AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) should be a huge deal for Steam Deck based on its Linux performance

Source: Valve

When they were commencement appear, I, like many others, had hoped to be holding a Steam Deck this Christmas. Merely it's a hard time to manufacture tech right now, and so we're going to accept to await a footling longer.

Simply in that time I've been spending more energy experiencing PC gaming on Linux, the base of operations for the Steam Deck. Much has been said already virtually Proton and much more will exist said in the months to come, but in that location'due south one bit of 'special sauce' that deserves more attention because information technology should be a huge bargain on Valve's portable gaming PC.

AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) is, in simple terms, like NVIDIA's DLSS. It uses witchcraft to intelligently upscale games while preserving equally much detail as possible so equally to enable higher frame rates thanks to having been rendered initially at a lower resolution. One big divergence is that FSR works on both AMD and NVIDIA hardware, and the other is that information technology's open up-source. This means the Linux gang has been all over it.

My colleague, Brendan Lowry, has previously written nigh how much of a big deal it could be on the Steam Deck and having now put information technology to the test, he's absolutely right.

Official and unofficial support for FSR

Source: Windows Central

There are ii sides to using FSR on Linux, and therefore the forthcoming Steam Deck. The commencement is officially supported games, like the contempo addition of FSR to Horizon: Zero Dawn and the second is everything else. And I mean everything. Equally FSR is open-source there'due south already a mode to inject it into basically any game yous try and play through Proton. There is support for it baked in, but there's also some extra magic that many are using.

This magic is courtesy of a chap known equally "GloriousEggroll," a legend among the Linux gaming community. An engineer at Crimson Hat past day, in his free time he (and members of the community who contribute) compiles custom versions of Proton which takes everything Valve has built and adds a piffling more on meridian. Proton GE has FSR support built into it and as such, yous can tell Steam to enable it with a simple launch control.

In the settings folio for games you have installed in that location is a launch options box, and this simple command is what makes the magic happen:

            WINE_FULLSCREEN_FSR=i %command%                      

With a supported version of Proton, you can launch a game, set it to a lower render resolution and FSR will exercise the remainder.

Source: Windows Central

It isn't express to just Steam games, either. Naturally, Steam is where the bulk of Steam Deck games will come from, but since it's only a tiny Linux PC in that location's no reason not to recall nigh playing games from sources like Epic Games or GOG as well.

FSR works through another popular Linux gaming tool, Lutris, in a similar way. With supported versions of WINE installed, either from GloriousEggroll or the Lutris team, you can enable FSR with a uncomplicated toggle in the configuration settings.

FSR works extremely well

Source: Windows Central

Being able to apply it is ane thing only is information technology actually worth bothering with? Very much so. Whether it'south in an officially supported game or non, the results can exist extraordinary. Which makes it even more of import for the prospective Steam Deck owners out there.

My own experience speaks for itself. I have an NVIDIA RTX 2080 inside my gaming PC so I'm lucky that I take admission to both FSR and DLSS. The showtime game to blow me abroad with FSR is Control, a game that runs very well through Proton as is, though it's pretty enervating.

I could never get the DLSS support working properly on my system (it's however a bit janky on non-Vulkan titles) but using the FSR command in Steam, I was getting an average 25-30 FPS increase at the same graphics settings. And my eyes couldn't tell you lot if information technology was upscaled or not. It'due south that expert.

Source: Windows Key

I've also put information technology to piece of work in Wolfenstein: Youngblood, a Vulkan title that officially supports DLSS on Linux. Merely using FSR instead delivers essentially the same experience. I'chiliad able to agree a steady 120 FPS running the game at 3840 x 1200 on the Uber graphics settings and the game looks keen.

Horizon: Cipher Dawn, too, sees as impressive results. The frame charge per unit gets a definite uptick with no noticeable visual penalty. This is an officially supported FSR title and works fifty-fifty in Proton by enabling it in-game. Though admittedly there are other, much bigger problems with this game that will need addressing before it makes a skilful experience on Steam Deck.

Possibly my favorite affair nearly using FSR, at least in an unofficial capacity, is that it simply works. You don't have to brand a decision on the level of quality you want vs performance, and since you lot practice become more functioning and the games still expect expert anyway, it's a perfect balance. And when information technology comes to a handheld similar Steam Deck, the less fettling you lot have to do, the amend.

In an ideal world, Steam volition proceed to work on FSR with its own Proton releases and have a simple toggle to enable information technology, every bit you get in Lutris. Whether this will happen, who knows, but we haven't yet seen Steam OS 3.0 and I think it'd be a really helpful feature to have.

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Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/amds-fidelityfx-super-resolution-fsr-can-be-huge-deal-steam-deck

Posted by: jonesmopine.blogspot.com

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