As reported earlier this month, Windows 11 is set to get an OS-level upscaler with the 24H2 update. Likely to rival the likes of AMD FSR and NVIDIA DLSS, Microsoft’s solution will be compatible with all Windows devices. Since dedicated NPUs are still in the early stages of adoption, the Windows AI upscaler “DirectSR or Direct Super Resolution” should be compatible across all DX12-supported GPUs.
Of course, Microsoft has plenty of catching up to do, as NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Super Resolution technology is already close to getting its fourth iteration (DLSS 4). AMD’s open-source FidelityFX Super Resolution solution got its third update a few months back, but adoption has been slow.
The DirectX team will showcase the latest updates, demos, and best practices for game development with key partners from AMD and NVIDIA. Work graphs are the newest way to take full advantage of GPU hardware and parallelize workloads. Microsoft will provide a preview into DirectSR, making it easier than ever for game devs to scale super resolution support across Windows devices. Finally, dive into the latest tooling updates for PIX.
GDC 2024
We don’t expect Microsoft to invest heavily into an AI-based upscalar (just yet). The release of Direct Super Resolution on Windows is likely a test run for what will undoubtedly become a key feature of upcoming (and existing) Xbox consoles. By the end of this cycle, when the next generation of Xbox consoles launch, Microsoft will be ready with a frame generation variant of DirectSR, which I believe is the ultimate goal.
Regardless, having a Windows-based upscalar that can be offloaded to the NPU on supported devices will be a boon to light and convertible notebook PCs where bulky dGPUs aren’t an option. Now, there’s only the matter of quality. Will DirectSR be a spatial, driver-level feature (like AMD’s Radeon Super Resolution) or will it integrate ingame input like motion vectors? Implementing it on a per-game level will be a gargantuan task, so I’ll have to go with the latter.
