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Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin What’s the best kind of upgrade? One you don’t have to pay for! That’s how I classify what Nvidia and AMD have delivered with DLSS and FSR, respectively. Though there are minor image quality compromises, these software technologies provide noticeable FPS boosts to games without buying new hardware. A couple of years ago, that was a revolutionary concept, but it’s still crucial for devices like the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and Legion GO.
The next frontier for these “free upgrades” is battery life. Based on recent comments from AMD’s Jack Huynh, work is well underway to tackle improved battery life in handheld PC gaming devices. Speaking at length to Tom’s Hardware , AMD’s general manager of the Computing and Graphics Business Group revealed plans for the company’s next iteration of FidelityFX Super Resolution, FSR4.
Interestingly, Huynh emphasized the important of battery life during development, declaring it his “number one priority.” A Brief Recap: FSR vs DLSS In simple terms, FSR is a rendering technique that makes games run smoother and boosts framerates without needing a more powerful GPU. Because it’s platform-agnostic, it also works on Intel and Nvidia graphics hardware.
But FSR’s big limitation is that it’s an analytical-based technique. This means it uses set filters and algorithms. On the other hand, Nvidia’s DLSS uses machine learning and neural networks.
Before his comments on battery life, Huynh dropped some major details about FSR4: it will be AI-driven, it will allegedly offer an even larger performance gain than we’re seeing with AFMF 2 , and the team has been working on it for at least 9 months. Forbes AMD Fluid Motion Frames 2 Is A Game-Changer For Integrated Graphics By Jason Evangelho Huynh acknowledges that AMD had a short runway to get FSR2 and FSR3 to market, which is why the feature didn’t incorporate AI. However, he forced the team to change direction on FSR4, declaring “that’s not where the future is going.
” MORE FOR YOU Hackers Force Chrome Users To Hand Over Google Passwords, Here’s How Google Chrome Deadline—You Have 72 Hours To Update Your Browser Apple Forced Into Drastic iPhone 16 Pro Downgrade Battery Life Boosts With FSR4 shifting to AI-powered upscaling and frame generation, Huynh and AMD’s developers are heavily focused on increasing efficiency to maximize battery life. FSR can already extend battery life simply because it renders the game at a lower resolution and requires less power from the GPU. If FSR becomes more efficient at doing its job, and does it at a higher quality, it’s a huge win for your current devices.
My assumption for next-gen handhelds , then, is that the NPUs — effectively separate cores dedicated to AI usage — being built into modern processors (like Intel’s Core Ultra 2 series and AMD’s own Ryzen AI 300 lineup) can tackle that workload with superior efficiency. function loadConnatixScript(document) { if (!window.cnxel) { window.
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..] Wukong for three hours, not 60 minutes.
” FSR4 + Fluid Motion Frames 2 should work in concert to deliver some serious battery-saving magic. Right now, Fluid Motion Frames 2 can be activated for all games through AMD’s Adrenalin Software. That’s on Windows, however.
Though he never calls out Steam Deck, after FSR4 is released, it could be incorporated into SteamOS. Remember that unlike in Windows, FSR was incorporated into Steam Deck on the system level. So, I’m ridiculously excited to see what Valve can do once FSR4 lands, and how the Steam Deck might benefit from it.
When does FSR4 release? Will it boast the same compatibility with competitor GPUs? And how well will this AI-driven frame generation work across every game? No details on that yet, but CES 2025 is just around the corner, where I expect AMD will show more of its hand. The entire Tom’s Hardware interview is worth reading..
