Unlocking FSR 4 on Older Radeon Graphics Cards
AMD‘s latest upscaling technology, FSR 4, can now be activated on Radeon RX 6000 series graphics cards through a straightforward file replacement method that maintains full performance. This breakthrough comes after initial attempts to enable the technology on older hardware resulted in significant performance penalties.
From Performance Issues to Perfect Implementation
Previous methods to enable FSR 4 on RX 6000 GPUs typically caused 10-20% performance degradation, making games feel choppy and unresponsive. The traditional approach required specialized tools and custom modified DLL files, creating a complex process that many users found challenging to implement successfully.
However, as originally reported by our colleagues at imdmonitor.com, a community member from Computer Base has discovered a remarkably simple solution that eliminates these performance concerns entirely. The new method involves a basic file swap procedure that delivers FSR 4 functionality without any of the previous drawbacks.
The Simple File Replacement Process
The technique centers on replacing two specific files in the latest Adrenalin driver installation:
- amdxd32.dll
- amdxc64.dll
To implement this modification, users need to unpack both an older Adrenalin driver version (such as 23.9.1) and the most recent driver release. The specified files from the older driver are then used to replace their counterparts in the newer driver installation.
Impressive Visual Results
The community member who developed this method demonstrated the visual quality improvements using an RX 6800 GPU. Multiple comparison videos showcase FSR 4 operating across different presets including Native, Quality, and Performance modes.
Most notably, the visual quality with FSR 4 enabled on RX 6000 series cards now closely matches what’s achievable on the newer RX 9070, which includes native FSR 4 support. The FSR 4 Native and Quality presets deliver image quality nearly identical to native rendering while maintaining smooth performance.
Performance Preservation Confirmed
What makes this discovery particularly valuable is the complete absence of performance impact. Unlike earlier attempts that compromised gaming smoothness, this file swap method enables FSR 4 functionality while preserving the full performance capabilities of RX 6000 series graphics cards.
This development represents a significant upgrade opportunity for owners of Radeon RX 6000 series hardware, providing access to AMD’s latest upscaling technology through a relatively simple modification process.
