Is AMD About to Catch Up? - Leaked FSR 4.1 Tested
Why It Matters
FSR 4.1 shows AMD can improve upscaling quality without sacrificing performance, but the lingering stability gap means Nvidia’s DLSS remains the preferred choice for high‑fidelity gaming.
Key Takeaways
- •Leaked FSR 4.1 DLL enables direct testing before official release.
- •FSR 4.1 improves detail and reduces smearing versus FSR 4.0.
- •Sharper foliage and motion rendering, but introduces grain and instability.
- •Performance remains unchanged on Radeon RX970, matching FSR 4.0.
- •DLSS 4.5 still outperforms FSR 4.1 in overall quality and stability.
Summary
The video examines a leaked AMD driver component that upgrades the company’s FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) from version 4.0.3 to a tentative 4.1 build. The author replaces the existing DLL, enabling side‑by‑side tests across several 4K performance‑mode titles and comparing the results to Nvidia’s DLSS 4.5 preset L.
FSR 4.1 delivers a modest but noticeable boost in image detail, especially in fast‑moving foliage and texture‑rich scenes. Tests in Cyberpunk 2077, Star Wars Outlaws, Mafia II The Old Country, and Assassin’s Creed Shadows show reduced smearing and sharper edges, though the sharper output comes with increased grain and occasional shimmering. Performance measurements on a Radeon RX970 indicate no extra GPU load compared with FSR 4.0, keeping the upscaler as lightweight as its predecessor.
The reviewer highlights specific visual improvements: clearer road textures in Cyberpunk, less‑blurred grass in Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, and more defined foliage in Stalker 2. However, stability issues surface in some titles—flickering around tree edges and heightened grain in dense foliage—where DLSS 4.5 still maintains superior consistency. The author also notes that certain artifacts, such as ghosting and flicker on water reflections, remain unchanged.
The analysis suggests AMD is narrowing the quality gap with Nvidia but still lags in overall stability and artifact suppression. Offering users a driver toggle between FSR 4.0 and 4.1, akin to Nvidia’s model selector, could mitigate the trade‑off between detail and stability. Until AMD resolves these issues, gamers may prefer DLSS 4.5 for the best combination of sharpness and frame‑to‑frame consistency, while FSR 4.1 provides a free‑to‑use alternative with modest gains.
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