In the battle between AMD and NVIDIA, the issue of super sampling is becoming increasingly important.
Super sampling is the process of computing the image of a video game - or anything else for that matter - in a lower image resolution than the one that will actually be displayed afterwards. For example, the graphics card in our computer renders in 2560 x 1440, but the image is displayed in 3840 x 2160 on a 4K screen. The objective is obviously to reduce the computing power required by the graphics card, which makes it possible 1/ to maintain the fluidity of the animation of a video game and 2/ to add various graphic effects such as ray tracing, which is becoming increasingly fashionable.
The display in 3840 x 2160 of an image calculated in 2560 x 1440 does not have only advantages and it logically involves a blurred side, a loss of precision. To avoid this, several techniques have been put in place by NVIDIA and AMD, the two giants of the graphics card industry. The first has been deploying its Deep Learning Super Sampling, better known by the acronym DLSS, for several years now. The principle is the same as we have just explained, but to enlarge the image in an optimal way, NVIDIA relies on artificial intelligence: on the first version of DLSS, the result was not very convincing, but the progress recorded with DLSS 2.0 is impressive and more and more game developers are working hand in hand with NVIDIA to integrate its technique in their latest productions.
This large success won by NVIDIA could only make AMD react and it is in this idea that the promoter of Radeon RX launched the Fidelity FX Super Resolution or FSR. If the principle remains the same - the display of an image with a higher definition than the one actually calculated by the graphics card - the means to achieve it differ significantly. AMD does not use artificial intelligence and relies instead on various algorithms that it presents as " the most efficient possible " explaining that they are complemented by remarkable filters to increase the sharpness of the image. On paper, the technique is less ambitious and, the fact is, it is indeed less effective visually speaking. On the other hand, it seems less complex to implement.
The many games already or soon to be compatible with AMD FSR
Deployed six months ago, the FSR now seems to convince more and more development studios and AMD is proud to mention 47 games that are now compatible, citing in particular the names of Anno 1800, Assetto Corsa Competizione, Deathloop , F1 2021 , Far Cry 6 , Godfall , Horizon Zero Dawn , Resident Evil Village and Warhammer Vermintide. Even better, AMD specifies that many studios are currently working on the implementation of FSR on titles released or to come, mentioning no less than 24 games soon to be compatible such as God of War , Hitman III , No Man's Sky, The Elder Scrolls Online, Warface and X4: Foundations.
