NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 Technology Comes to AMD Radeon RX 9000 Series

NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 technology is coming experimentally to AMD Radeon RX 9000 series cards with the d4r project. Performance increase is aimed with FP8 support in RDNA 4 architecture.

The latest update of the d4r project, published by developer “countervolts”, allowed experimental running of NVIDIA DLSS 4 and DLSS 4.5 technologies on AMD Radeon RX 9000 series graphics cards. This project, which integrates NVIDIA's official DLSS libraries into AMD hardware through a Linux and Proton-based software stack, aims to specifically benefit from the native FP8 computing capabilities of the RDNA 4 architecture.

This work, which is not yet ready for daily use and is at a proof of concept stage, is considered an important technical step for AMD graphics card owners to use NVIDIA-specific image scaling technologies.

DLSS 4.5 Technology Compatible with RDNA 4 Architecture

While NVIDIA's DLSS technology has traditionally been designed to work only on GeForce RTX series cards, the d4r project continues to push that limit. Newly released updates can create special cores especially for cards based on RDNA 4 architecture such as RX 9060 and 9070.

The most remarkable aspect of this integration is that the RDNA 4 architecture can natively process FP8 calculations used in modern DLSS models without the need for conversion.

This capability can help deliver smoother performance by relieving the load on the processor. However, it should not be forgotten that the project is just at the beginning. Developers note that although cards such as the RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 are listed among the targeted hardware, real-time testing is still very limited.

The Development Process Progresses in a Controlled Manner

The working principle of the d4r project consists of making NVIDIA's nvngx_dlss.dll file executable on AMD GPUs with the help of ZLUDA. The project tries to compensate for the performance loss experienced during translation by adding customized kernels for RDNA 3 and RDNA 4 architectures. This method, currently tested on the RX 7700 XT model, helped achieve higher frame rates compared to pure translation processes.

However, this work is not a complete alternative to AMD's own FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution) technology. The software's yet-to-be-verified performance data and experimental nature make it a tool that appeals to technical enthusiasts rather than end users. It remains a matter of curiosity whether this compatibility will become more stable with future updates.