Powercolor Hellhound 7900 XT Tested – Just How Effective is FSR?

The GPU power battle rages on, and I suspect it will continue to do so. However, it seems in recent years the biggest performance gains haven't been thanks to increased speeds and core counts, but through AI scaling technologies. While Nvidia has DLSS and Intel has XeSS, AMD has been making waves with their own technology, FSR. Which one is better is a debate for another day, and frankly, one with an ever-changing answer on a per-game basis too. However, today, it's all about the new Powercolor Hellhound 7900 XT, one of the most potent AMD cards to date, sitting just below the XTX models. However, with FSR technology, just how far can we push FPS in some of our favourite games? What is FSR? FSR, like rival brands' similar technologies, is technically an AI-trained upscale technology. It renders a game at a lower resolution and then upscales it to your native resolution. If all goes well, you get a potentially massive FPS boost, while retaining a visual fidelity that is close to rendering at native resolutions. As AMD put it "A state-of-the-art spatial upscaling algorithm delivers near-native resolution quality gaming experiences with super high-quality edges and detail." and well, from our own personal experience, it works really, really well. It's also been with us for quite some time now, with new versions of FidelityFX being released over the last year, and new versions announced that are on the horizon. They all largely do the same thing, but better than the last, and the number of games supports continues to grow pretty much every week. Games with FSR Support There are well over 100 games that now support FSR, and there are now more than a dozen games that support the newer FSR 2. A complete list is available on the AMD website, but most games are proud to tout the scaling features they support, so you can usually simply check the appropriate Steam page (or equivalent) for your favourite game. Sponsored by Powercolor About the Powercolor Hellhound RX 7900 XT Powercolor is well known for creating many of the best AMD cards on the market. They have a great history of providing some of the most robust power delivery designs, more power coolers, and the biggest overclocks to AMD cards, often resulting in class-leading benchmarks. They also have some of the coolest names, such as Devil and Hellhound, that is unless you're uncomfortable with the satanic naming structure, but the aggressiveness of the names is very indicative of the power levels they attribute to such models. Powercolor Hellhound 7900 XT Video Memory: 20GB GDDR6Stream Processor: 5376 UnitsGame Clock: 2130 MHz (OC) / 2025 MHz (Silent)Boost Clock: 2500 MHz (OC) / 2395 MHz (Silent)Memory Clock: 20.0 Gbps.Memory Interface: 320-bit.1 x HDMI 2.1 , 3 x DisplayPort 2.1 For in-depth features and specifications, you can check out the official Powercolor Hellhound 7900 XT product page here. "Meet the latest addition to the incredible AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT series graphics cards, experience Breakthrough new levels of performance with 20GB of GDDR6 memory and blazing fast clock speeds to deliver an incredible experience at 4K and beyond. Powered by the all-new RDNA3 architecture featuring industry-advancing chiplet technology to deliver next-generation performance, visuals, and power efficiency. Discover new levels of performance with advanced AMD RDNA™ 3 compute units, featuring redesigned raytracing accelerators for incredible performance while improving image fidelity." - Powercolor The PowerColor Hellhound RX 7900 XT adopts a triple ringed-fan solution (100 x 90 x 100mm), a set of 8 x 6φ heatpipes running through the heatsink, and a copper plate directly touching the GPU while covering VRAM to achieve better cooling efficiency. In addition, the product is built with a comprehensive 10+3+1+2+1 phase VRM design and DrMOS that comes with IMON real-time digital monitoring, aiming at providing reliable performance output during gaming. Hellhound VRM Hellhound adopts a 10+3+1 phase VRM design with DrMOS to power the GPU as well as an additional 2+1 phase specifically designated for the VRAM. New IMON technology monitors and reports the electric current and power consumption in each individual phase. By balancing the workload, the Hellhound ensures unparalleled stability and thermal protection during overclocking. In addition, high-quality car-grade polymer capacitors feature long-lasting durability and high conductivity lowering power loss during transmission. Cyberpunk 2077 Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world, action-adventure RPG set in the megalopolis of Night City, where you play as a cyberpunk mercenary wrapped up in a do-or-die fight for survival. Improved and featuring all-new free additional content, customize your character and playstyle as you take on jobs, build a reputation, and unlock upgrades. The relationships you forge and the choices you make will shape the story and the world around you. Legends are made here. What will yours be? Available now on Steam. The numbers are clear here for 1440p and 4K, seeing some noticeable improvements in the FPS with only a mild loss in fidelity as we switch to quality and performance modes. However, for some reason, at 1080p performance gets WORSE as we increase FSR... So uhm, yeah, don't do that at 1080p. 1080 1440 2160 (4K) Deep Rock Galactic Deep Rock Galactic is a 1-4 player co-op FPS featuring badass space Dwarves, 100% destructible environments, procedurally-generated caves, and endless hordes of alien monsters. Available now on Steam. This game is somewhat FPS limited at 1080p, hovering around 360 FPS at 1080p regardless of settings. However, as you move up to 4K, the FPS cost is clearly a lot higher, with FSR hitting 80 and 180 FPS higher than No FSR, which is frankly an insanely huge improvement for such a low impact on fidelity. 1080 1440 2160 (4K) Dying Light 2 The virus won and civilization has fallen back to the Dark Ages. The City, one of the last human settlements, is on the brink of collapse. Use your agility and combat skills to survive, and reshape the world. Your choices matter. Available now on Steam. Dyin Light is fast enough at Full HD to leave FSR off unless you really need more than 195 FPS that is. However, moving up to 4K, the game is not that far ahead of 60 FPS when maxed out. If you're wanting to do 4K 144Hz, then Performance mode is going to get the job done, 1080 1440 2160 (4K) F1 22 Enter the new era of Formula 1 in EA SPORTS F1 22, the official video game of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship. Take your seat for a new season as redesigned cars and overhauled rules redefine race day, test your skills around the new Miami International Autodrome, and get a taste of the glitz and glamour in F1 Life. Available now on Steam. F1 22 is fantastically well optimised, so big FPS is easy to hit at all resolutions. Frankly, while FSR does work, it almost doesn't seem like you need it. However, when you do enable it, the overall fidelity hit is surprisingly low and the gameplay looks superb, so it's really up to you if you want to hit 300 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is an impressive thing to see. 1080 1440 2160 (4K) Forza Horizon 5 Your Ultimate Horizon Adventure awaits! Explore the vibrant open world landscapes of Mexico with limitless, fun driving action in the world’s greatest cars. Conquer the rugged Sierra Nueva in the ultimate Horizon Rally experience. Requires Forza Horizon 5 game, expansion sold separately. Available now on Steam. Forza only recently got upscaling technologies, and it seems like it still needs some work as in Quality, performance was actually lowered, and Performance was broadly the same as No FSR. However, the overall fidelity was fairly similar throughout. 1080 1440 2160 (4K) Hogwarts Legacy Your Ultimate Horizon Adventure awaits! Explore the vibrant open world landscapes of Mexico with limitless, fun driving action in the world’s greatest cars. Conquer the rugged Sierra Nueva in the ultimate Horizon Rally experience. Requires Forza Horizon 5 game, expansion sold separately. Available now on Steam. Again, at full HD this one doesn't seem to have much of an impact, with similar FPS and video quality regardless of the settings you choose. However, that changes fast at 1440p, seeing huge performance improvements in both Quality and Performance modes, which is great for the more common 144 and 165Hz gaming monitors at this resolution. Moving up to 4K, the performance gains are huge too, going from 70 FPS to 140 FPS is frankly astounding and the video quality still looks really good, with only a tiny bit of haze on the finer details. 1080 1440 2160 (4K) Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 The Microsoft Flight Simulator Game of the Year (GOTY) Edition celebrates all the positive feedback, reviews and awards garnered, but it is also a “Thank You” to our fans – new and old – that have made Microsoft Flight Simulator such a phenomenon. Best of all, the Microsoft Flight Simulator Game of the Year Edition will be available as a free update for existing players on PC. Available now on Steam. Another one with little change, and sometimes, worse performance. however, it seems pretty much essential at 4K, as fidelity is maintained really well, and it's the only way to get past 60 FPS, but clearly, sticking with Quality makes sense, as Performance mode seems to make things similar or worse. 