Microsoft has stated that the Xbox Series X will officially support AMD’s DLSS alternative. This is likely to lead to higher FPS in games soon. Fast-paced games like shooters will particularly benefit from this.
AMD not only thoroughly presented its DLSS alternative, FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), but also stated that FSR would be available as early as June 2021. Many had speculated that FSR would not be released until much later.
What does this have to do with Xbox? The manufacturer Microsoft relies on AMD hardware for its Xbox Series X and S. In an interview with the online magazine IGN, a Microsoft employee stated that the Xbox Series X|S would support AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution:
At Xbox, we are excited about the potential of AMD’s “FidelityFX Super Resolution” technology as another great way for developers to increase frame rates and resolution. We will share more about it soon.
Statement from Microsoft, via IGN.com
Microsoft has already provided developers with specific tools to integrate FSR more easily into Xbox and Windows games (via gpuopen.com). This has made integrating FSR much easier.
Thus, there is a possibility that FSR could be integrated into both old and new titles. This way, gamers on Xbox and PC would benefit.
AMD’s DLSS alternative is an important step for the Xbox Series X
What are DLSS and FidelityFX Super Resolution, anyway? With Nvidia DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), the game is calculated internally at a lower resolution and scaled to a higher resolution such as 4K via AI algorithms to increase FPS. With the RTX 3060, the performance gain is up to 30%.
AMD aims to offer a similar technique with FidelityFX Super Resolution. Instead of using AI calculations, AMD intends to rely on open-source technology. This way, FSR works with both Nvidia and AMD graphics cards. Nvidia’s DLSS, on the other hand, only works on RTX graphics cards that have specific computational cores (so-called Tensor cores).
This is why FSR is important for Xbox: In the first official benchmarks that AMD presented with the RX 6800 XT and GTX 1650, the new technology delivers a decent FPS boost. Depending on the settings, you can gain between 20 and 50% more FPS without performance losses.
This is especially good for games where high FPS numbers play an important role. These include competitive shooters, where higher FPS can mean not only a smoother gaming experience but also higher hit chances.
The shooter pro shroud, together with tech expert Linus, has already examined how important more FPS are for playing shooters. The experts have already concluded that a higher refresh rate is indeed helpful.
You can also see how great the impact of significantly higher FPS on gaming is in this YouTube video:
Because with higher FPS, you get a significantly smoother gaming experience, which also affects your accuracy.
What’s the catch? So far, we do not yet know how AMD’s technology will work exactly. Additionally, there are no independent benchmarks yet.
We will have to wait until June 22, 2021, when FidelityFX Super Resolution is officially released. It will also clarify whether AMD’s Fidelity Super Resolution is competitive with Nvidia’s DLSS. Because Nvidia is still significantly ahead when it comes to DLSS and ray tracing:
6900 XT vs RTX 3090: Nvidia is clearly ahead in ray tracing – that might change soon
