Clever RSR tech will boost frame rates by up to 70% on AMD GPUs

AMD Radeon RX 6800 graphics card shown with box
(Image credit: Future)

AMD’s Radeon Super Resolution (RSR) could prove to be a major step towards smoother gaming, potentially allowing some PC games run up to 70% faster, or that’s the claim.

AMD just shared some further details on the frame rate boosting technology in a new YouTube video, after revealing RSR at CES 2022.

As you may recall, RSR is powered by FSR tech (FidelityFX Super Resolution), and both provide a frame rate boost (remember, FSR is AMD’s DLSS rvial), but work in very different ways. The key element of RSR is that it’s built into the Radeon driver, so can work across all games in theory (as opposed to FSR which must be supported by the developer in its game).

The central nugget of the video is the impact that RSR can make, and as mentioned in a best-case scenario, that’s a 1.7x increase in frame rate (when upscaling 1440p to 4K).

RSR is expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2022, so by the end of March in theory, though we can hope it turns up earlier.


Analysis: AMD is covering all its frame rate boosting bases

The boast of a 70% increase in fps (frames per second) is very impressive for this all-encompassing tech which can be applied to any game theoretically – but remember, this is ‘up to’ and results will doubtless vary considerably from game to game (and PC to PC).

RSR really opens up frame rate boosting, given that FSR is only supported by just under 50 games at the last count (although admittedly there’s another 20+ in the pipeline for the near future, including the imminent  God of War on PC). It’s without doubt great news to get this much wider level of support, although how the quality of RSR’s upscaling will work compared to FSR remains to be seen.

The other point to bear in mind here is that this is for (compatible) AMD graphics cards only, whereas FSR is capable of delivering results for Nvidia cards too (which is a real bonus for those who can’t access DLSS because they have an older GeForce card, or indeed for games that don’t support DLSS, of course).

Via Windows Central

TOPICS

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

Read more
The Asus ROG Ally handheld gaming PC
AMD's new driver adds AFMF 2.1 support for improved frame generation - and it could be a game-changer for handheld gaming PCs
The Nvidia and AMD logos clashing with lightning bolts around them.
Sure, Nvidia DLSS 4 is incredibly impressive - but AMD's improved upscaling tech could be a real game-changer
Soldiers battle it out in a train yard
Worried AMD’s FSR 4 frame rate boosting won’t be as good as Nvidia DLSS 4? Good news! Initial game support is rumored to be healthy
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT graphics card
AMD's driver-level frame generation may be getting the update it deserves - AFMF 2.1 reportedly being developed for launch alongside RDNA 4 GPUs
AMD RX 9070 GPU models
It's looking bleak for AMD's older GPUs - a file spotted in unofficial Radeon drivers further hints at FSR 4's RDNA 4 exclusivity
AMD RX 9070 GPU models
Modders do what AMD can't (or won't) by adding FSR 4 support to more games
Latest in GPU
An AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT made by Sapphire on a table with its retail packaging
AMD’s secret weapon against Nvidia seems to be stock – way more RX 9070 GPUs are rumored to be hitting shelves than RTX 5000 models
NVIDIA
Nvidia's new Game Ready Driver repeats an annoying black screen issue from previous versions - it needs fixing ASAP
Nvidia logo
Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti could be delayed to mid-April and RTX 5060 to mid-May – is AMD starting to look like a clear winner in the battle of Blackwell vs RDNA 4 GPUs?
An Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 leaning against its retail packaging with the RTX 5080 logo visible
Nvidia RTX 5000 series GPUs are finally getting price drops – but there's a catch
AMD RX 9070 GPU models
We won't be seeing any Radeon RX 9000 series GPUs from MSI - AMD prioritizes other board partners instead
PowerColor Red Devil AMD RX 9070 XT graphics card shown side-on
Your next GPU could be from AMD, not Nvidia, if Team Red’s success with PC gamers continues
Latest in News
Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses
Samsung's rumored smart specs may be launching before the end of 2025
Apple iPhone 16 Review
The latest iPhone 18 leak hints at a major chipset upgrade for all four models
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Monday, March 24 (game #1155)
NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, March 24 (game #386)
NYT Connections homescreen on a phone, on a purple background
NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, March 24 (game #652)
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Sunday, March 23 (game #1154)