AMD’s FSR 2.0 makes a strong first impression—even on Steam Deck

AMD has released its new Fidelity Super FX Super Resolution 2.0, and that’s awesome news for the Steam Deck. If you don’t know why, you’re probably not alone. This is some complex graphics technology, and how and why it makes games run better on devices like the Steam Deck takes some explaining. Luckily, Keith May is up to the task over on the PCWorld YouTube channel.

In a very small nutshell, FidelityFX Super Resolution is essentially a way of taking low-resolution graphics and upscaling them so they look better, in a way that uses less graphical computing power than rendering at that original higher resolution. It’s kind of like a fancy, more complex version of what your HDTV does when you watch an old DVD on a 4K panel. FSR 1.0 uses a process called spatial upscaling.

Fidelity FX Super Resolution 2.0 (FSR 2.0 for short) adds an extra layer to this process, using multiple frames and motion vectors to rebuild the upscaled image in a more accurate and appealing way. Despite the added complexity, this still takes fewer GPU resources than rendering at a higher resolution, so you can get faster, smoother playback in your PC games. And unlike Nvidia’s competing DLSS technology, it doesn’t need special hardware or machine learning, so it can work on a wide variety of graphics cards and games.

How much faster and smoother can FSR 2 make your games? Check out the video for some demonstrations using Deathloop, one of the first games to support the tech, to find out. And yes, FSR 2.0 works even on the integrated graphics of the Steam Deck, which Keith demonstrates as well. If you dig this kind of deep dive into graphics technology, be sure to subscribe to the PCWorld YouTube channel!