AMD's new FSR 4.1 for RDNA 3 also works on RDNA 3.5 and RDNA 2 GPUs

Earlier today, AMD released AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.6.2 for Radeon GPUs, which added FSR 4.1 Upscaling support to the RDNA 3-powered Radeon RX 7000 Series graphics cards. This earlier-than-expected release of FSR 4.1 for RDNA 3 is definitely welcome, as it will help breathe new life into previous-gen GPUs like the mid-range Radeon RX 7800 XT and flagship Radeon RX 7900 XTX.

2

To make FSR 4.1 compatible with RDNA 3, AMD had to develop a new version of the technology that uses the INT8 format, since the RDNA 4 version was built specifically for the new architectures' advanced AI hardware and the FP8 format. The good news is that FSR 4.1 for RDNA 3 delivers no quality loss compared to running on RDNA 4 GPUs. However, as per the Adrenalin Edition 26.6.2 release notes and word from AMD, this new version is limited to RDNA 3 desktop GPUs. At least, officially.

Turns out the new FSR 4.1 DLL leaked a little early, via Valve and the Proton Experimental channel for SteamOS/Linux, of all places. And, like the previous version, when paired with the OptiScaler tool to force it, it can run on systems and configurations that aren't desktop RDNA 3 GPUs. In fact, according to this thread over on Reddit, some users are getting it to run just fine on RDNA 3.5 GPUs.

RDNA 3.5 graphics is what's found inside handhelds like the ROG Xbox Ally X and Legion Go 2, where it's currently AMD's most powerful PC gaming handheld architecture. Getting word that this new FSR 4.1 DLL not only runs on these devices via the OptiScaler tool but also delivers the intended image quality and performance uplift is great to hear. Bringing FSR 4.1 to RDNA 3.5 handhelds and devices like the Steam Machine makes the most sense, as you get the biggest benefit over using FSR 3.1 when upscaling from a lower resolution.

Now, as the Steam Deck is powered by a custom AMD APU with RDNA 2 graphics, the early reports do say that FSR 4.1 running on these GPUs leads to image quality issues and ghosting, which makes sense as AMD notes that as RDNA 2 doesn't really feature capable AI hardware so it will need to build a whole new version of the technology that runs on the GPU itself for it to work. Either way, as we've seen with previous leaks, hopefully AMD sees the feedback and officially adds RDNA 3.5 to the list of supported GPU architectures for the new and impressive FSR 4.1 Upscaling.