With the Steam Machine finally here and the wider gaming community still wrestling with the higher-than-expected $1,049 price for the base 512GB model without a Steam Controller, there is some good news for the compact rig built for mainstream PC gaming that runs on SteamOS. As the Steam Machine features an RDNA 3-powered GPU that is equivalent to the Radeon RX 7600 XT, Valve has confirmed that AMD's new FSR 4.1 support for RDNA 3 and, by extension, the Steam Machine is coming soon.
Speaking with PC Gamer, Valve has confirmed that it has been "working with AMD on FSR 4 support for Steam Machine" and that it will be "coming soon." This probably means that, since the Steam Machine is currently available to order, FSR 4 support will become available shortly after the first units ship to gamers. Of course, with AMD officially launching FSR 4 for the RDNA 3-powered Radeon RX 7000 Series desktop graphics cards today, Valve might have the FSR 4 update already ready to go.
FSR 4.1 for RDNA 3 brings AMD's AI-powered Super Resolution upscaling technology to more gamers, delivering massive improvements in image fidelity while still boosting performance. For a relatively low-power device like the Steam Machine, compared to current-gen desktop GPUs, FSR 4.1 would immediately improve the gaming experience by delivering noticeable visual upgrades.
Currently, the Steam Machine units in reviewers' and media outlets' hands rely on the older FSR 3.1 technology for upscaling to deliver 4K visuals when connected to a TV or monitor. This version of the technology is widely considered inferior to competing technologies such as NVIDIA DLSS and Intel XeSS, both of which employ machine learning for upscaling or Super Resolution. And with that, Valve also told PC Gamer that it's excited for media and gamers to test out FSR 4 on the Steam Machine and that it "should offer a significant improvement in upscaling graphical quality."
