AMD has extended FSR 4.1, the machine learning upscaling technology until now reserved for Radeon RX 9000 cards, to a long list of older hardware. Support arrives with the Adrenalin 26.10.1 driver and covers Radeon RX 6000 graphics cards based on the RDNA 2 architecture, Ryzen AI Max and Ryzen AI 9 APUs, some Ryzen Z2 processors for handhelds and, at a later stage, Xbox Series X and Series S consoles.
The move comes months ahead of the schedule AMD set in the spring, when it promised FSR 4.1 for RX 6000 products in early 2027. To make the technology work on these chips, AMD says it modified the neural network model so that it runs on INT8 shader hardware, instead of the FP8 matrix acceleration found on Radeon 9000 cards. A handheld-specific version has also been slimmed down to less than half the size of the full one.
According to AMD, compared with FSR 3, games on these chips deliver better image quality, all else being equal. In Tom's Hardware's quick tests on a Radeon RX 6900 XT, Cyberpunk 2077 in FSR Balanced mode at 4K loses about 13% of performance with FSR 4 active: a small price, the outlet argues, for sharper and more stable visuals in motion. The higher quality could also let players use Performance mode instead of Balanced, offsetting part of the cost.
AMD Radeon RX Graphics Cards
AMD also announces two further additions. FSR Frame Generation should now have better frame pacing, a long-standing complaint. Vulkan support for FSR 4.1 will arrive later: useful for some games and emulators, and especially for Linux, which relies on Vulkan as its graphics base.
On Xbox the path is different, because consoles depend on manufacturer drivers. AMD explained that updates for Xbox Series X|S and for Ryzen Z2 handhelds will come through the respective partners. Microsoft's Jason Ronald said support for Xbox developers would arrive "very soon". On the same occasion AMD also showed FSR Diamond, presented as the upscaling technology of the next Xbox, Project Helix.
Driver 26.10.1 also adds support for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, Star Wars: Galactic Racer and Final Fantasy Resonance.
The news matters for RDNA 2 owners, who until now saw AMD's most advanced upscaler reserved for newer cards. On Xbox, the timing depends on when Microsoft and its partners roll out the updates.
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