First, we got real-time raytracing that made every game look infinitely better, and along with that, we got a type of super sampling that would use deep learning to enhance the image just so gamers would get really good frame rates. Needless to say, the comparison such as Nvidia DLSS vs AMD FidelityFX is something that has been around for a long, long time, and it has only started to get better if you ask me. Today, we are going in-depth with these comparisons and answering some of the burning questions.
What Is AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR)?
The first one that we are going to discuss is AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution or FSR. This is a technology that is used for upscaling and is used for increasing the overall performance in games by a significant margin and, at the same time, without taking any hits to the image quality. The AMD FSR is relatively new as it was released back in June 2021; however, it managed to gain a lot of traction and is now considered to be one of the best technologies that you can use to boost the games. The best thing about AMD FSR is that, unlike Nvidia’s DLSS, it is cross-compatible, and more importantly, it is also backward compatible, which means that it actually works on both Nvidia and AMD cards, and it also works on the older Nvidia cards such as GTX 10 and 16 series. Sure, it is not as refined or as regularly updated as the Nvidia DLSS, but that does not mean that AMD is considering this one to be an afterthought because it is still getting all the updates that gamers would want.
What Is Nvidia DLSS?
Now that we are done talking about AMD FSR, the next step is to start looking at Nvidia DLSS, a technology that has been around since 2019 and has only improved ever since. DLSS stands for Deep Learning Super Sampling, and as the name suggests, this is an AI-powered rendering technology that is responsible for increasing performance. The process is performed thanks to Tensor Core AI that is found in the RTX GPUs, as Tensor Cores are there just to perform DLSS on the games. The technology is certainly older than AMD FSR and, over the years, has improved a lot; the best thing is that Nvidia actively includes this in the games, and if a game does not launch with DLSS, Nvidia can always push a driver update and allow you to go ahead and use the technology. However, unlike AMD FSR, Nvidia DLSS is not something that is backward or cross-compatible, which means that only RTX GPUs can use the technology, and of course, you cannot expect AMD GPUs to support this technology.
Nvidia DLSS vs. AMD FidelityFX: Compatibility
Compatibility is something that means a lot to everyone, and that is not something that you can overlook, to be honest. For the simplest reason that having a good compatibility is going to make the whole difference, and if you are using something that is not properly compatible, then you are in for a rough experience, and we tend to avoid that in the first place. With that said, both AMD FSR and Nvidia DLSS are a lot more similar, but at the same time, they are very different when it comes to compatibility, and we are going to get into details about why that is the case. For starters, AMD FSR is the technology that is the most diverse in terms of the support and compatibility; how is that? Well, the technology can work just fine with older GTX 10 and GTX 16 GPUs from Nvidia, this means that the technology is also cross-compatibility. I recently had the pleasure of playing Deathloop using FSR and used my RTX 3090, and the performance was amazing, with zero issues in terms of how the experience was. If you are looking for something good, then it is safe to say that AMD FSR is good. The downside? Not a lot of games support FSR and AMD is not as frequent in updating the technology either. On the other side, you have Nvidia DLSS, that has been around for a longer time than AMD’s FSR. I would admit that the start of DLSS was rocky, at best, because the RTX 2000 series, although excellent, was the first attempt at successfully creating something so amazing. However, with the RTX 3000 series and continuous updates and refinements, Nvidia has made DLSS a class-leading technology. As of February, earlier this year, Nvidia DLSS is now available in over 150 games, and knowing Nvidia, the support is going to arrive on more and more games moving forward. However, unlike AMD FSR, DLSS is only compatible with RTX 2000 and RTX 3000 series GPUs. It will not work on older GPUs or AMD GPUs, for that matter.
