AMD FSR 3 could be a real contender to Nvidia’s DLSS 3
A new discovery on the GitHub page of AMD’s FSR supersampling software has generated some excitement and some concern for the future.
Twitter user Kepler has rummaged through the updated code for the upcoming update to AMD’s supersampling software, FSR, and discovered a few new additions.
While FSR 3 is not expected for a while longer, the code for the drivers that power the software is actively available online via GitHub. The most recent updates have highlighted two new features that might send a few shockwaves through those who rely on it for gaming purposes.
First up is frame generation, which according to the code has a “ratio” that can be set. DLSS 3 from Nvidia provides one frame per frame created by the game, whereas it appears AMD is gunning for giving the option to turn this up and down.
If a single frame is generated, based on this code, the GPU would provide 4 interpolated frames. We’ve no real idea of how this would look, but we’d suspect it’s still in active development to avoid any ugliness.
However, the key feature might not find itself on other GPUs, if what has been found is to be believed.
FSR 3 frame generation is potentially driver based
AMD has prided itself on the fact that FSR is open source, and able to be used across all devices. This means that with titles like Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 Remake, which has a deal with AMD to exclusively use FSR, it can still be used on Nvidia or Intel systems.
This might change though, as the new frame generation software that has been unearthed from within the driver code indicates that it could require AMD GPU drivers to work. Without an AMD graphics card, the new tech can’t be taken advantage of.
If AMD were to make this change, it would send a ripple effect through to the consumer, who might find that they can’t access the latest versions of supersampling tools in their game whatsoever. While FSR 1 and 2 will remain open, and assuming that frame generation can be turned off in a menu, FSR 3 might still be available on all GPUs in some capacity.
AMD and Nvidia are hotting up their rivalry at the moment, as the 4060 Ti and RX 7600 are expected to launch within days of each other. The midrange race is key to the generation’s success, as the cards are often most popular among gaming enthusiasts if Steam’s Hardware Survey is anything to go by.