AMD FSR 4.1 On Radeon RX 6000 Tested: A Stunning Visual Upgrade
With the release of Radeon Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.10.1, AMD has finally brought its ML-powered FSR 4.1 technology to the aging Radeon RX 6000 series. This is no minor update; unlike the analytical FSR 2 and FSR 3 algorithms, FSR 4.1 utilizes machine learning to smooth and upscale images, mirroring the approach taken by NVIDIA DLSS. We put the Radeon RX 6800 XT to the test to see how this AI-driven upscaler performs on the RDNA 2 architecture.
Cyberpunk 2077: Eliminating Ghosting
In Cyberpunk 2077, the difference between the old and new upscaling methods is night and day. While FSR 2.1 in 'Quality' mode still struggles with distracting ghosting behind moving objects and artifacts on transparent textures, FSR 4.1 effectively resolves these issues. The image remains much cleaner and more stable in motion, even when using the 'Performance' preset.
Performance-wise, FSR 4.1 does incur a slightly higher overhead than FSR 2, but the cost is minimal compared to the massive visual gains. In ray-tracing scenarios on the RX 6800 XT, the performance gap between 'Quality' and 'Performance' is negligible, as the GPU is primarily bottlenecked by its ray-tracing hardware rather than the upscaler's computational load.
Hogwarts Legacy: A Visual Lifeline
The situation in Hogwarts Legacy is slightly different. While FSR 2.1 performs surprisingly well here, FSR 4.1 still holds the edge in terms of text clarity and fine detail. Enabling FSR 4.1 in 'Quality' mode provides a massive 33% FPS boost over native 4K, making the game highly playable on RDNA 2. However, be aware that in 'Performance' mode, some subtle screen-space effects, such as shadows from window gratings, can become significantly diminished due to the lower input resolution provided to the AI model.
Crimson Desert and Gears of War E-Day: Stress Testing
In Crimson Desert, which lacks support for older FSR versions, we tested FSR 4.1 in its Native AA mode. It provides a stunningly clean image with a manageable performance hit. In Gears of War E-Day, a cutting-edge Unreal Engine 5 title utilizing MegaLights, FSR 4.1 proves essential. It allows the RX 6800 XT to maintain a stable 50+ FPS at 4K, delivering impressive clarity even when using aggressive scaling presets.
Verdict: A Brilliant, If Late, Gift
FSR 4.1 is a fantastic gift for Radeon RX 6000 owners, though it arrives somewhat late to the party. While the Radeon RX 9070 XT has had FSR 4 support since earlier this year, loyal RDNA 2 users have had to wait months for this optimized release. Nevertheless, it is a milestone: users with 2020-era hardware now have a legitimate competitor to NVIDIA DLSS. Despite limitations like DirectX 12 exclusivity and reliance on game-side integration, the visual leap makes this an essential upgrade for anyone still running RDNA 2.
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