UL Launches New 3DMark Feature Test for Intel XeSS

[TheLostSwede]

We're excited to release a new 3DMark feature test for Intel's new XeSS AI-enhanced upscaling technology. This new feature test is available in 3DMark Advanced and Professional Editions. 3DMark feature tests are special tests designed to highlight specific techniques, functions, or capabilities. The Intel XeSS feature test shows you how XeSS affects performance.

The 3DMark Intel XeSS frame inspector tool helps you compare image quality with an interactive side-by-side comparison of XeSS and native-resolution rendering. Check out the images below to see an example comparison of native resolution rendering and XeSS in the new 3DMark feature test.




Comparing performance and image quality with the Intel XeSS feature test
The test renders a scene based on the 3DMark Port Royal benchmark two times to show the effect XeSS has on performance and image quality. The first run measures baseline performance by rendering the scene with temporal anti-aliasing (TAA) at the output resolution.

The second run renders the scene at a lower resolution and then uses the selected XeSS mode to upscale the frames to the output resolution.

The result screen shows you the average frame rate from each run and the difference in performance expressed as a percentage.

3DMark Intel XeSS frame inspector
The 3DMark Intel XeSS feature test includes the frame inspector tool. This tool lets you compare image quality with a side-by-side view of Intel XeSS and native-resolution rendering. You can render up to 100 consecutive frames from the feature test and freely pan around or zoom in up to 32x.

About Intel Xess
XeSS (Xe Super Sampling) is a new Intel graphics technology that uses AI-enhanced upscaling to improve performance while maintaining high image fidelity. XeSS renders each frame at a lower resolution to boost performance and then uses AI upscaling to generate frames at the target output resolution.

Available now
The Intel XeSS feature test is a free update to 3DMark Advanced Edition for users who purchased 3DMark after January 8, 2019. You can buy 3DMark on Steam or direct from the UL Benchmarks website.

To run the Intel XeSS feature test, you must have a GPU that supports Intel XeSS and Microsoft DirectX ray tracing Tier 1.1. XeSS compatible GPUs include Intel Arc GPUs, as well as AMD Radeon and NVIDIA GeForce GPUs with Shader Model 6.4 support. You also need Windows 11 or Windows 10 64-bit, version 20H2 or newer.

If you already own 3DMark but bought it before January 8, 2019, you'll need to buy the Port Royal upgrade to unlock the Intel XeSS feature test.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

So this is essentially a benchmark for software?

I find it hard to understand what this actually does.

 

[TheLostSwede]

So this is essentially a benchmark for software?

I find it hard to understand what this actually does.

It's an update for 3DMark that tests how well a graphics card performs with XeSS enabled.
XeSS isn't limited to Intel hardware.

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

It's an update for 3DMark that tests how well a graphics card performs with XeSS enabled.

I thought XeSS (non-ARC) ran in the shaders, so the performance was essentially how much raster performance you wanted to take away from rendering.

Or is is more for the frame inspector part so you can pixel-peek to check for quality loss?

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

I thought XeSS (non-ARC) ran in the shaders, so the performance was essentially how much raster performance you wanted to take away from rendering.

Or is is more for the frame inspector part so you can pixel-peek to check for quality loss?

This will give you a general idea how it works.

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

Hm. Didn't realize that DP4a was not a GPGPU instruction, but rather a AI bit that had to be baked into the card.

 

[AusWolf]

Nice. I happen to have an RTX 2070, an RX 6500 XT, and I'm planning on buying an A770, so I can test for performance differences among different architectures.

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

Nice. I happen to have an RTX 2070, an RX 6500 XT, and I'm planning on buying an A770, so I can test for performance differences among different architectures.

Let us know how it goes!

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TIL that XeSS can be brand-agnostic but not GPU-agnostic, as it is only supported by Pascal and above, RDNA2 and maybe the Radeon VII. Which would explain why my M620 mobile had a fit in SOTR with XeSS enabled. Slideshow FPS in the blinkin' menu.

 

[sepheronx]

Nice. I happen to have an RTX 2070, an RX 6500 XT, and I'm planning on buying an A770, so I can test for performance differences among different architectures.

I too plan to get an A770 and will test it against a 3060, 3060ti, 3070, 2060 12GB model and a RX 6600 and possibly the RX 6800XT.

I am excited to see how your 2070 and 6500 xt will work out against it.

 

[AusWolf]

I too plan to get an A770 and will test it against a 3060, 3060ti, 3070, 2060 12GB model and a RX 6600 and possibly the RX 6800XT.

I am excited to see how your 2070 and 6500 xt will work out against it.

The 6500 XT might be limited by VRAM, but we'll see.

I bet your test will be a lot more elaborate than mine, and with more relevant cards.

 

[sepheronx]

The 6500 XT might be limited by VRAM, but we'll see.

I bet your test will be a lot more elaborate than mine, and with more relevant cards.

It all depends when I would get it to it and when I would get the card.

With my new job, I doubt I will have that much time but we will see. Plus I would all have to use a MSI Trident X machine to test each one. Machine is meh overall and limited to PCIe 3.0.