AMD is about to release a new version of its FSR upscaling technology, called FSR 4.1. Or at least that's the most plausible explanation for what surfaced recently online: a leaked FSR 4.1 DLL. The file reportedly comes from AMD's Vanguard beta testing program, though we can't confirm that with certainty. What we do know is that the leak gives us an early look at how the next iteration of FSR might behave before AMD makes anything official.
The DLL itself is part of AMD's driver package, specifically the component responsible for the FSR driver override. Replace the current file with the leaked one and games that would normally upgrade to FSR 4.0.3 instead switch to FSR 4.1. Some titles visibly display the version number, such as Spider-Man 2 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, allowing us to verify that the file is indeed working.
Update: The final release of FSR 4.1 is the same as the version tested in this article.
FSR 4.1 is the first major update to AMD's upscaling model since the release of FSR 4.0 about a year ago. And an update has been needed for a while. When FSR 4 debuted it already trailed Nvidia's DLSS 4 in image quality. That doesn't mean FSR 4 was a failure – it represented a massive improvement for AMD's upscaler – but Nvidia remains in the lead with DLSS.
Also see: DLSS vs FSR vs XeSS Support Across 650+ Games
AMD needed to improve FSR 4 to close that gap from the start. Then, at the beginning of 2026, Nvidia debuted DLSS 4.5 with a second-gen transformer model, further improving image quality in certain situations. Now FSR 4.1 needs to respond and keep pace with DLSS 4.5, especially Preset L, which in our testing delivers the best image quality.
To see where things stand, we're comparing the leaked build of FSR 4.1 against FSR 4.0 and Nvidia's DLSS 4.5 Preset L. Throughout this article we're focusing on the 4K Performance mode, which offers a challenging configuration without being too punishing or too easy to render.
FSR 4.1 improves detail reconstruction
One of the main changes Nvidia introduced with DLSS 4.5 is increased sharpness across the image. FSR 4 was already somewhat softer overall than DLSS 4, so when we compare FSR 4 against DLSS 4.5 this difference becomes even more noticeable. FSR 4.1 does not increase sharpness to the same level as DLSS 4.5, so the image produced by Nvidia's technology still looks sharper and this tends to be preferred in blind testing – even though I personally think DLSS can look overly sharp at times.
However, FSR 4.1 is a modest improvement over FSR 4 in many cases. This is not primarily due to increased global sharpness – it's not as if AMD added a sharpness filter – but rather to improved detail reconstruction in motion, with less blur.
Many of the examples we examined are gameplay shots captured in motion and then paused to inspect texture detail and clarity. In scenes with significant texture detail, FSR 4.1 is less likely to produce a blurry output when using the 4K Performance mode, which increases perceived sharpness.
For a better representation of image quality comparisons, check out the HUB video below:
A good example appears in Cyberpunk 2077. After pausing this scene and focusing on the road ahead of the car, we can see a progressive increase in sharpness moving from FSR 4 to FSR 4.1 to DLSS 4.5 Preset L. The same applies to the texture on top of the car: DLSS 4.5 remains the clearest, but FSR 4.1 is noticeably clearer than FSR 4, which represents an obvious improvement during gameplay.
In some titles we saw much smaller gains. Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is one example, where the output looks very similar between FSR 4 and FSR 4.1. In most other cases, however, FSR 4.1 moves a bit closer to the sharpness DLSS 4.5 provides in motion, without ever fully matching the DLSS output. That said, as we've shown in previous videos, FSR can also be less prone to moiré patterns, and that advantage remains present in FSR 4.1.
Reduced smearing brings major improvements to foliage
The biggest improvement we noticed during our examination of FSR 4.1 goes hand in hand with these sharpness changes: the new model appears to focus heavily on reducing smearing and blur. This is especially noticeable in foliage, which was one of the areas where FSR 4 could struggle compared to DLSS 4.5, particularly at lower rendering resolutions. While DLSS tends to preserve foliage detail, even if that sometimes introduces grain or pixelation, FSR 4 often smeared those details in motion to maintain stability.
For a better representation of image quality comparisons, check out the HUB video below:
You can see this in action in Star Wars Outlaws. The overlapping grass elements are less smeared in FSR 4.1, and the shrubs near the top of the image appear much clearer with better-defined branches. The tree swaying in the strong breeze also looks sharper and more detailed, especially in overlapping branch areas. This makes the FSR 4.1 output look closer to DLSS 4.5, although Nvidia still holds the lead in overall clarity.
