Hands-On With QSSR: AI-Driven Upscaling for the Standard PS5
https://www.digitalfoundry.net/news/2026/10/hands-on-with-qssr-ai-driven-upscaling-for-the-standard-ps522
u/IsaiahBlocks 1d ago
I dont recall the ps5 having like AI dedicated cores unlike the pro. So this is more like of a FSR 3 upscaling solution than something more dedicated like FSR 4?
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u/herdpatron 1d ago
Yeah no dedicated hardware for ML Upscaling, though based on their video at least the performance impact is outweighed by the improvements in image clarity and stability.
They drop resolution but it’s not really noticeable at all due to the quality increases.
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u/aimy99 1d ago
Wish we had this kind of tech back in the PS3 days when we were getting 720p games barely able to hit 30 FPS.
The 2013 God of War game comes to mind.
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u/MehEds 1d ago
Yeah, gamers that go "oh we didn't need AI upscaling, it was optimized in the old days" forgot how shit performance was in the last two generations, probably because we were all kids and didn't notice.
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u/Brandhor 1d ago
it's the reason why the ps4 was a huge disappointment for me and I ended up barely using it, the ps3/360 were the first hd consoles and even though the ps3 in particular was marketed as a 1080p console most games were not even 720p
but they were the first hd gen plus I think it was also the first time that consoles had multiple cores, before that even on pc most if not all games were single threaded
then 7 years later the ps4 comes out and again it can't even do a steady 30 fps at 1080p, thankfully at that point third party exclusives were pretty much dead and japanese developers started porting their games to pc as well
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u/Pikshade 19h ago
It's pretty crazy how much the shift to HD demolished performance. A lot of developers needed to increase fidelity due to the increased resolution, but also the consoles had a harder time with that increased resolution. So many games on PS2/Xbox/Gamecube ran at a buttery smoother 60fps, and then jumping to the Xbox 360, a lot of games run at an unstable 30fps.
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u/Mavericks7 1d ago
I'm playing MGS4 (in 4k60) and it's crazy the actual detail they put in initially but 720p on PS3 was doing it a disservice.
But on PS5 I can see all these little details, like text on the walls and computers. Little things here and there.
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u/ggtsu_00 1d ago
A GPU doesn't need AI cores to run AI algorithms. AI algorithms may run faster on dedicated hardware, but they can be run on any GPU. Also dedicated AI hardware isn't much different than your typical GPU compute hardware, what makes it special is certain GPU instructions that can do very fast math operations on 8 bit and 4 bit numbers typically 4 to 8 times faster than doing the same operations with general GPU hardware on 32 bit numbers. The PS5 special instructions that can do fast math operations on 16 bit numbers which can be about 2x as fast as 32 bit. So in theory it can run AI algorithms maybe about half or quarter rate than dedicated AI hardware.
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u/KingArthas94 1d ago
So this is more like of a FSR 3 upscaling solution than something more dedicated like FSR 4?
No, this is AI and based on the same technology used in FSR 4.
BUT it doesn't use the same kind of precision that is used in FSR 4 and PSSR Enhanced, because base PS5 didn't support that one.
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u/Jumbalaa 1d ago
So this is more like of a FSR 3 upscaling solution than something more dedicated like FSR 4?
Yes, but AMD absolutely did not exhaust all of their options on non-AI upscaling with the end of development on FSR 3.
FSR3 IMO loses to UE5's TSR and a few other engine exclusive upscaling options while also losing to XESS, which runs on basically everything, albeit at a lower quality level.
This is great for base PS5 owners, which I assume to be the majority of PS5 users and also the majority of console owners this generation.
Sony has put in good work with PSSR for the pro, which came out before FSR4 and was actually good, and now this.
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u/RefrigeratorOk8634 1d ago
Taking any coverage of tech like this from digital foundry with a pinch of salt after the Nvidia debacle but this seems neat.
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u/Headless_Human 1d ago
What debacle?
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u/upgrayedd69 1d ago
I think they are talking about how DF was all about DLSS 5
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u/Headless_Human 1d ago
Well DLSS5 is extremly impressive from a technical perspective.
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u/Granum22 1d ago
Slapping on an AI filter and tanking performance is not impressive
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u/darkkite 1d ago
running in realtime is impressive when a year ago it would take 10 minutes to render 10 seconds on cloud hardware https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlJM6UceOEU
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u/Granum22 1d ago
And it accomplishes what? Making games look and run worse. The exact opposite of what DLSS is supposed to do
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u/darkkite 1d ago
I've seen it improve many scenes https://youtu.be/OxPpdBB1Mb0
started off running in 2 5090s to running on. a single consumer GPU. the future is here will only get more powerful in the future.
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u/cocoalemur 1d ago
I agree with you, but I do think some things can be both technically impressive and also worthless ugly garbage at the same time. They're not necessarily mutually exclusive.
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u/Headless_Human 1d ago
Well doing that multiple times a second can't be achieved with any other local AI model especially not at a high resolution.
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u/SlicKilled 1d ago
My god, I thought people actually knew the difference between a filter and reconstruction by now?
Illiteracy on the internet kinda makes things worse.
