Early benchmarks suggest that while AMD’s FSR 4 can be made to run on RDNA 2 and RDNA 3 graphics cards via unofficial INT8 model files, the trade-off is a clear hit to frame rates compared to FSR 3.1—especially in Quality mode.
FSR 4 is officially targeted at RDNA 4 GPUs like the Radeon RX 9000 series because those cards support FP8, the precision format FSR 4 is designed around. Community testing with an unofficial INT8 variant has brought FSR 4 to RDNA 3 and RDNA 2, and many users report a noticeable boost in image quality over FSR 3.1. The catch is performance.
In controlled 1440p tests using Quality mode, the Radeon RX 7800 XT ran roughly 9% slower with FSR 4 INT8 than with FSR 3.1, and the RX 6800 XT showed a similar drop of around 10%. By contrast, an RDNA 4 card such as the RX 9060 XT loses only about 3% going from FSR 3.1 to the official FSR 4 FP8 path in the same Quality setting. That gap underscores the advantage of running FSR 4 on hardware with native FP8 support.
Image quality is another key takeaway. Side-by-side comparisons indicate that FSR 4 FP8 on RDNA 4 delivers the best visuals overall. The INT8 build on RDNA 2 and RDNA 3 can look very close in some scenes and less so in others, depending on the game and scenario. Even so, testers consistently found that FSR 4 INT8 generally produces better image quality than FSR 3.1 on the same RDNA 3 and RDNA 2 hardware.
Switching to the Performance preset changes the picture slightly. With FSR 4 INT8 set to Performance on the RX 7800 XT and RX 6800 XT, results showed an uplift of about 5% in one comparison against FSR 3.1, but when matched against FSR 3.1’s own Performance preset, FSR 4 INT8 trailed by roughly 12–13%. This aligns with earlier findings that the RX 6800 XT can give up around 10–20% performance using FSR 4 INT8 versus FSR 3.1, while still gaining in visual fidelity.
What this means for RDNA 2 and RDNA 3 owners is straightforward:
– If you prioritize visual quality and can spare some average FPS, the unofficial FSR 4 INT8 path can be compelling over FSR 3.1.
– If smoothness and higher frame rates are your priority, FSR 3.1 remains the safer bet on these GPUs, especially in Quality mode at 1440p.
For those on RDNA 4, FSR 4 FP8 brings a cleaner upgrade: better visuals with only a minor performance cost. AMD has not yet announced any official FSR 4 INT8 release for RDNA 3 or RDNA 2, and many PC gamers are hoping for broader support. Until then, expect performance and visual results to vary by game, preset, and scene, with the biggest benefits reserved for GPUs built for FP8.
