- FSR 4 has been dubbed a major leap over AMD’s FSR 3.
- The upscaling technology also outperforms both DLSS’ CNN model and PSSR.
- Although PSSR will continue to improve further, FSR 4 vastly diminishes its value as a proprietary upscaler, especially for future PlayStations that should support FSR 4.
AMD’s latest graphics card series is no longer a secret; initial reviews have been largely positive. RDNA 4 has also brought with it the first AI-based iteration of FSR, which is a major step up from FSR 3.
In fact, analysis shows that AMD has managed to eclipse PSSR with FSR 4, significantly lessening the value of the PS5 Pro’s proprietary upscaling.
Why it matters: PSSR was praised for beating FSR despite the latter being available on the market for a longer time. This technology was also a major selling point of the PS5 Pro and pitched as an integral part of future PlayStation hardware.
Digital Foundry’s latest testing pits FSR 4 against FSR 3 and DLSS. Comparisons show a clear leap over FSR 3, and AMD has even managed to outdo DLSS 3. However, Nvidia recently updated its technology to the new Transformer model with DLSS 4.
As per the testing, multiple instances show FSR 4 landing right in the middle of DLSS’ CNN and Transformer models. Whether it be image clarity or aliasing, AMD’s latest upscaling does a better job than DLSS’ older model.
This also means that it can be easily compared to PSSR. Digital Foundry’s own testing revealed that PSSR was typically worse than DLSS’ CNN model, making FSR 4 superior to both.
In The Last of Us Part 2, DLSS showed better image stability over PSSR. This remained the case, even when using a lower base resolution. Digital Foundry dubbed DLSS the better solution in The Last of Us Part 2, and the same was the case in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.
PSSR displayed greater shimmering, in addition to less stable images than DLSS in this example. Moreover, the PS5 Pro’s upscaling was prone to displaying a softer image. Although PSSR outperformed DLSS in areas like ray-traced reflection stability, the latter proved to be the better option in most cases.
With FSR 4 beating the already superior DLSS 3 CNN model, it has also pulled ahead of PSSR. Due to AMD’s latest innovations, one might even say that PSSR is made somewhat obsolete, particularly for future PlayStation hardware.
It could be argued that PlayStation’s technology will improve substantially with further iterations, but the same is likely true of FSR and DLSS. On that note, FSR 4 will likely be supported on consoles like the PS6 from the get-go.
This will make PlayStation’s major investment in PSSR even less important because the upscaling was expected to be improved alongside future hardware. Perhaps PlayStation would have benefitted more from working with developers to implement the best FSR 4 iteration in games for the PS6 and beyond.
For the time being, PSSR will remain valuable for the PS5 Pro. However, since this console is expected to be replaced in around three years, PlayStation’s massive budget and time investment may not prove too fruitful, especially if it fails to compete with FSR 4.
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[Senior News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than 5 years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.
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