.

Like previous versions, FSR 3 is a software solution using compute shaders. It’s not tied to specialized hardware, but its support depends on the game and GPU drivers. The technology works on AMD, Nvidia, and Intel GPUs that meet the requirements.

AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 4

FSR 4 is the next generation of AMD’s image upscaling algorithm. Unlike previous iterations of FidelityFX Super Resolution, it now uses artificial intelligence to achieve superior image quality.

FSR 4 utilizes the same API features as FSR 3.1. As a result, FSR4 upgrades can already be activated, improving upscaling in over 60 supported games that feature integrated FSR 3.1 support.

It provides a more stable image across frames, better detail retention, and reduced ghosting.

It can be combined with FSR 3.1 frame generation and Anti-Lag 2.

To wrap up this section, we’ll summarize the differences between the individual FSR generations in a simplified table. In the next one, we’ll look at visual comparisons between FSR 3.1 and FSR 4.

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