What is Microsoft's Auto Super Resolution? How does DLSS and FSR compare?

With Nvidia's DLSS, AMD's FSR, and Intel's XeSS, there's no shortage of upscaling technology to help games look and run better. However, Microsoft is now entering the market with Qualcomm and refreshing Windows 11, which comes with some new software, including Auto Super Resolution (ASR) upscaling technology.

Like other upscaling tools, ASR claims to increase performance when gaming on Windows laptops running Qualcomm. However, Microsoft hasn't clearly explained its new feature - and that's why today's article was made.

What is Auto Super Resolution?

Auto Super Resolution, also known as Auto SR or ASR, is an AI-based upscaling and framing technology that Microsoft is launching with its new Copilot+ PCs. Microsoft calls it "the first OS-integrated AI-powered ultra-high resolution for gaming" . Since the future of Windows 11 depends heavily on AI, this new feature comes as no surprise.

This feature originates from Super Resolution (SR), where games are rendered at a lower resolution to increase frame rates and then enhanced, often powered by AI, upscaling and enhancement algorithms. high quality photos. If implemented properly, the end result is a game that looks good and performs well.

Microsoft's DirectX team has released a preview of the DirectSR API, allowing developers to integrate SR technologies such as Nvidia DLSS, AMD's FSR, and Intel's XeSS into their games. However, these technologies are often implemented on a game-by-game basis, and that's where ASR shines.

As the name suggests, ASR is applied automatically and enhances existing games, unlike other SR technologies that are deployed on a game-by-game basis. While competitors are focusing on using AI to improve graphics quality and FPS in games, ASR aims to bring the same benefits to existing game libraries without the need for configuration. handmade.

In theory, you can just start your game and play as normal, with ASR working in the background to enhance the experience. Microsoft claims visuals will surpass native 1080p quality with "fast frame rates typically seen at lower resolutions". ASR displays images at a minimum of 700 vertical lines, so you can expect at least as much difference from games displayed between 720p and 1080p.

One important thing to note is that Auto SR and DirectSR are two separate components that work together to deliver this enhanced gaming experience. The difference is that DirectSR focuses on next-gen games and developers, while Auto SR enhances existing games, automatically improving the gaming experience.

How does ASR work?

Microsoft claims that ASR uses a "sophisticated AI model - Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) professionally trained on game content". Specific details about the AI ​​model or how it works have yet to be revealed. This feature takes advantage of the NPU (Neural Processing Units) in the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus and Elite processors in Microsoft's new Copilot+ PC to run the basic AI model.

It starts by automatically adjusting the screen resolution down, causing the game to run at a lower resolution. ASR then coordinates data transfers between the NPU, CPU and GPU to apply its AI enhancements to game visuals without interrupting gameplay. Microsoft claims that ASR only adds one frame of latency on average.

Remember that ASR optimization affects all elements on the screen during gameplay, including any open applications. These changes won't be noticeable, however, as long as you're in full-screen or windowed borderless view. When you exit the game, your desktop will return to normal.

Compare ASR, DLSS, FSR and XeSS

It is difficult to make direct comparisons between ASR and competitors from other brands, such as Nvidia's DLSS, AMD's FSR, and Intel's XeSS, because ASR differs in functionality from other upscaling technologies based on on AI before.

Developers need to integrate DLSS, FSR or XeSS into the game to reap the benefits. Meanwhile, ASR automatically optimizes every game running on your PC.

Additionally, DLSS, FSR, and XeSS require games to alter their rendering using methods such as jitter offset and MIP to add finer detail. ASR can enhance games without any additional information from the game, improving them as they exist as it relies on the underlying AI and NPU model to do the heavy lifting. The closest competitor to this approach is AMD's FSR, which specializes in upscaling games on any GPU.

So while it's impossible to draw any direct comparisons between Microsoft's magic upscaling technology and its competitors, we've seen DLSS and other technologies in terms of game enhancement and Hopefully ASR is no different.

The biggest difference here is Microsoft's claim that ASR optimizes existing games without any developer or player intervention. That means that once ASR hits the market, it will far exceed the number of games that support DLSS, FSR or XeSS and be widely available.

If the improvements are as Microsoft claims, ASR has the potential to become a relevant AI upgrade technology in the space. Microsoft includes support for 11 games at launch; however, it is also supported on most games running on DirectX 11 or DirectX 12 and running on native Arm64 platforms or emulated x64 platforms.

For a growing list of games that support ASR, visit the Windows on ARM Ready Software website, an open source project to which Microsoft is contributing compatibility data. This site also shows other programs with native ARM support, so it's a useful reference in case you're looking to switch to Windows on ARM.

Is a Qualcomm Snapdragon X chip needed to use ASR?

Microsoft has certain hardware requirements in place for ASR, including:

1. Snapdragon X series processor with Hexagon NPU and integrated GPU
2. Windows 11 version 24H2 or higher
3. Latest version of

While the requirements suggest that ASR might be a feature only available on Snapdragon X series processors, fortunately that is not the case. Since this feature only exists on Copilot+ PCs, Qualcomm's Snapdragon X processor is the only processor that can run this feature at the time of writing.

ASR is a Windows feature, meaning any ARM-based processor from Intel and AMD can meet the requirements to be called a PC Copilot+, and you'll be able to run ASR on any Windows machine. This means that Intel's upcoming Lunar Lake CPUs and AMD's Strix Point CPUs will be able to run ASR.

Should I consider ASR before buying my next PC?

ASR will be put into testing when PC Copilot+ begins to reach consumers. If this feature lives up to expectations, it could add to the list of reasons to switch to Windows on ARM.

If you're looking for a new PC, you should wait a few months to see how ASR and PC Copilot+ in general perform in practice. Combined with the other benefits that Windows on ARM promises, ASR could be the perfect choice.

That means any PC with enough power should be able to run games relatively well for the foreseeable future, so if you need to buy a new machine right away, make sure to choose one with the right hardware for the requirements.

Samuel Daniel

Update 19 June 2024