In some titles, the improvement to grass rendering is particularly significant. Mafia: The Old Country while driving through the countryside is a good example. FSR 4 produced noticeable smearing in fine grass areas during motion, which reduced the perceived resolution of the image and made it look less "4K" than expected.
FSR 4.1 is clearly more detailed and less smeared. In some examples it even surpasses DLSS 4.5 Preset L. Although we are examining slow-motion footage and still frames, reducing smearing during motion makes the game appear sharper and higher resolution during gameplay, even if you cannot distinguish every individual blade of grass.
In Assassin's Creed Shadows, FSR 4.1 again moves much closer to DLSS 4.5 in how it reconstructs grass, producing a more detailed and sharper final image. We also noticed that Stalker 2 looks significantly sharper using FSR 4.1 compared to FSR 4. Since this game features foliage in much of its environment, the improvement largely comes down to how FSR 4.1 handles foliage detail.
Sharper detail comes with a stability trade-off
However, while smearing is reduced and detail is improved with FSR 4.1, there is a trade-off. In some situations, the additional detail increases foliage grain, shimmering, and stability artifacts. This is not unique to FSR 4.1. We have seen similar behavior in earlier DLSS versions, and it can occur even with various DLSS 4.5 models depending on the game, scene, and quality settings.
For example, the tree canopy in Mafia: The Old Country is clearly more detailed using FSR 4.1. There is less smearing between branches and leaves, which in my opinion makes the image look better. However, edge stability is worse, leading to more visible flickering around the tree edges. DLSS 4.5 Preset L in this game reproduces a similar level of canopy detail while avoiding most of the stability and grain issues. That said, this stability advantage is not always present when examining grass.
For a better representation of image quality comparisons, check out the HUB video below:
In Assassin's Creed Shadows, fine tree details introduce more instability with FSR 4.1. The image becomes less stable even though it is more detailed. The same applies to Stalker 2. Earlier we mentioned the additional sharpness FSR 4.1 provides, but this comes with the downside of increased grain and reduced stability. DLSS 4.5 Preset L clearly outperforms FSR 4.1 in this game, producing much higher image quality. However, this result is something of an outlier among the titles we tested.
This trade-off between clarity and stability means we did not always prefer the FSR 4.1 output. The results vary depending on the game and on how tolerant you are of visual artifacts.
In some titles, FSR 4.1 was clearly better than FSR 4. In others, the stability issues were noticeable enough to offset the gains in detail. We would strongly recommend that AMD give users the option to choose whether the driver override feature uses FSR 4.0.3 or FSR 4.1, similar to how Nvidia allows users to select the DLSS model they prefer.
It's also worth noting that all the examples shown here use 4K Performance mode. At higher modes such as Quality, foliage smearing is reduced further while introducing less grain and shimmer.
Image stability still favors DLSS
In terms of image stability, FSR 4.1 ranges from slightly better to slightly worse depending on the situation. This is not an update that broadly improves stability, which means that in most examples DLSS 4.5 still delivers the more stable image. It is somewhat disappointing that stability was not a bigger focus, given that it has been a weakness of FSR compared to DLSS. Instead, AMD appears to have prioritized improving detail and reducing smearing.
For a better representation of image quality comparisons, check out the HUB video below:
Our usual Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart test is one example where stability improves slightly with FSR 4.1, especially when viewing the distant blue float in this footage. There is less shimmering around some of the metal elements. In the Mafia boat test, there was not much difference between FSR 4 and FSR 4.1. Both upscalers struggled to render the ropes without flicker and aliasing. Meanwhile, in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, if we look at the top of this fountain, FSR 4.1 produces more detail but also less stability as the element passes in front of a darker roof.
With disocclusion, we did not observe much change when moving from FSR 4 to 4.1. FSR already handled this quite well, so in this area it remains competitive with DLSS 4.5. Ghosting is also largely unchanged. In cases where ghosting appeared with FSR 4, we still observed it with FSR 4.1. However, because smearing is reduced with this new version, objects that previously produced a large smear trail instead of a duplicated ghost image can look somewhat better with FSR 4.1. This is occasionally noticeable with certain particle effects.
Transparency artifacts are improved in situations where FSR 4 previously smeared or obscured details. Examples include the Cyberpunk 2077 fast travel point shown in motion and a Ratchet and Clank scene where hologram details remain visible from farther away. Outside of those cases, however, the difference compared to FSR 4 is relatively small.
There are also a few other scenarios worth mentioning. Both FSR 4 and DLSS 4.5 sometimes struggle with flicker, such as sun highlight reflections on water in Assassin's Creed Shadows. In this situation, FSR 4.1 actually does an excellent job of reducing the flicker and smoothing out artifacts, delivering better stability than the other techniques. This is one of the rare cases where FSR 4.1 clearly produces the best image quality among the options examined here. However, the lighting flicker we observed in Cyberpunk 2077 remains unchanged with FSR 4.1.
