upscaling technology Archives

AppWizard

May 9, 2026

Steam Machine release window, specs, and price estimate

The Steam Machine is a compact gaming system developed by Valve that allows users to access their Steam library from a living room setup. It features a semi-custom AMD Zen 4 six-core CPU, an AMD RDNA 3 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and options for 512GB or 2TB NVMe SSD storage. The device supports 4K gaming through AMD's FSR upscaling technology and includes various connectivity options such as DisplayPort, HDMI, and USB ports. Its dimensions are 156 x 162.4 x 152mm, and it weighs 2.6 kg. Valve has hinted at a release window of "early 2026" and is targeting a price around 9 for the 512GB model and 9 for the 2TB version, although market conditions may affect final pricing.

Winsage

May 3, 2026

Microsoft tests Auto SR, its AI upscaler for Xbox and Windows gaming

Microsoft has introduced a preview of Auto SR, an AI-driven upscaling technology for Xbox Insiders using the ROG Xbox Ally X handheld. This feature upgrades game output from 720p to 1440p and increases frame rates by about 30% in docked mode. Auto SR operates at the OS level, requiring no developer patches, but is limited to games that support DirectX 11 and 12, excluding titles using DirectX 9, Vulkan, and OpenGL. Currently, it is available only for the ROG Xbox Ally X and Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X chips, and the preview is invite-only and docked mode only. Early feedback indicates some user interface artifacts and a battery drain of 8–12% on the Ally X. A broader rollout for Windows began on April 30, 2026, but no specific consumer launch date has been announced. Auto SR is not intended for the upcoming Project Helix Xbox console, which will use AMD FSR Diamond instead.

AppWizard

March 21, 2026

Xbox Project Helix Specs Leak: Why Microsoft’s New Console is Amazing

Microsoft's gaming console, codenamed Project Helix, integrates console and PC ecosystems, featuring a custom AMD System on Chip (SoC) with a 3nm process, and a GPU based on AMD's RDNA 5 architecture. It reportedly rivals Nvidia’s RTX 5080 in rasterization and outperforms the RTX 5090 in ray tracing. The console includes a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for enhanced AI capabilities, supporting both Xbox and PC games natively. It utilizes AMD’s FSR Diamond technology for near-native 4K visuals and incorporates DirectStorage technology for faster load times. Project Helix supports four generations of Xbox games and is expected to have alpha development kits available in early 2027, with a consumer launch in 2028, priced between ,000 and ,200.

AppWizard

February 24, 2026

Sony reveals the Death Stranding 2 required PC specs

The minimum system requirements for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach on PC include an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 or an AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT with 8GB of memory, allowing for 1080p at 30 frames per second. The recommended processors are the Intel Core i3-10100 or AMD Ryzen 3 3100. The game will feature Pico upscaling technology and support ultrawide displays, offering a 21:9 aspect ratio for cutscenes and a 32:9 format for gameplay.

AppWizard

January 15, 2026

Nvidia DLSS 4.5 doesn’t deliver upscaling miracles, but its most exciting feature is still to come

Nvidia has released DLSS 4.5, featuring a new Super Resolution upscaling model called Model M, which is available for over 400 games via the DLSS Override feature. This model uses a second-generation Transformer AI architecture, significantly improving image quality compared to earlier versions. It requires five times the compute power of the original transformer model and has been trained on a high-fidelity dataset for better scene interpretation. Users may experience slight performance impacts, especially on older graphics cards, but testing on an RTX 4080 Super showed minimal frame rate drops. A recent demonstration showcased DLSS 4.5's ability to upscale Red Dead Redemption 2 from 240p to 720p. Users can access DLSS 4.5 by updating the Nvidia App and selecting 'DLSS Override - Model Presets' in the settings.

AppWizard

December 11, 2025

AMD’s Redstone update could revitalize FSR for PC games – here’s why Nvidia should be worried

AMD has launched FSR Redstone, accessible through the AMD Adrenalin 25.12.1 driver, featuring FSR Frame Generation, Ray Regeneration, and Radiance Caching, along with enhanced FSR Upscaling technology, compatible exclusively with RDNA 4 hardware (Radeon RX 9060 XT and RX 9070 XT/RX 9070 GPUs). Ray Regeneration will debut in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, with plans for future titles. The update aims to improve image quality and performance, closing the gap with Nvidia's DLSS 4 technology. However, it lacks backward compatibility with older GPUs, limiting its use to RDNA 4 hardware. FSR Radiance Caching is expected to enhance ray tracing performance in 2026, and the FSR Redstone SDK will facilitate easier integration into games.

AppWizard

December 11, 2025

AMD FSR Redstone is an exciting and confusing upgrade for Radeon PC gamers

AMD has soft-launched its graphics technology suite, FSR Redstone, which enhances gaming performance. The number of games supporting FSR4 has increased to over 200 in three months, and AMD is introducing ML-based frame generation for more than 30 titles. FSR4 is now branded as “AMD FSR Upscaling,” integrated into the Redstone framework. FSR Redstone and FSR4 features are exclusive to Radeon RX 9000-series cards, which require activation in the AMD Software application and on a per-game basis. The adoption of the Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT cards has been slow, with less than 0.15 percent of PC gamers using them, but they are now available at their original MSRP and have received positive reviews for performance.

AppWizard

December 3, 2025

I’m fed up with gaming on Windows 11 — here’s how Valve’s Steam Machine can fix PC gaming

Microsoft's Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE) was rolled out to all Windows-based handhelds on November 21, followed by a broader release for gaming rigs and laptops for Windows Insider members. The update process on Windows 11 was slow, causing frustration for users. Accessing the Xbox FSE through various shortcuts was unsuccessful, and the experience was marred by instability and frequent updates. A recent system update (KB5066835) resulted in a significant drop in gaming performance. The author expressed a preference for Linux and SteamOS due to their stability and user-friendly interface compared to Windows. The upcoming Steam Machine is anticipated for its compact design and potential for a hassle-free gaming experience.

AppWizard

September 23, 2025

Make games look loads better on your old AMD Radeon GPU with this new FSR 4 mod

Weeks after the leak of AMD FSR 4 source code, the gaming community has tested its capabilities on older RDNA 2 and 3 graphics cards, finding that using this upscaling technology on models like the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT significantly enhances image quality with only a minor performance dip. AMD has not officially released FSR 4 support for older graphics cards, limiting it to RDNA 4 GPUs such as the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT. Modders have successfully implemented FSR 4 on older GPUs, such as the RX 7900 XTX and RX 6800 XT, by replacing FP8 instructions with Int8 and using the OptiScaler tool. Users reported a slight decrease in frame rates while experiencing improved graphics quality. However, challenges remain, including specific issues like ghosting effects on RDNA 2 GPUs. AMD has not announced official support for FSR 4 on older GPUs, but upcoming FSR Redstone technology may allow broader compatibility across various GPUs.

AppWizard

September 17, 2025

Nvidia GeForce GPUs could run new version of FSR, says AMD, with huge implications for DLSS

AMD's upcoming version of FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), referred to as Redstone, will be compatible with virtually any graphics processing unit (GPU), including those from competitors like Nvidia. This version will operate directly on GPU shader cores, unlike previous iterations that required dedicated AI cores. FSR Redstone is based on machine learning and utilizes AMD's ML2CODE technology to convert neural rendering components into optimized Compute Shader code, allowing it to function on nearly all GPUs. It will also introduce new features such as neural radiance cache, ray generation, and frame generation. FSR Redstone is expected to be released by the end of 2025 and could challenge Nvidia's DLSS ecosystem if it performs on par with FSR 4 while maintaining broad compatibility.