senn-techFSR 4.1 on Radeon RX 6000: tested on RDNA 2 with INT8
On 20 October 2026 AMD released the Adrenalin driver 26.10.1. Its release notes contain a line that is new for many owners of older cards: "AMD FSR Upscaling 4.1 support for: AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series Graphics products". Besides the RX 6000 series, the list covers Ryzen AI Max 300/400 and Ryzen AI 9 300/400. The driver compatibility list names the RX 6900, 6800, 6700, 6600, 6500 and 6400 for the RX 6000 series. ComputerBase writes that this was officially planned for 2027.
The release notes give no performance figures and say nothing about INT8, FP8 or Vulkan. On the model AMD speaks in its newsroom announcement; the measurements come from ComputerBase. We sort it with three labels: verified, inferred and vendor-claimed.
What AMD confirms and what it does not
Verified (AMD, release notes of 20 October 2026): the driver is for Windows 10 and 11, and the compatibility list covers RX 6000, RX 5000 and RX 7000, among others. For laptops and all-in-one PCs AMD recommends the device maker's driver, and according to AMD the Adrenalin driver does not support handhelds.
Vendor-claimed (via the press, not in the release notes): Borncity reports that FSR 4.1 improves performance in more than 300 games and that FSR is usable in more than 400 titles. These figures are not in the GamingOnLinux piece. For the Xbox Series X|S GamingOnLinux says "coming soon", without a date. None of these numbers has been checked independently.
INT8 on RDNA 2: AMD's statement, the rest inferred
Verified (AMD, newsroom, 20 October 2026): AMD says it optimised the INT8 model originally created for FSR Upscaling 4.1 on the Radeon RX 7000, which enables support for the RX 6000 first released in 2020. The post gives no further technical detail. ComputerBase concludes that RDNA 2 runs a slightly adapted INT8 variant of the RDNA 3 model, while RDNA 4 uses FP8. The FP8 part is the editors' inference, not a statement from AMD. For RDNA 3 ComputerBase describes the quality, in paraphrase, as close to the original but not quite at its level. The image-quality order is therefore RDNA 4 ahead of RDNA 3 ahead of RDNA 2, and in games the differences are mostly small.
Measurements on the RX 6950 XT
ComputerBase published its test on 23 October 2026, measured with driver 26.10.1: RX 6950 XT, RX 7900 GRE and RX 9070 GRE, 13 games. At 1440p it used FSR 4.1 Quality, at 4K FSR 4.1 Performance. The baseline is FSR 3.1 at the same level. This is one test series by one tester.
The means give these losses:
| Card | 1440p (FSR 3.1 to 4.1) | 4K (FSR 3.1 to 4.1) |
|---|---|---|
| RX 6950 XT | 82.3 to 74.4 FPS, about minus 10 % | 68.0 to 54.9 FPS, about minus 19 % |
| RX 7900 GRE | 86.9 to 75.6 FPS, about minus 13 % | 70.1 to 53.5 FPS, about minus 24 % |
| RX 9070 GRE | 85.6 to 82.7 FPS, about minus 3 % | 69.7 to 63.1 FPS, about minus 10 % |
Elsewhere ComputerBase gives higher figures: its conclusion puts the RX 6950 XT at an average loss of 24 percent at 4K and 11 percent at 1440p, and 35 percent in the worst case. For single games the card's 4K loss runs from 15 percent (Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced) to 26 percent (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4). The pages we retrieved do not explain why the conclusion average sits above the mean in the table. One possible cause is the method (averaging per-game losses instead of taking the loss of the geometric mean); that is our guess. Anyone quoting a number should say which one.
On image quality ComputerBase writes: "Even on the older RDNA 2 generation, image quality is many times better than with FSR Upscaling 3.1." In the editors' view, anyone who played FSR 3.1 at Quality can switch to Performance without worry.
What RX 6000 owners should check before updating
Known issues from the release notes: on Windows 10, Smart Access Memory can be disabled after installation. For War Thunder on the RX 5000, AMD recommends driver 26.9.1 as a fallback and the AMD Cleanup Utility when going back.
A sensible order:
- Note the installed driver and keep the 26.9.1 installer. On Windows 10, check SAM and Resizable BAR afterwards.
- Compare your own game with FSR 3.1 and 4.1 at the same level, using frame times and not only FPS. The test covers an RX 6950 XT, and there is no data for weaker cards.
- Check whether the game offers FSR 4.x. The game list is in the Adrenalin app.
For Linux there is currently no reliable statement. GamingOnLinux quotes that FSR 4 is to come to Vulkan with the AMD FSR SDK 2.4, and the author saw no date anywhere. Borncity writes that AMD confirmed a Vulkan integration soon but names no time, and that explicit confirmation for Linux is still missing.
What stays open
The measurement comes from one tester and covers only three cards. For the RX 6700, 6600 and smaller models there are no published figures. The FP8 assignment for RDNA 4 is ComputerBase's inference, and AMD gives no date for Vulkan or the Xbox. The number of games with FSR 4.x is a vendor claim relayed by the press.
Further sources
- AMD Newsroom: FSR Upscaling 4.1 Boosts Frames and Image Quality: INT8 model for RX 6000, announcement of 20 October 2026 (primary source)
- AMD: Release notes Adrenalin 26.10.1: card list, known issues (primary source)
- ComputerBase: FSR 4.1 on Radeon RX 6000 and RDNA 3 tested: measurements, image quality, INT8 assessment
- GamingOnLinux: AMD FSR Upscaling 4.1 expands support: announcement, Vulkan and SDK 2.4
- Borncity: AMD FSR 4.1 Upscaling reaches Radeon RX 6000 and Xbox consoles: game counts, Xbox, Linux note
- AMD Gaming on YouTube: AMD FSR Upscaling 4.1 for Desktop, Laptop, Handheld and Console: announcement video, 20 October 2026
- Simple Icons: amd.svg: AMD logo, CC0
Which driver runs FSR 4.1 on the Radeon RX 6000?+
According to the release notes for Adrenalin 26.10.1 (20 October 2026), FSR Upscaling 4.1 is included for the Radeon RX 6000 series. The driver compatibility list runs from the RX 6900 down to the RX 6400. It is a Windows driver; for Linux the notes say nothing.
How much performance does FSR 4.1 cost compared with FSR 3.1 on RDNA 2?+
ComputerBase measured 13 games with driver 26.10.1 on an RX 6950 XT, with no ray-tracing setting stated. The geometric mean drops from 82.3 to 74.4 FPS at 1440p with FSR Quality (about 10 percent) and from 68.0 to 54.9 FPS at 4K with FSR Performance (about 19 percent). That is one tester measuring one card.
Does FSR 4.1 work on RDNA 2 under Linux?+
AMD has said nothing about it so far. The Vulkan integration is meant to arrive with the FSR SDK 2.4, with no date given. If you game on Linux, wait for now. We have not checked community routes such as OptiScaler.