Nvidia DLSS vs. AMD FidelityFX: Performance
Considering how I have used both Nvidia DLSS and AMD FSR, I find myself qualified enough to talk about both technologies and how they work, and to be honest, you would be a lot more surprised to know that the performance is a lot similar than one might imagine For starters, I recently used AMD’s FSR in Deathloop, and during my experience with the game, I had absolutely no issues. The same goes for Far Cry 6; both games ran fine with maxed-out settings and looked absolutely stunning. So, the performance is surely there, and the visual degradation was not all that noticeable, but this varies based on how high the tuning you are doing. Moving onto Nvidia DLSS, I have been using the same technology ever since I got my hands on the RTX 2080 Ti and then RTX 3090, and honestly, I am impressed with how it performs. Sure, the fact that Nvidia has decided to keep it first-party only means that you might have some issues, but overall the performance is something that is not going to run into issues. Thankfully, both technologies work really well overall, and aside from the finicky support from Nvidia’s side, I never really ran into any issues as far as the performance is concerned.
Nvidia DLSS vs. AMD FidelityFX: Game Support
One of the main things that are really, really important for any GPU to have is the proper support for technologies. After all, if these technologies do not support the games or vice versa, then what even is the point of having them in the first place. At the time of writing this, AMD FSR supports over 100 games, with support for more games coming in the future. Remember, the company has just launched AMD FSR 2.0, which means that we are more than likely to see an extended support with more games being added in the future. With that out of the way, Nvidia DLSS is clearly leading here with support for over 150 games, and considering how Nvidia is taking DLSS very seriously, they keep adding new games into the fold so you really do not have to worry about much, in the first place. It should be without a surprise that both companies are hard at work when it comes to ensuring proper support for all the games that are going to be coming out in the time.
Nvidia DLSS vs. AMD FidelityFX: Visual Quality
Visual quality is, of course, the most important part for any technology to show that it actually is working rather than going in the opposite direction. The purpose of DLSS and FSR is undoubtedly to improve the video quality, but at the same time, if not utilized properly, these technologies can result in severely degraded visual quality, and that is something that you should be aware of. During my time spent with both of these technologies, the one thing that I have realized is that in terms of visual quality, both are a lot similar to each other, with the DLSS being slightly better and clearer in terms of the overall visual quality. However, when turned to the maximum settings, the difference really starts coming out, and you realize how these technologies still have a long way to go. I am not saying that it is a bad thing by any means, however. If you wish to make use of these technologies in the right way, you would be more than able to. Just be sure that you are fine-tuning the use of both FSR and DLSS in order to get the best performance. Some games might not show you the impact on visual quality right away, but games like Cyberpunk 2077 and some other games have a massive impact when you are tuning the settings. Rest assured, you can more than easily tweak these settings with ease and no complications. Again, the visual impact can only deteriorate if you decided to tweak these settings to the max, and that should be more than enough in every case.
DLSS vs. FSR: Some Game Benchmarks
Of course, now that we are done talking about some of the most common things when it comes to FSR and DLSS, and that is the performance overall. After all, if these technologies are not making a difference in terms of the performance, then there is no point in having them in the first place.
DLSS vs. FSR: F1 2021
The first game that we are going to talk about or look at is the F1 2021, and while the game might not be something that everyone is playing, the fact that it has both DLSS and FSR goes to show that developers and GPU manufacturers do care about adding as many features as possible. With that said, if you are setting FSR and DLSS to Quality preset and then running the game on ultra settings and FHD resolution, then you would be surprised that the results are not that different, to be honest. For starters, DLSS gets you 114 frames on average, and FSR gets you 112 frames on average. The difference is there but can easily be considered within the margin of error, and you will be all good to go, to be honest.
