FSR 4 and ML-Powered Upscaling

FSR 4 makes its debut as a Radeon RX 9000 series exclusive technology, with up to 30 game titles expected at launch and at least 75 titles in 2025. The biggest change with FSR 4 is a new AI ML-based super resolution component that vastly improves image quality at a given performance preset. FSR 4 now more closely resembles DLSS in the way it works.


AMD now has its own FSR 4 AI data-center made up of AMD Instinct AI GPUs, on which the company trains custom, game-specific ML models, which the FSR 4 upscaling algorithm uses to reconstruct details in upscaled frames. On the client side, the ML-based upscaler needs an AI acceleration throughput of 779 AI TOPS, which the RX 9070 series more than sufficiently meet (around 1200 TOPS for the RX 9070, and around 1500 TOPS for the RX 9070 XT). The frame generation technology appears to be carried over from FSR 3 Frame Generation, and is essentially a smart frame interpolation technology.


AMD in its presentation provided examples of image quality for FSR 4, claiming that in some cases, FSR 4 presents geometry more accurately than even native resolution.

While AMD didn't detail it, FSR 4 comes with preparation for neural rendering. Given that Microsoft has now standardized neural shaders, and the ability for applications to directly address AI acceleration hardware on the GPU via the DirectX API, AMD could in the near future implement neural rendering, however, the company hasn't detailed a timeline. FSR 4 is ready for neural rendered objects.

Hyper-RX

AMD Hyper-RX, introduced with the Radeon RX 7000 series, simplifies performance down to one-click in the AMD Software application, engaging technologies such as super resolution, anti-lag, boost, or super resolution and fluid motion frames 2. It's available now on thousands of game titles, given that FMF works on any DirectX 11, 12, or Vulkan application.


Fluid Motion Frames gets an update with FMF 2.1, with improved image quality, reduced ghosting, and improved temporal tracking.


Radeon Anti-Lag 2 was introduced last year with a high degree of compatibility that won't trip anti-cheat technologies due to the way it's implemented in the game's graphics rendering stack. This technology is crucial for Frame Generation to correctly work. It works to reduce whole-system latency. AMD promises more feature-additions to Hyper-RX.

AMD Software

AMD provides a slick driver frontend application called simply "AMD Software." AMD improved the way in which users can report bugs, artifacts, or corruption in games, through a voluntary (opt-in) feature called AMD Image Inspector.


As you submit a screenshot or video sequence to AMD, the company uses an AI model to identify rendering bugs, or corruption in the display. The entire driver-level game optimization, testing, and bug fixing process has been revamped with AI doing the heavy lifting.


Lastly, there's AMD Chat, which is an AI chatbot that runs locally, and is accelerated by the GPU. You can make plain language queries on configuring AMD Software features and settings; and also chat with it on AMD technologies. This is essentially AMD's answer to NVIDIA's ChatRTX, but we don't know if the utility can be trained with custom datasets.


For streamers, AMD Software simplifies connecting their gameplay with their social media and streaming accounts. You can then take advantage of the new dual media engine of RDNA 4 that improves H.264 and HEVC image quality, and use other utilities such as AMD Noise Suppression, which is a 2-way AI-based audio filter.


Radeon Image Sharpening 2 provides generational improvements to image quality, it is API-agnostic.


AMD AI Apps Manager consolidates all your AI applications into a simple launcher-like interface resembling a game launcher.


AMD Install Manager is an updated installer UI for AMD Software Adrenalin, giving you control over the components to be installed.