AMD FSR Resident Evil Village Im Test . In

Resident Evil Village supports AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution since the last update. Testing shows that FSR produces better results than simply changing the resolution – but the result is far from perfect. FSR works fine on both Radeon and GeForce graphics cards.

Resident Evil Village isn’t an optical masterpiece, but technically makes a decent run on PC due to ray tracing, among other things. The ratio of image quality and performance, found only in a few other games at this level, is truly successful. If the frame rate still isn’t high enough for you, you can now use AMD’s new FidelityFX Super Resolution to increase the speed since the last patch. ComputerBase took a closer look at the FSR.

FSR as usual for all GPUs from AMD to Nvidia

Resident Evil Village now currently offers FSR and hence the first iteration, accordingly the game also features AMD’s upscaling technology as version 1.0. So the advantages and disadvantages are similar to those of other supported titles. FSR runs on GPUs from AMD, Nvidia, and even Intel. There is usually no problem, even with older graphics cards.

In Resident Evil Village’s graphics menu, FSR can be activated at the quality levels “Ultra Quality”, “Quality”, “Balanced” and “Performance”, even if the developers run a quality setting called “Good Quality”. The FSR is activated immediately after activation and the mode can be switched without any problems while the game is running.

FSR is surprisingly stable, but also quite fuzzy

Unlike Nvidia’s competing technology, FidelityFX Super Resolution currently operates without a floating component. This means that the technology only applies to the frame currently being rendered and does not involve any previous frames. Accordingly, none of the objects can be reconstructed. Other than that, there is no solution that keeps the image cool. This task is left to the game’s own TAA.

Lack of reconstruction is not a big problem in Resident Evil Village. The graphics engine used copes well with this, even thin elements such as branches are displayed correctly for the most part. The game’s own reconstruction isn’t perfect, but in the latest in higher resolutions like WQHD or Ultra HD, there’s no longer a problem that’s worth noting.

Image stability is a double-edged sword. The game’s TAA works well on average. FSR smooths out some objects surprisingly well, they flicker less than even with the game’s own TAA using the high, native resolution—because even at high resolution, some objects flicker constantly. On the other hand, there’s a bit more flicker, on the other hand, so the Ultra Quality setting makes for a decent result. In terms of image quality, the modes should be considered equivalent in terms of image stability. The more aggressive settings then lead to more flicker, which is clearly amplified by the Ultra setting already, even in Ultra HD.

With low resolution, the image loses a lot of sharpness

It is normal for TAA to achieve image sharpness at higher resolutions. AMD’s FSR can normally at least largely compensate for this with integrated, high-quality CAS for re-acceleration. However, Resident Evil Village responds extremely well to the low number of TAA pixels and FSR simply cannot compensate for this. As a result, image sharpness drops markedly even at 3840×2160 with the highest setting “Ultra Quality”.

Although the effect isn’t quite as massive yet at Ultra HD and the highest FSR settings, blurriness is immediately noticeable when gaming. Even at “Ultra Quality” in Ultra HD the FSR is no longer equal to the native resolution including TAA, but it is still worthwhile if there are performance issues. With the second highest Ultra setting, there’s another good bit of blur on the image, which then looked very blurry and is no longer recommended. The same goes for the benefit of FSR in low resolutions. Then the game will be blurry anyway, so at “ultra quality” FSR shouldn’t be available in WQHD unless there’s a massive performance problem – in Full HD one shouldn’t even think about upscaling.

FSR Still Better Than Classic Upscaling

FidelityFX Super Resolution is still better than classic upscaling. Resident Evil Village offers easy in-game upscaling, which only lowers the rendering resolution. And then with resolution comparable to FSR at “Ultra Quality” (factor 0.8 in Ultra HD, resulting in about 8 percent more pixels than FSR) it becomes clear that AMD’s technology is ahead of the game. Although there are slightly fewer pixels available for FSR in comparison, AMD technology brings out more detail from the image, as sharpness is better. Also, image stability is slightly better, thanks to very good edge reconstruction.

In-game checkerboard rendering as a very different option

As an alternative to FSR, Resident Evil Village offers checkerboard rendering known from the console as an option, which is listed as “Interlaced” in the graphics menu. If you use this mode at 3,840 × 2,160, the GPU can actually only render in 1,920 × 2,160 and temporarily create a final image – information from the previous frame is used. Like FSR, the mode offers a significant performance boost, but offers completely different advantages and disadvantages.

Interlaced mode produces surprisingly sharp images regardless of resolution, which is slightly better than native resolution in many places. When you consider how extreme the game actually reacts to low render resolutions, the effect shown is pretty incredible. However, checkerboard rendering does not result in a particularly smooth image. Because it drops significantly lower than the native resolution and FSR, that is, the image flickers significantly more intensely even in Ultra HD.

Native vs FSR vs Checkerboard

In the end, everyone has to decide for himself what is preferred: if the focus is on a sharp, detailed image, then interlaced rendering is the method of choice. For the highest possible image stability, however, AMD FSR should be preferred, even if at the highest setting “Ultra Quality”. However, in both cases, the following applies: if the performance is sufficient, then both modes should not be used. With respect to TAA the native resolution looks better. Only those who want more performance should use one of the two options. And then preferably only in Ultra HD, because with WQHD or even Full HD, both technologies no longer produce a beautiful picture.

On the next page: Benchmarks and findings in WQHD and Ultra HD