Unlocking the highest level of graphics is always a bonus when you’re a gamer, and now FSR 4 might be an unexpected one. However, it appears that in supported titles FSR 4 can be used in place of FSR 3.1, using DLSS Swapper to do so, radically changing the graphics quality experience for Radeon RX 9000 GPU users.
Pay close attention to the numbers here because AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 — or FSR 4 for short — is the most recent refinement for upscaling tech made for RDNA 4 GPUs. Typically, official game support is needed even for FSR 4, which narrows down the list of the titles that can take advantage of it. But now folks are getting a bit inventive and are making FSR 4 work in games that only ship with FSR 3.1.
How we’re using FSR 4 over DLSS Swapper
Utilities such as Optiscaler and DLSS Swapper are commonly used to replace upscaling technologies like DLSS, XeSS, and FSR with their latest versions. Formerly, Optiscaler was the only tool able to swap out FSR 3.1 with FSR 4. However, it seems that DLSS Swapper has now replicated this functionality.
Unlike Optiscaler, which requires manually copying files and running a batch application, DLSS Swapper makes the process simple with a straightforward GUI for swapping DLL files. Gamers can access FSR 4 features simply by swapping the FSR 3.1 DLL files with the FSR 4 DLLs, as long as the game already supports FSR 3.1.
Why It Matters To You (If You Run A Radeon RX 9000)
And for the owners of the Radeon RX 9000 GPU, this is an exciting one. This means that even if a game does not officially support FSR 4, the game can still receive a visual enhancement through this workaround. DLSS Swapper developer said they didn’t expect this to work, but one user found it did.
Though not really a feature, its yet another example of DLSS Swapper’s versatility as well as the capabilities of FSR 4. While DLSS Swapper is currently a little complicated to use, it should be possible to make the tool easier to use soon, and more reports may come in as gamers try out the swap.
Looking Ahead
With that FSR 4 adoption, hopefully more developers will bake it directly into games. Until then, third-party tools like DLSS Swapper and Optiscaler can help in ways that nudged visual quality even further.
FAQ
No, FSR 4 can only substitute FSR 3.1 in native FSR 3.1 games.
A Radeon RX 9000 series GPU and an FSR 3.1–compatible game
Well nah, it is actually a workaround found by players. This replacement method has not received any official endorsement from AMD yet.
