Nvidia, AMD, and Intel have all latched onto AI-powered techniques as a way to enhance their graphics capabilities. Now Arm has entered the arena, shipping a new Arm Accuracy Super Resolution (Arm ASR) technology that’s based on something AMD previously developed.
Arm ASR was initially developed for mobile GPUs, not for PCs. But Arm showed off Arm ASR in a demonstration for Unreal 5, running its desktop renderer on a mobile platform. All told, Arm ASR sped up the rendering engine by 30 percent, suggesting that Arm’s customers—including Qualcomm with its Snapdragon PCs—could use the technology to eventually speed up PC graphics as well.
Arm ASR, which was first announced a year ago, is being released today as an Unreal Engine plugin. A Unity plugin will be available later this year. Arm said that it plans to expand Arm ASR to other platforms, without specifying exactly which ones or when.
Arm ASR is built upon AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution 2 (FSR 2), the older and simpler version that takes lower-resolution images and upscales them, boosting frame rates via faster processing. (AMD’s later iterations, including FSR 3 and FSR 4, also include frame generation.) Arm ASR uses temporal upscaling, however, said to be an improved version.
Arm showed off Arm ASR in its new demonstration video:
Arm said that game developers just need to enable the ASR plugin, configure the project settings to use Temporal Anti-Aliasing, and verify the integration. “Prominent game studios, including Enduring Games, Infold Games, and Sumo Digital, have integrated Arm ASR into their development processes, leading to improved game performance at the same visual quality,” Arm said.
At this point, it’s not clear whether or not licensees like Qualcomm will have access to Arm ASR, given the unexpected IP litigation that’s been brewing between the two. Last week, Qualcomm said that it had filed two additional briefs in its fight against Arm, which was largely settled in Qualcomm’s favor after Arm unexpectedly tried to cancel Qualcomm’s IP license. Those recent briefs ask the court to rule against Arm in an unresolved claim in the IP trial. The second motion supports Qualcomm’s separate attempt to sue Arm for breach of contract.
In an emailed statement, Geraint North, vice president of developer platforms at Arm, declined to comment on whether Qualcomm would have access to the ASR technology. “We don’t comment on specific partners, however Arm Accuracy Super Resolution (Arm ASR) is now open-source and available to all developers to experience the benefits of Arm ASR in their mobile games and graphics projects,” he said.
“To best support this community, we want to make Arm ASR as performant and portable as possible, maximizing the number of upscaling options that developers can choose from,” North added. “Arm ASR is not tied to any particular GPU implementation, and we test across a range of devices to ensure a good experience.
It is true, however, that the Windows on Arm platform in general has struggled to run games, largely because of compatibility issues. As Qualcomm and the Arm ecosystem continue to try and resolve that issue, Arm ASR will probably make gaming on Arm more attractive to developers and end customers alike.
This story was updated at 9:25 AM PT with additional comment from Arm.
Author: Mark Hachman, Senior Editor, PCWorld
Mark has written for PCWorld for the last decade, with 30 years of experience covering technology. He has authored over 3,500 articles for PCWorld alone, covering PC microprocessors, peripherals, and Microsoft Windows, among other topics. Mark has written for publications including PC Magazine, Byte, eWEEK, Popular Science and Electronic Buyers' News, where he shared a Jesse H. Neal Award for breaking news. He recently handed over a collection of several dozen Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs because his office simply has no more room.