At CES 2025, AMD previewed FSR 4 running on Radeon RX 9070-series hardware, with a side-by-side Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart comparison against FSR 3.1. The 4K Performance-mode footage appeared to show steadier fine detail and less ghosting, shimmering and pixel breakup. It was a promising image-quality demonstration—not a performance benchmark—and FSR 4’s initial official implementation required a Radeon RX 9000-series GPU.
What AMD brought to CES 2025
AMD’s CES preview connected two announcements: its RDNA 4 graphics architecture and the Radeon RX 9000 series, with the RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 as the first announced cards. FSR 4 was the software showcase for that new generation: an upscaler built around machine learning and intended to use RDNA 4’s AI acceleration. AMD formally detailed the cards and FSR 4 on February 28, 2025, after the January preview. AMD’s announcement
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
ASUS Dual Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB GDDR6 Gaming Graphics Card | $529.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
ASUS Prime Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB GDDR6 OC Edition Gaming Graphics Card | $829.00 | Buy on Amazon |
What the FSR 3.1 versus FSR 4 demo showed
Attending media reported a comparison of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart on two Radeon RX 9070-series systems: one using FSR 3.1 and the other FSR 4. Both were displayed at 4K in Performance mode. The comparison focused on moving scenes and visually demanding details, rather than a broad suite of games or settings. TechSpot’s CES report
Artifacts that appeared reduced
- Ghosting: Less visible trailing behind moving objects.
- Shimmering and breakup: Fine geometry and edges appeared more stable in motion.
- Particles and transparency: Small, semi-transparent details looked cleaner and less prone to flicker or pixelation.
- Fine detail: Observers noted clearer fur, distant textures and surface details, including carpet, in the footage.
These are observations of the shown comparison, not measurements proving that FSR 4 eliminates artifacts in every game. Notebookcheck’s account likewise described visible improvements while reflecting the limitations of an early demonstration. Notebookcheck’s summary
#1 Best Overall
- Axial-tech fans now feature a smaller fan hub that facilitates longer blades and a barrier ring that increases downward air pressure
- 2.5-slot design allows for greater build compatibility while maintaining cooling performance
- 0dB technology lets you enjoy light gaming in relative silence
- Dual BIOS switch lets you toggle between Quiet and Performance BIOS profiles
- Dual ball fan bearings last up to twice as long as sleeve bearing designs
Why 4K Performance mode made the comparison revealing
Performance mode produces a 4K output from a substantially lower internal rendering resolution than a higher-quality mode. The reconstruction has less source detail to work with, so temporal upscaling weaknesses can become easier to spot: thin edges may break up, particles can flicker, and textures may look soft or crawl as the camera moves. The CES example was therefore a demanding case for reconstruction quality. It does not establish that the difference would be equally large at every resolution or preset.
What changed technically—and what FSR 4 is not
FSR 4 was a shift to machine-learning-based upscaling, rather than simply another revision of the earlier reconstruction approach. AMD’s stated aim was better image stability and detail, including difficult elements such as hair, particles, transparency and thin geometry. AMD GPUOpen’s FSR 4 overview
- Upscaling reconstructs a higher-resolution image from a lower-resolution render.
- Frame generation creates additional frames; it is a distinct feature and has separate image-quality and latency considerations.
- Radeon Anti-Lag 2 targets latency, not the quality of the upscaled image.
- HYPR-RX is a broader AMD software feature bundle, not another name for FSR 4.
What CES did not prove
The show-floor comparison was useful for judging whether the visual difference was apparent, but it was not a controlled review. The demo did not show frame-rate counters, and the footage was recorded from monitors rather than captured directly. That leaves camera focus, display processing, scaling and video compression as possible influences. AMD also controlled the game, scene, settings and display arrangement.
- It did not establish FSR 4’s frame rate, frame-time consistency, power use or latency against FSR 3.1.
- It did not show whether the same gains applied across a range of games, resolutions or quality modes.
- It did not demonstrate that FSR 4 beat DLSS or XeSS generally.
For those questions, retail-product testing matters more than a brief preview. The later independent RX 9070-series reviews found a substantial image-quality step over FSR 3.1 in tested cases, with a relatively small but nonzero performance cost; results varied by game, resolution, preset, driver and implementation. Ars Technica’s RX 9070-series review and TechSpot’s FSR 4 image-quality testing
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Hardware compatibility and game support
At launch, AMD’s official FSR 4 support was for Radeon RX 9000-series GPUs: specifically, the RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 were the first announced products associated with the feature. AMD’s developer documentation describes the FSR 4 implementation for Windows with DirectX 12 and requires an RX 9000-series GPU or better. It was not an official feature for older Radeon cards at that point. AMD FidelityFX SDK 2.0 documentation
Rank #2
- Axial-tech fans now feature a smaller fan hub that facilitates longer blades and a barrier ring that increases downward air pressure
- Phase-change GPU thermal pad helps ensure optimal heat transfer, lowering GPU temperatures for enhanced performance and reliability
- 2.5-slot design allows for greater build compatibility while maintaining cooling performance
- Dual-ball fan bearings last up to twice as long as standard conventional sleeve bearings designs
- 0dB technology lets you enjoy light gaming in relative silence
Not every game could simply acquire FSR 4 through a universal driver toggle. AMD’s FSR 4 Upgrade path was designed for supported games with the necessary FSR 3.1 integration; compatibility depended on the title and its implementation. AMD said more than 30 games were planned for launch and 75 for later in 2025, targets rather than guarantees that every listed game would support the feature on day one. AMD’s FSR technical-preview release notes
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Launch prices and what they meant for buyers
On February 28, 2025, AMD announced U.S. suggested prices of $599 for the Radeon RX 9070 XT and $549 for the RX 9070, with availability beginning March 6, 2025. Those were launch announcement prices, not a statement of current retail pricing, stock or board-partner pricing. AMD’s launch announcement
FSR 4 is most relevant as a buying factor if the games you play support it and you target demanding 1440p or 4K settings, particularly when GPU-intensive effects such as ray tracing leave room for upscaling to help. It is a weaker reason on its own to replace a recent card if your games lack support. Also separate upscaling from frame generation when judging responsiveness: a higher displayed frame rate does not by itself mean lower input latency.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →How the CES preview developed into a shipping feature
- January 6, 2025: AMD previewed RDNA 4, Radeon RX 9000-series hardware and FSR 4 around CES; media reported the Ratchet & Clank comparison.
- February 28, 2025: AMD formally announced RX 9070-series details, U.S. suggested prices and FSR 4 plans.
- March 6, 2025: The cards became available, and AMD began FSR 4 support through its software for supported titles. AMD GPUOpen’s launch-day material
- August 20, 2025: AMD released FidelityFX SDK 2.0 with public developer access to FSR 4. FidelityFX SDK 2.0
- September 8, 2025: AMD reported FSR 4 support in more than 85 games. AMD GPUOpen game-support update
AMD’s later FSR 4.1 and “Redstone” developments are follow-up technology, not features demonstrated at CES 2025. AMD’s 2026 upscaling overview
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
