The RX 6900 XT is praised by testers for its high performance, but Nvidia is still significantly stronger in ray tracing. However, this could change soon. Microsoft and AMD are working together on “Super Resolution,” a DLSS alternative. It is particularly interesting that this technology is also supported by the Xbox Series X.
In October 2020, AMD introduced the RX 6000 series, which includes the RX 6800 XT and the RX 6900 XT. AMD seems to have achieved its goal of bringing high-performance products back to the high-end market. The tests of the RX 6900 XT are overwhelmingly positive.
Here there is criticism of the RX 6900 XT: Most independent testers are impressed by the high performance. Sites like IgorsLab are pleased to note that “AMD has finally caught up.”
Technologies like DLSS (Nvidia) or Super Resolution (AMD) promise significantly higher frame rates without added performance and loss of quality. We explain what it is about.
DLSS is Nvidia’s argument for buying an RTX 3080
This is Nvidia’s technology DLSS: Short for “Deep Learning Super Sampling,” it is a technique from Nvidia. Using AI, images with lower resolution are upscaled to a higher resolution for display on screens. An AI calculates the resolution. Hence the name “Deep Learning.” This promises more FPS while maintaining image quality. So far, only users with RTX graphics cards benefit from it.
We are now at version 2.0, and our colleagues from GameStar are excited about DLSS 2.0 and its potential.
That’s why DLSS is so important: Since DLSS is Nvidia’s own standard, it is not available for AMD graphics cards, which is not surprising.
However, DLSS is interesting for high performance, as noted by IgorsLab:
Without DLSS, you won’t be fully satisfied with ray tracing even with NVIDIA if you want to play in WQHD or even Ultra-HD. With the Radeon cards, these resolutions usually only work at a snail’s pace.
Nvidia still clearly leads in ray tracing. However, AMD is already diligently working on developing its own open-source technology. This could eventually improve the ray tracing performance of the “Big Navi” graphics cards in the long term.
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That’s why AMD could significantly catch up in ray tracing in the future
This is AMD’s technology: AMD is currently developing AI-supported resolution calculations together with Microsoft. This technique is called “Super Resolution.”
This procedure is based on the DirectX API DirectML (Machine Learning). This technology is intended to provide high frame rates during demanding ray tracing, while saving computing power.
With “Super Resolution,” graphics are expected to look even more detailed and sharper than with normal rendered graphics.
Why is this so interesting? What makes this particularly exciting is that the Xbox Series X also supports the DirectX API DirectML. Microsoft has already explained in an official blog post that the Xbox Series X will support all features of the “AMD RDNA 2 Architecture.”
Why AMD could succeed with it: The great success that AMD has had with such open-source projects can be demonstrated by two examples:
- FreeSync is a synchronization technology for monitors that AMD developed and is now also supported by Nvidia.
- AMD’s “Mantle,” which merged into the open-source API “Vulkan” in 2019. Vulkan is an open-source API like OpenGL but focuses more on hardware.
With Microsoft, they also have a strong partner. In the long run, not only PC gamers but also console players could benefit from the new feature.
The competition is not sleeping: Nvidia is likely keeping a close eye on the release of the RX 6900 XT: Speculation is already circulating about a possible memory upgrade for the RTX 3080 to remain future-proof for gamers in the long run. The upcoming year 2021 is expected to be as exciting for gamers as 2020.
