AMD Has Nearly Caught Up the RX 7000 and RX 9000 — FSR 4.1 Benchmarks Are In

AMD rolled out the FSR 4.1 update for previous-gen RDNA 3 graphics cards, and ComputerBase has already put the new tech through its paces on three models: the flagship Radeon RX 7900 XTX, the mid-range RX 7800 XT, and the entry-level RX 7600. The big question on every RX 7000 owner's mind was just how close the upscaler's quality would get to the RDNA 4 version — and what kind of performance hit that would come with.

FSR 4.1 runs on two different math models: FP8 on the new RX 9000 cards and INT8 on the RX 7000. According to the test data, the difference between them is minimal, but not zero. In Assassin's Creed Shadows, the differences are only noticeable in grass rendering — the RDNA 3 version gives the vegetation a slightly more glossy tint, but without a side-by-side comparison, it's pretty much impossible to spot. In Anno 117: Pax Romana, the image quality is outright identical. Things get trickier in Death Stranding 2, where the INT8 variant shows some ghosting on objects farther from the camera, while the FP8 version on RDNA 4 is completely free of that artifact.

Swapping FSR 3.1 for 4.1 on RDNA 3 eats into your frame rate, since the neural model demands more compute power. At 4K on the RX 7900 XTX, the performance drop ranged from 11 to 14 percent compared to FSR 3.1. On less powerful cards and at lower resolutions, the losses are more modest: the RX 7800 XT at 1440p loses about 7–9% performance, while the RX 7600 at 1080p takes a similar 7–9% hit. The final public release turned out to be a bit more efficient than last year's leaked INT8 build — back then, the drop hit 12% in Performance mode, but now it's down to 9%.

On RX 7000, you can now comfortably crank up to more aggressive presets: FSR 4.1 in Performance mode delivers roughly the same frame rate as FSR 3.1 in Quality mode, but with a significantly sharper, better-looking image. So your overall gaming experience gets a nice bump even at comparable performance levels.

The update is available via the Adrenalin 26.6.2 driver for all discrete RX 7000-series graphics cards. The RDNA 2 version is expected later, in early 2027. Owners of RDNA 3.5 integrated graphics will have to wait even longer — they'll need a specially adapted "lite" neural network.

AMD has made a solid move toward bridging the gap with its previous generation, practically leveling the visual playing field with the new cards. But is that extra crispness worth losing a tenth of your frames on purpose, or does good old FSR 3.1 still feel like the smarter choice? Drop your take in the comments below.