Some edge cases show clear improvements
For a better representation of image quality comparisons, check out the HUB video below:
The overlapping fences test in Spider-Man 2 also works better with FSR 4.1. The fences retain more detail and exhibit less smearing, which makes background elements behind them slightly clearer when using lower modes such as 4K Performance.
DLSS 4.5 still holds a clear advantage here due to the lowest level of flicker and shimmer, but FSR 4.1 performs reasonably well. Unfortunately, flicker remains more problematic in a similar test in Cyberpunk 2077, despite the increased detail and clarity offered by FSR 4.1.
Performance: FSR 4 vs. FSR 4.1
We tested several games and observed no performance difference between FSR 4.1 and FSR 4 on the Radeon RX 9070 XT across multiple modes, including Quality, Balanced, and Performance. This suggests that AMD is not using a heavier model that requires additional processing power.
When FSR 4.1 is officially released, users should expect similar performance to the previous version. Typically, this also means FSR 4.1 is lighter to run than DLSS 4.5 Preset L, which we used on Nvidia GPUs throughout this comparison.
FSR 4.1 improves clarity but still trails DLSS
To summarize FSR 4.1 based on the leaked version we have tested, the update a clear step toward improving detail and clarity. Compared to FSR 4, the update noticeably reduces smearing, especially in challenging scenarios such as dense foliage with fast motion. This results in better clarity, more visible detail across the image, and greater perceived sharpness. In some cases it can even make FSR 4.1 feel as if it is rendering at a higher resolution, at least in the 4K Performance mode we focused on today.
However, reducing smearing can come at the cost of stability. FSR 4.1 can occasionally be more stable than FSR 4, but it is often less stable overall, with a higher chance of shimmering and grain when reconstructing difficult fine details. That is the key trade-off: FSR 4.1 is less blurry, but it is also less consistent from frame to frame because the upscaler attempts to resolve those fine details rather than blur them.
That is the key trade-off: FSR 4.1 is less blurry, but it is also less consistent from frame to frame because the upscaler attempts to resolve those fine details rather than blur them.
This trade-off between detail and stability is not unusual with upscalers. Even DLSS 4.5 Preset M showed similar behavior in some examples, particularly around grass. However, DLSS 4.5 generally manages to deliver better clarity while also maintaining superior stability, which results in a better overall image compared to FSR 4.1.
In some cases AMD's output is now closer to DLSS than it was when comparing DLSS 4.5 to FSR 4.0, so this is clearly a step forward. Still, AMD has more work to do.
The key challenge for AMD is learning how to combine clarity with stability. Right now the company seems able to deliver one or the other depending on the model. FSR 4 tends to smear fine details, reducing grain and shimmer during motion. FSR 4.1 resolves those details more clearly but introduces additional grain and shimmer. Achieving both at the same time should be the target, and AMD has struggled to match DLSS-level stability for some time. That should be priority number one.
Until AMD gets there, the best solution may simply be choice. Depending on the game, players might prefer FSR 4.1's sharper presentation or FSR 4's more stable image. We still don't know how AMD plans to roll out FSR 4.1 in future drivers or when it will officially arrive, but giving users the ability to switch between versions would be ideal. Nvidia already does something similar through the Nvidia App, letting players select different DLSS models or revert to earlier ones if a new version introduces issues.
It's also been interesting to write this and evaluate FSR without knowing AMD's official changelog. We have examined this leaked DLL in depth, but it is still possible that we missed something AMD intentionally changed. There is also the possibility that this leak doesn't represent the final version that will ship on day one.
Looking further ahead, AMD's long-term strategy could make FSR far more important. We already know AMD will again supply the graphics silicon for the PlayStation 6 and the next-generation Xbox. What we learned this week is that the custom RDNA 5 chip will place heavy emphasis on machine-learning features such as AI upscaling and neural rendering. That will dramatically expand the platform for AMD's graphics stack and create strong incentives for developers to target FSR going forward, even if backward compatibility with older GPUs remains uncertain.
Which brings us to one final point. FSR4 INT8 support for older RDNA GPUs still matters. It would be disappointing to see AMD move forward with FSR 4.1 on RDNA 4 without providing an updated FSR model for RDNA 3 and RDNA 2 owners. Nvidia supports DLSS 4.5 all the way back to the RTX 20 series (even if there's a performance penalty), so AMD should aim to offer similar support across its GPU generations where possible.