FSR stands for FidelityFX Super Resolution. It is AMD's image upscaling technique designed to improve gaming performance without sacrificing picture quality. The GPU renders the game at a lower resolution, then FSR applies intelligent algorithms to enlarge the image to your monitor's native resolution, making it appear sharper and clearer than traditional scaling.
FSR works by analysing the lower-resolution image and reconstructing finer details using machine learning. This allows you to play demanding games at high frame rates on less powerful hardware. For example, a graphics card might render a game at 1440p using FSR, then upscale it to 4K output, delivering the visual quality closer to native 4K whilst maintaining higher frame rates.
The technology comes in different quality modes: Performance (largest boost), Balanced, Quality, and Ultra Quality. Each mode trades resolution gain against visual fidelity. Performance mode upscales the most aggressively, whilst Ultra Quality mode is more conservative and preserves fine detail.
Unlike some proprietary alternatives, FSR is open-source and supported across AMD and NVIDIA graphics cards, as well as some integrated graphics. Game developers must integrate FSR support into their titles for it to work. You will find it listed in a game's settings menu, usually alongside a toggle and quality option.
When shopping for a graphics card or considering upgrading, check whether your target games support FSR. If they do, you can achieve better performance at high settings without buying a more expensive GPU.