The GTX 1060 is one of the best-selling graphics cards from Nvidia and has topped charts for years. However, a feature from AMD may provide the graphics card with a renaissance.
With AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution, or FSR for short, AMD has a technology that works similarly to DLSS. However, AMD has an advantage: FSR also works with competitor graphics cards, while DLSS is exclusive to Nvidia graphics cards.
AMD recommends using Radeon GPUs from the RX 6000 and RX 7000 series or RTX 20 series graphics cards or newer. However, you can activate FSR and other features with older GPUs as well.
The tech YouTuber named Daniel Owen, however, decided to try it anyway and test a GeForce GTX 1060 and a GTX 1070 in Immortals of Aveum. This game uses Unreal Engine 5 and both have demanding requirements.
AMD’s technology nearly doubles the FPS with the GTX 1060
What is there to see? First, the YouTuber tests the games at a normal Full HD resolution (1080p). However, it quickly becomes evident that the two Nvidia graphics cards are reaching their limits. Even at low quality, the titles are at 20 FPS.
In the next step, Daniel Owen enables AMD’s FSR 3.0 in Immortals of Aveum. This is done easily through the graphics settings in the game. Immediately, the frame rate rises significantly, nearly doubling. Instead of 20 FPS, the FPS is now around 35, but dips slightly below 30 during quick movements. You can see how it looks in the YouTuber’s video:
Are there any downsides? Yes, there are. On the one hand, AMD’s FSR is a so-called upscaler. This means: the game is calculated at a lower resolution and then upscaled. However, this also affects image quality. In fast movements, for instance, textures appear slightly blurred.
Another disadvantage is that the technology slightly increases the latency in the game because the images are recalculated. Especially at low frame rates, the control feels somewhat sluggish.
A third disadvantage to be aware of: AMD’s FSR 3.0 is currently only available in 2 games: Immortals of Aveum and Forespoken. In both games, FSR 3.0 works well to excellently, but the game selection remains sparse. However, this could change in the coming weeks and months.
The GTX 1060 is one of the most popular graphics cards from Nvidia
What is the GTX 1060? With the GTX 1060, Nvidia launched a graphics card in 2016 that quickly became a bestseller. AMD then soon followed with its Radeon RX 480, which utilized the Polaris architecture.
The GTX 1060 frequently topped the charts in various rankings and also in the Steam hardware survey. This was mainly due to its price-performance ratio. Even today, it is still often and gladly used, as it still offers enough performance for budget gaming in Full HD.
If AMD’s FSR shows similar advantages in other games, older graphics cards could see a renaissance. After all, not many are eager to invest a lot of money in a new graphics card. Others wait for years until they can afford their dream graphics card:
