If your graphics card is starting to show its age, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) is one of the easiest ways to claw back frame rate without spending a penny. Unlike most performance features, FSR doesn't need a specific brand of GPU — it works on AMD cards, Nvidia cards, and even integrated graphics, which makes it one of the most useful tools in a budget gamer's kit.
Key takeaway: FSR renders your game at a lower internal resolution and sharpens the result back up to your screen's resolution, often gaining 20-40% more frames with only a small, usually acceptable, hit to image quality.
What FSR actually does
Normally, your GPU renders every frame at your monitor's native resolution — say 1920x1080. That's expensive. FSR instead renders the game internally at a lower resolution, then uses an upscaling algorithm to blow the image back up to your display's resolution, followed by a sharpening pass to recover some of the lost detail. Because rendering at a lower resolution is far less demanding on your GPU, you get a meaningful FPS increase.
There have been several versions. FSR 1.0 is a simple, purely spatial upscaler — it works on virtually any GPU, including quite old ones, because it doesn't need any special hardware. FSR 2.0 and 2.1 are more advanced, using motion vectors from previous frames (similar in concept to Nvidia's DLSS) to produce a sharper, more stable image, and are also widely compatible with older cards since they run on general-purpose GPU compute rather than dedicated AI hardware. FSR 3.0 adds optional frame generation, which creates entirely new interpolated frames, though this feature is more demanding and less useful on very low-end hardware.
Enabling FSR in a game
- Open the game's graphics or display settings menu and look for an "Upscaling" or "Super Resolution" section.
- Select "AMD FSR" as the upscaling method (it may simply be listed as "FSR" alongside DLSS or native rendering).
- Choose a quality preset: Quality, Balanced, Performance, or Ultra Performance. Quality gives the smallest FPS gain but the best image; Performance and Ultra Performance render at a much lower internal resolution for bigger FPS gains.
- Apply the setting and check your in-game FPS counter or an overlay tool to confirm the improvement.
- If the image looks too soft or blurry, try one preset higher (better quality) and see if you can still hit a playable frame rate.
Tip: Start with the Quality preset. On a 1080p screen it typically renders internally at around 1280x720 upscaled back to 1080p, giving a solid FPS boost while keeping the image reasonably sharp.
Which preset should you pick?
| Preset | Internal render scale | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | ~77% of native | Cards that are only slightly struggling |
| Balanced | ~67% of native | A middle ground for most budget GPUs |
| Performance | ~59% of native | Older or weaker GPUs needing a bigger boost |
| Ultra Performance | ~50% of native | Very low-end hardware, high resolutions like 1440p or 4K |
Before you start: Not every game supports FSR. Check the game's settings menu or its store page before assuming it's available — if it isn't, you may still be able to force it on via in-game resolution scale sliders instead, which achieve a similar effect without the sharpening pass.
Frequently asked questions
- Does FSR work on Nvidia and Intel graphics cards?
- Yes. Unlike DLSS, which is exclusive to Nvidia RTX cards, FSR is an open standard that runs on AMD, Nvidia, and Intel GPUs, including older and integrated graphics.
- Will FSR make my game look noticeably worse?
- At Quality or Balanced settings the difference is usually subtle, especially in motion. At Ultra Performance you may notice softer detail and occasional shimmering on fine textures.
- Is FSR better than just lowering my screen resolution?
- Generally yes, because FSR upscales the image back to full resolution with a sharpening pass, so UI elements and text stay crisp, whereas manually lowering your monitor's resolution blurs everything, including the interface.