FSR 4.1.2 now on Xbox and Xbox handhelds, just in time for a certain big GTA 6-shaped game

With the Xbox Series X and S rapidly ageing, it looks unlikely that the next console generation will be affordable at all. As such, I've been looking at AMD to bring its modern GPU feature set to older hardware to stop me from having to upgrade. It seems it felt my gaze, and Xbox Series X, S, and Xbox handhelds now have FSR 4.1.2 support, which developers can turn on in their games. AMD has just updated its Game…

Help me upscalers, you're my only hope.

AMD has just updated its Game Development Kit with FSR 4.1.2 and two new upscaling models for Xbox Series X and S: the Full INT8 model and the more efficient Lite INT8 model. The Lite one is half the size of the Full one and has a lower upscaling cost. Either console can use either model, but game developers are able to choose which type they implement.

AMD has put out a GDK sample for developers to test, which "switches between the Full and Lite models at runtime, so developers can compare image quality and upscaling cost in the same scene. Upscaler memory is the same for both models because it depends on render and display resolution, not on the model. That makes the choice a performance trade-off, not a memory one."

Interestingly, Ancient Gameplays tested the Lite and Full models two weeks ago and noticed that Lite works better with lower input resolution and even removes some visual noise that is kept in the Full model. They say the "Lite model needs to be more stable because it will be aimed at handheld devices, iGPUs from laptops, and the render resolution on those cases will be way, way lower."

FSR 4.1.2 is also now supported on Xbox handhelds (the top-end ROG Xbox Ally range to start with), though this is seemingly only the one "highly efficient INT8 model", and developers can only get access via Asus' preview driver for the Xbox Ally X and X20. AMD says "it upgrades DirectX 12 games with FSR 3.1 or newer, and ROG Xbox Ally support follows in a later update."

How developers choose to integrate FSR 4.1.2 on Xbox Series X and S will be on a case-by-case basis, but the Lite model being solid certainly suggests good things for future optimisations. And RX 6000 graphics cards got FSR 4.1 early, just a few weeks ago, giving older hardware a little bit more performance.

This is all just in time for a huge launch on Xbox: Grand Theft Auto 6. The game officially launches on November 19, and being a Rockstar game, it's looking like it will be a real graphical showcase. But playing on six-year-old hardware could pose a challenge, so getting an upscaling hand just before the game reaches the starting line surely can't hurt its reception. You won't be able to play the game on Xbox handhelds until the PC port (they aren't really Xbox consoles after all), but I won't be complaining when I'm squeezing a bit more performance out of my Z2 Extreme chip in everything else.

1. Best overall:

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

2. Best budget:

Asus ROG Xbox Ally

3. Best high performance:

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+

James is a more recent PC gaming convert, often admiring graphics cards, cases, and motherboards from afar. It was not until 2019, after just finishing a degree in law and media, that they decided to throw out the last few years of education, build their PC, and start writing about gaming instead. In that time, he has covered the latest doodads, contraptions, and gismos, and loved every second of it. Hey, it’s better than writing case briefs.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.