AMD Unveils FSR Redstone
AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) has been a godsend for so many, boosting frame rates and visuals in an ever-growing list of games. AMD is now set to take FSR to new heights with a massive update codenamed FSR Redstone. Unveiled at Computex, this update sets out to deliver some seriously large new features aimed at further boosting performance and visual fidelity.
What's New in FSR Redstone Three Pillars of Enhancement
FSR Redstone is not a minor update; it's an upgrade. AMD is focusing on three major pillars:
- Neural Radiance Cache (NRC): This technology cleverly analyzes the light's behavior and bounce within a game world. It foresees and caches indirect light information to create more realistic and immersive worlds. Similar to a smarter solution to handling complex lighting at the expense of no such major performance hit. Reminds us of NVIDIA's own Neural Radiance Cache, which has also shown promise in titles like Portal RTX.
- Machine Learning Ray Regeneration: AMD's answer to NVIDIA's DLSS Ray Reconstruction. Anytime a game utilizes ray tracing, there can be some difficult-to-trace pixels, and thus, add noise or artifacts. Ray Regeneration employs a trained-up neural network to "regenerate" such pixels cleverly, basically cleaning up the image and improving ray-traced effect quality. It is intended to supplant old denoisers, which could lead to improved performance along with sharper visuals.
- Machine Learning Frame Generation: AMD is also boosting its frame generation capabilities with FSR Redstone. With the implementation of a more sophisticated machine learning model, the feature should bring generated frame quality and smoothness to new levels, providing an even smoother gaming experience.
Expansion on FSR 4's Success
FSR 4 has already seen phenomenal adoption, with nearly 60 titles that take advantage of it since its release. The investment that AMD has made in ensuring SDK updates are timely has obviously contributed to its success. FSR Redstone seeks to build on this strong foundation, providing developers with even more powerful tools to enhance their games.
Compatibility and Future Outlook
First off, at launch, FSR Redstone will only support AMD's new RDNA 4 GPUs. But there's some hope for those with older RDNA cards - AMD has alluded that eventual updates may introduce some of these new features to older architectures. Keep an eye on this one.
The new technologies in FSR Redstone are to be introduced into the FSR feature set by the second half of 2025. We are certainly excited to see these new technologies in action and learn more details from AMD in the coming months. The future of gaming graphics looks promising, and FSR Redstone is to hog the limelight.
