Redstone: The Next Leap in AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution
If you’ve been keeping tabs on AMD’s upscaling technology, you probably noticed that FSR 4 dropped with a bang in May. With AI-driven enhancements that mimic what NVIDIA has been doing with DLSS for years, AMD’s FSR took a big step forward in image quality. But now, the real excitement is brewing around “Project Redstone,” the next evolution that could finally put AMD on equal footing with NVIDIA in the AI upscaling arena.
Redstone isn’t just another incremental update. It’s a complete overhaul of how AMD handles indirect lighting, denoising, and frame generation using intelligent algorithms. In other words, it’s AMD’s answer to NVIDIA’s DLSS 4—and it could change how we think about real-time ray tracing, performance boosts, and overall visual fidelity.
FSR Neural Radiance Caching for Indirect Lighting
One of the standout features teased for Redstone is Neural Radiance Caching. If that sounds like a mouthful, here’s the deal: it leverages a neural network to predict how light bounces around your scene, especially when you’re using path tracing. Instead of having your GPU fire off countless rays for indirect illumination through its RT cores, the AI takes a smart sample of rays and “caches” their behavior. Then, it reuses those cached samples to fill in the rest of the lighting.
This approach doesn’t just save GPU cycles; it can drastically reduce noise and flickering in complex scenes. Imagine the difference when you’re exploring a dimly lit dungeon or strolling through a photorealistic city at night. With Neural Radiance Caching, AMD aims to deliver smoother, cleaner indirect lighting while keeping performance in check.
FSR Ray Generation to Boost Ray Tracing Quality
AMD is also cooking up its own solution for what NVIDIA calls Ray Reconstruction. Enter FSR Ray Generation, a feature designed to tackle one of the biggest headaches of ray tracing: missing or noisy pixels. Traditionally, denoisers help clean up that noise, but they can introduce blurring or smudging if they overcorrect.
With Ray Generation, the philosophy shifts to “clean first, sharpen later.” The AI examines the raw ray-traced image, identifies the most glaring artifacts, and intelligently fills in details where pixels are missing or corrupted. The result? A final image that’s crisper, more accurate, and much closer to what you’d expect from full-resolution ray tracing—without the colossal performance hit.
FSR Frame Generation Powered by AI
Frame Generation has been a popular feature in AMD’s FSR lineup, but so far, the method has been more algorithmic than AI-driven. In other words, it analyzes previous frames using a fixed set of rules, then extrapolates to create new frames and boost your framerate. It works, but there’s room for improvement.
Redstone’s Frame Generation takes it to the next level by incorporating machine learning models. Instead of relying on a rigid algorithm, it studies patterns across multiple frames and predicts motion vectors and pixel data with newfound accuracy. That means fewer artifacts, less ghosting, and a smoother gaming experience even at higher refresh rates. Plus, rumor has it AMD is experimenting with Multi-Frame Generation—so we might soon see even bigger performance gains in fast-paced titles.
Launch Timeline and What to Expect
AMD has pinned Redstone’s release for the second half of 2025, giving developers plenty of time to integrate the new features into upcoming games. As of mid-2025, FSR 4 is slated to be supported in roughly 60 titles, while NVIDIA’s DLSS 4 is aiming for about 125. If Redstone can deliver on its promises, we could see a dramatic shift in adoption rates.
Of course, success will hinge on real-world demos and developer support. AMD’s previous FSR updates were praised for their low integration complexity, and Redstone should follow suit. If it can match or even surpass NVIDIA’s DLSS feature set—complete with Neural Radiance Caching, Ray Generation, and AI Frame Generation—AMD might finally have a true challenger to NVIDIA’s dominance in AI-driven upscaling.
So, are you ready to see AMD’s Redstone in action? Whether you’re a hardcore gamer chasing the smoothest 4K performance or a ray tracing enthusiast craving cleaner reflections and shadows, Redstone aims to deliver the goods. Buckle up, because 2025 might just be the year AMD closes the gap in the AI upscaling arms race.
