AMD's restriction on FSR 4 on previous-gen Radeon GPUs remains a secret, but the former FSR 4 head of development seems to have an answer.
AMD's EX FSR Head of Development Puts Up "Big Trouble" Meme After Being Questioned on AMD's Silence on INT8 FSR 4 Version for RDNA 2/3 GPUs
It has been over a year since FSR 4 made its debut alongside the launch of AMD RDNA 4-based Radeon RX 9000. Since then, AMD has maintained complete silence on questions relating to FSR 4 on RDNA 2 and 3 series. While NVIDIA kept newer DLSS versions available for multiple previous-gen RTX series, AMD is having a hard time keeping its FSR 4 available even for the previous RDNA 3-based Radeon RX 7000 series.
AMD has been asked this question countless times, but AMD has never said that it will launch the INT8 version for FSR 4 on the RDNA 2 and RDNA 3 GPUs, for which DLL files exist. There's no doubt about INT8 FSR 4's compatibility with these two GPU families, but AMD is reluctant to launch it officially. While we don't have an answer for why AMD might be gatekeeping the FSR 4 from previous-gen RDNA families, the former head of development for FSR has something to say.
A user asked Colin Riley the same question, and Colin replied through a meme GIF, which says, "I prefer not to speak. If I speak, I am in BIG trouble". It appears as if Colin knows the reason for AMD's restriction on FSR 4 only on the RDNA 4 family, but he can't disclose the reason. We don't understand why it's so hard for AMD to even answer such a simple question, as millions of RDNA 2/3 GPU owners are waiting for the same.
Due to their restriction on the latest FSR technology, many have been finding workarounds to make FSR 4 work in the RX 6000/RX 7000 series, and have been pretty successful. Third-party tools such as Optiscaler have been doing the same successfully, and we have seen how an FSR 4.0 Balanced mode beats even the FSR 3.1 Quality mode. The FSR 4.0 delivers sharper visuals and better clarity, mitigating ghosting and shimmering significantly. Even though it is more demanding than FSR 3.1, with some tweaks, users can achieve higher performance.
Not just FSR 4.0, but even FSR 4.1 has been reported to work on RDNA 3 GPUs with a workaround. The results are similar to what we see on RDNA 4 GPUs, but as usual, AMD released FSR 4.1 only for the Radeon RX 9000 series.
About the author: Sarfraz Khan is a hardware reporter with a focus on PC components and the builder community. With years of experience writing about PC hardware and laptops, his work has been featured on several reputable technology publications. Sarfraz's hands-on experience is demonstrated through his first-person accounts of using and comparing different hardware configurations, providing practical and relatable insights for everyday users. His technical analysis is respected by peers in the enthusiast community and has been cited by specialized hardware sites such as Germany's Igor's Lab.
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