DLSS vs. FSR: The Medium
The Medium is another solid game that a lot of people have been playing around the world, and the thing that you would need to understand with this game is that a lot of the times, you are not getting something that you would expect from other games. Thankfully, the experience remains amazing, and the game itself is one of the best. As far as the performance is concerned, when you are comparing FSR, then we are going to see a really good example of how despite being similar, the technologies have a difference when it comes to the actual performance. For starters, running The Medium on FSR Quality delivers an average of 135 frames per second, which is impressive, and this is being done on 1440p. When you are moving to DLSS, you realize that you are getting an average of 118 frames per second. The difference is also there when you are running in 4K. This just goes to show that as a game, The Medium prefers AMD GPUs more than Nvidia GPUs, and there is nothing wrong with that, as we see that happening all the time.
DLSS vs. FSR: God of War’s
There is no doubt that God of War was one of the most hyped titles on the PC, and the game received critical acclaim when it launched on PC earlier this year. Sure, one would think that it is just another port, but the developers clearly show just how dedicated they are towards providing an excellent gaming experience, to the point that you are not really going to run into any issues with the games that you are playing. With that said, both AMD and Nvidia are providing quality mode, so you know that you can get similar images. With that said, testing the game at 1440p, the difference between DLSS and FSR is there, but it is not something that would cause any issues for most people. Still, for those wondering, the FSR Quality mode gives you an average of 105 frames per second, and on the other hand, DLSS Quality mode ends up giving you around 100 frames per second. It is safe to say that the difference is there but not all that much and something that you will not be noticing.
DLSS vs. FSR: Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 might as well be one of the most controversial modern games, and not all that controversy was good. However, the good thing is that Nvidia is actively supporting the game and making it better in terms of the overall performance as well as adding new features, making improvements, and optimizations across the board. With that out of the way, on 1440p and using FSR Quality, Cyberpunk 2077 delivers around 66 frames on average, and if you are going to use DLSS Quality, then you are going to get an average of 64 frames per second. This just goes to show that the AMD FSR works better here. However, the difference is so minimum that in a lot of cases, people might not even pay attention to this, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Just know that in most cases, you are good to go.
Which Is The Better Technology? Nvidia DLSS Or AMD FidelityFX
Now that we are done with the comparison, it should be more than easy to know that what you are looking at is good enough for almost everyone, and honestly, I have realized that there is absolutely nothing wrong with preferring one technology over the other one. I have been using these technologies extensively and have realized that having both of these technologies in a game is better than just one because you are getting the choice between something that is good and something that is not as good. Both AMD FSR and Nvidia DLSS are equally good, and in almost every case, there are. Sure, there are chances where AMD might outperform Nvidia, but Nvidia does not hold back, either. The results are a lot similar than you might think, and that is what I love about these technologies, to begin with. My experience has been amazing through and through, and I cannot really complain about either of these technologies. Just be sure that you know which technology you want to use, and you are all good to go and that too, without any issues.
#1 – What’s better DLSS vs FidelityFX?
Honestly, this is actually something that does not have a definitive answer; I have seen so many situations where AMD’s FSR delivered better performance, and at the same time, I have also seen instances where DLSS delivered better performance.
#2 – Is AMD FSR as good as DLSS?
Yes, as a matter of fact, it actually is good as DLSS, if not better. There are also some cases in which the FSR outperformed DLSS and even provided better quality overall.
#3 – Does FidelityFX Super Resolution work on Nvidia?
Yes, the best thing about FSR is that it actually works on Nvidia as well as it does on AMD.
#4 – Should I use FidelityFX Super Resolution?
Sure, if you are looking for a performance boost and you want it not to have an impact on the performance, you can go ahead and use FSR.
#5 – Can AMD compete with DLSS?
Yes, AMD has been competing with DLSS for some time now and is doing a rather good job without too many complications that could come in the way.
#6 – Is FSR the same as DLSS?
Yes, although the name is different and both are from two different companies, they both work in the same way as far as the purpose is concerned.
#7 – How do I enable FidelityFX super resolution on Nvidia?
You just have to head over to the settings in the game you are playing, look for the FidelityFX Super Resolution or FSR and turn that on. The process is a lot simpler. However, it is important to be certain that the game supports it.
