Tag

Upscaling

All articles tagged with #upscaling

The Sinking City 2 PC: Practical Settings Guide for Smoother Frames
gaming11 days ago

The Sinking City 2 PC: Practical Settings Guide for Smoother Frames

This GPU-heavy Unreal Engine 5 title offers little visual payoff from most standard settings beyond Ultra, and the key gains come from targeted upscaling. The article notes unusually smooth shader compilation but mixed CPU performance, with VRR helping only if the CPU/memory bottlenecks aren’t extreme. A recommended optimized profile uses DLSS Super Resolution on RTX GPUs (TSR for AMD/Intel) and keeps View Distance, Post-Processing, Textures, and Foliage largely at Ultra for image quality, while dialing down Effects, Anti-Aliasing, Global Illumination, Shading, and Hair to balance visuals and fps. In testing, this profile delivered about an 18% average FPS gain and 13% better 1%/0.1% lows versus Ultra at 1440p, though further gains rely on upscaling/frame generation rather than traditional quality sliders. HDR, FoV, DLAA, and XeSS are missing or subpar, limiting options for non-NVIDIA GPUs. Final takeaway: pair the optimized settings with DLSS on RTX GPUs for smoother gameplay, while AMD/Intel users stick to TSR and expect CPU/memory bottlenecks on higher canvases. Finally, if you crave significant performance boosts beyond this, you’ll need to lower internal resolution via dlss/tsr rather than rely on conventional settings.

The Hidden Engine Behind Your Smart TV’s Picture
technology1 month ago

The Hidden Engine Behind Your Smart TV’s Picture

The article argues that the smart TV processor is often the most important spec, affecting upscaling, image quality, noise reduction, and even gaming and app performance. It recommends prioritizing brand-name processors (LG Alpha, Samsung NQ, Sony) and testing in-store for smooth menus and fast app loading, while also checking reviews for real-world upscaling performance.

Valve quietly retracts Steam Machine 4K60 claim as specs update rolls out
gaming2 months ago

Valve quietly retracts Steam Machine 4K60 claim as specs update rolls out

Valve updated the Steam Machine page to replace the earlier claim of '4K gaming at 60 FPS with FSR' with 'Up to 4K gaming with FSR 4.1,' a change made without notice amid heightened scrutiny of the device; observers say the machine effectively targets 1080p with upscaling and that some titles may still require lowering settings to maintain smooth framerates, with Valve not explaining the rationale for the update.

Star Wars Galactic Racer: a physics-focused pod-race dream in UE5
gaming2 months ago

Star Wars Galactic Racer: a physics-focused pod-race dream in UE5

Digital Foundry previews Fuse Games’ Star Wars: Galactic Racer, a UE5-based arcade racer emphasizing physics-driven destruction, thermal terrain effects, and a four-vehicle archetype roster. The game uses photogrammetry and Nanite for high-fidelity environments, with Lumen lighting on PS5/PS5 Pro and Series X, and screen-space reflections for performance. It targets 60fps on base PS5 and Series X, with dynamic TSR upscaling (PS5 Pro uses PSSR) and a broad upscaling toolkit (DLSS 4.5, XeSS, FSR 4). PC configurations including RTX 4090 can push high frame rates (around 150fps with frame generation and ray reconstruction), while Series S prioritizes lightmass probes for balance. Notably, collisions trigger Burnout-style takedowns, and environmental heat and cold influence vehicle performance. An early look suggests a promising blend of nostalgia and modern tech ahead of the October 6 launch, with ongoing polish planned.

FSR 4.1 Boosts Older GPUs, Expands RDNA 3 Reach
technology2 months ago

FSR 4.1 Boosts Older GPUs, Expands RDNA 3 Reach

AMD launches FSR 4.1 for Radeon RX 7000-series GPUs, promising better image quality and smoother gameplay. It’s developing lightweight ML models to bring FSR 4.1 to RDNA 3 APUs and plans RDNA 2 support in early 2027. FSR 4.1 is already in 300+ games, with Doom: The Dark Ages Revelations and Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced due in July.

AMD: FSR 4.1 Arrives on RDNA3 This July, Aims for RDNA4-Level Quality
technology2 months ago

AMD: FSR 4.1 Arrives on RDNA3 This July, Aims for RDNA4-Level Quality

At Computex 2026, AMD says FSR 4.1 will reach RDNA3 RX 7000 GPUs in July, delivering RDNA4-level quality with a differently structured model that converts FP8 to INT8 for RDNA3; RDNA2 support is planned for 2027 after extensive optimization, using a multi-tier training pipeline on Instinct MI accelerators, Radeon Pro workstations with ROCm, and broad PC configuration testing to ensure wide compatibility.

RX 9070 GRE: A $549 GPU That Delivers Less Than Its Siblings
technology3 months ago

RX 9070 GRE: A $549 GPU That Delivers Less Than Its Siblings

Ars Technica’s review argues the RX 9070 GRE is a downgraded take on AMD’s RX 9070, with 3,072 shader cores, a 192-bit bus, and 12GB RAM at the same $549 MSRP; at 1440p it sits 10–20% slower than the regular 9070 and often trails the RTX 5070, while 4K performance with ray tracing is spotty, making memory and bandwidth the bottlenecks; overall, the GRE feels like GPU shrinkflation and not good value compared with spending a bit more on the non-GRE RX 9070 or considering Nvidia alternatives.

AMD extends FSR 4 to older RDNA GPUs, with performance trade-offs ahead
technology3 months ago

AMD extends FSR 4 to older RDNA GPUs, with performance trade-offs ahead

AMD will bring FSR 4.1 to older RDNA3/3.5 GPUs starting July (RX 7000 series and integrated 890M/8060S), with early 2027 rollout to RDNA2 GPUs (RX 6000, Steam Deck GPU, 680M) and potential PlayStation 5/Xbox Series X|S support later. Because older chips run FSR 4 on INT8 rather than FP8, performance may see a noticeable hit and image quality may vary, with early estimates around a 10–20% slowdown versus FSR 3.1 on comparable hardware. Games that support FSR 4 will work via the Radeon driver, and FSR 3.1 titles can be forced to use FSR 4, broadening compatibility beyond RDNA4 hardware.

FSR 4.1 Expands to Older Radeon GPUs: RDNA3 in July, RDNA2 in 2027
technology3 months ago

FSR 4.1 Expands to Older Radeon GPUs: RDNA3 in July, RDNA2 in 2027

AMD will broaden FSR 4.1 support beyond its latest RDNA 4 cards, bringing it to RDNA3-based Radeon 7000 GPUs in July and to RDNA2-based Radeon 6000 GPUs in 2027 via a phased rollout. The upgrade promises better motion detail, RT denoising, and a more capable Ultra Performance mode, with initial titles including Forza Horizon 6, Death Stranding 2, and Crimson Desert as benchmarks for the new features.

Lego Batman’s Frame-Gen 30fps Debacle Highlights Flawed PC Specs Marketing
technology3 months ago

Lego Batman’s Frame-Gen 30fps Debacle Highlights Flawed PC Specs Marketing

Digital Foundry critiques Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight’s PC specs sheet for listing a 1080p 30fps base with frame generation, which would imply a native ~15fps and heavy upscaling; argues this misleads players, calls for a clearer native target (ideally ~60fps) and more transparent hardware requirements even when frame-boosting tech is used, and notes the marketing misstep while planning to test real-world performance on PC and consoles.