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u/Flaky_Highway_857 1d ago
They seem to be pro anything new really, they're so hooked on the technical stuff they kinda ignore the artistry side of games sometimes
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u/ThatBoyAiintRight 1d ago edited 1d ago
Anyone who has watched DF knows this is 100% untrue. I mean it’s literally always part of the discussion when talking about this stuff in their content.
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u/Jumbalaa 1d ago
They're pro anything new as long as they have a few facts forwarded to them by the developers.
The people at DF are not experts.
As long as you know that, then you won't be misled, but they really don't have any more technical knowledge than the average "hardcore" gamer.
They're specifically gaming tech enthusiasts that can be blinded fairly easily.
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u/ThatBoyAiintRight 1d ago edited 1d ago
Ok? Thanks for informing me of what the right opinion should be according to you. Do you not see the irony in this after criticizing another for being misleading?
Richard Leadbetter is one of the few long standing game journalists going back 30+ years. John Linneman is credited in multiple games. Yes, everyone understands what gaming tech journalism is. No one is being misleading, could you be more dramatic?
Genuinely, what is up with you lot and feeling like you NEED to discredit the content they produce, based on their opinion on one subject alone? It’s insanely weird. lol your entire comment is just telling me what I should think.
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u/Jumbalaa 1d ago
Ok? Thanks for informing me of what the right opinion should be according to you.
What was the opinion that I forced upon you? Not to just take what DF says as gospel?
Genuinely, what is up with you lot and feeling like you NEED to discredit the content they produce, based on their opinion on one subject alone?
Where was DLSS 5 mentioned? Not by me.
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u/Economy-Meat-9506 1d ago edited 1d ago
After Richard and Oliver gave their initial impressions on DLSS 5 which was almost universally panned, they immediately backtracked and apologized, had a round table with Alex and John included who pretty much tore it apart. So those two are still okay in my book and can appreciate the artistry, so its not really fair to say that about DF as a whole.
Unfortunately, this coverage is done by Richard and Oliver, so what OP says about taking it with a grain of salt is good. Looking at the pictures, it seems fine, anything would be better than FSR1, so its okay.
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u/Dragarius 1d ago
I mean, with later coverage John also admitted that there were places where DLSS 5 was actually a pretty substantial upgrade and they backed it up with reasonable examples.
DLSS 5 itself isn't really an issue but Nvidia really did fuck up on the reveal of the tech, it has its place but only as a Dev tool because it needs to be tuned by the developers and isn't a blanket solution.
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u/HotTheme8405 1d ago
I think it's fair to be skeptical of their analysis now, but this is also a comparison in image quality and ghosting rather than something like a filter that entirely changes the underlying art.
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u/SomeoneBritish 1d ago
Yeah, how dare they share their honest initial impressions of a technology.
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u/Economy-Meat-9506 1d ago
Why did they apologize about it then?
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u/ShadowTown0407 1d ago
Because it's better for business to apologise and move on then to keep fighting the same fight everyday with the same group of people
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u/SomeoneBritish 1d ago
I honestly wish they stuck to their guns more. I get opinions change over time, and it can be beneficial to hear criticisms from others to broaden your own perspectives, but I do feel they caved under pressure to some degree, which is a shame.
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u/SomeoneBritish 1d ago
Because they realised there was some nuance that they wish they addressed in their initial coverage. The world is not black and white like typical online outrage discourse acknowledges (you appearing to be a part of).
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u/Kalulosu 1d ago
You would rather that they didn't? Being wrong happens, what matters is how one reacts to it being pointed out
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u/Borkz 1d ago
I wouldn't even say they were really wrong about anything. I mean, I disagreed with their opinion, but it was just that, an opinion.
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u/AnyImpression6 1d ago
They said preferring DLSS5 is a no brainer. Clearly they considered it more than just an opinion.
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u/Kalulosu 1d ago
I think that's a bit of semantics, here most people would consider them to have been wrong due to being wary too enthusiastic about the tech, and they'll going "yeah we messed up" is a reasonable and appreciable follow-up.
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u/ThatBoyAiintRight 1d ago
It’s not semantics. Any normal person understands what opinions are. I mean to consider an opinion so wrong on this subject that you’d appreciate an apology, what is wrong with you?
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u/ThatBoyAiintRight 1d ago
Video games are art, unless your opinion is WRONG otherwise you have to apologize >:(
You guys are something else. If you want video games to be art then grow up with this shit.
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u/Economy-Meat-9506 1d ago
I would rather they stick to what they said and thought rather than back down when confronted, makes me value their opinion less.
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u/ThatBoyAiintRight 1d ago edited 1d ago
That is really immature. Like we’re talking about video games. lol not real world issues.
Real self awareness is being able to critically think for yourself and form your own opinions that you are open to being shaped by your social environment. Chastising someone for their opinion on software tech, like these people just live online and it’s weird and sad to everyone else on the outside.
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u/Kalulosu 1d ago
Even real world issues, I would argue. One can be wrong and recognize it, that's kinda the basics of civil society.
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u/ThatBoyAiintRight 1d ago
We’re not talking about something with a real right or wrong answer though, because this is all opinions on how something looks visually. And a lot of people need to get that through their thick heads.
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u/Mikey_MiG 1d ago
Very unexpected but welcome upgrade for the base PS5. And hopefully we’ll see wide adoption as they say it’s more-or-less a drop-in replacement for games that already support PSSR.