1080 1440 2160 (4K) No Man's Sky Inspired by the adventure and imagination that we love from classic science-fiction, No Man's Sky presents you with a galaxy to explore, filled with unique planets and lifeforms, and constant danger and action. In No Man's Sky, every star is the light of a distant sun, each orbited by planets filled with life, and you can go to any of them you choose. Fly smoothly from deep space to planetary surfaces, with no loading screens, and no limits. In this infinite procedurally generated universe, you'll discover places and creatures that no other players have seen before - and perhaps never will again. Available now on Steam. No Man's Sky just keeps on getting better, and if you're tired of gaming at just 101 FPS at 4K Ultra... I know right, such a drag, well then dialling in Quality mode will get you to 128 FPS and Performance to 158 FPS. However, at HD or 1440, you may as well stick with native resolution, as the performance gains are not that good, or a little worse. 1080 1440 2160 (4K) Red Dead Redemption 2 Winner of over 175 Game of the Year Awards and recipient of over 250 perfect scores, RDR2 is the epic tale of outlaw Arthur Morgan and the infamous Van der Linde gang, on the run across America at the dawn of the modern age. Also includes access to the shared living world of Red Dead Online. Available now on Steam. Getting good FPS in Red Dead Redemption is pretty easy with this GPU, and again, at HD or 1440, both Quality and Performance modes offer good gains, but it's hardly needed for the most part. However, the boost at 4K is going to make a big difference for those gaming on a 4K/120Hz+ displays. 1080 1440 2160 (4K) Where to Buy The PowerColor AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT Hellhound 20GB Graphics Card is available at Scan.co.uk for just £863.99. Overview When it comes to performance, the PowerColor AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT Hellhound 20GB Graphics Card certainly has a lot to offer. That's not to say there aren't some strong rivals out there though, the RTX 4000 series cards are offering very competitive performance, and the AMD XTX class card can push even further if you want to go even bigger on AMD hardware. The only real contender right now is price, and it's certainly the most expensive generation we've had to deal with. However, when it comes down to delivering brutally fast FPS, it's clear these cars, and the PowerColor AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT Hellhound have no issues with performance. Even with no FSR enabled, it's possible to get some big results with the PowerColor AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT Hellhound. Gaming at 1080 or 1440 can pretty much be done at ultra settings without FSR and you'll get good results. However, at 1440, some games clearly benefit from FPS Quality mode. Cyberpunk at 4K Ultra was hitting an average of 60 FPS, and it's one of the most demanding games out there when maxed out using all the latest visual enhancement modes. However, with performance mode FSR, even that saw a significant boost to 102 FPS maxed out at 4K. Games like F1 could be pushed from 239 FPS to break 300 FPS, which is way more than most people need, but it's great to see that it can be done for all you frame junkies. Outside the testing shown today, some games saw little or no benefit from the FSR technology though, such as Spider-Man, but when we're also hitting 182 FPS at 1080 Ultra it hardly felt like it was required anyway. Of course, in some of these cases, regular updates to FSR are bringing steady improvements over time, and I'm eager to keep an eye on that. There are certainly some interesting results though, such as games that have had this added after releases, vs games built with it in mind. Depending on your resolution, FSR can be a real game changer though. For Full HD it really doesn't feel like it is required, the GPU is natively very powerful. At 1440p, it offers enough boost to get your games to fast FPS to support 120-165Hz gaming monitors without having to compromise on quality. However, at 4K, the GPU seems largely capable to game at 60 FPS and above, but if you have a high refresh rate 4K monitor or a 4K 120Hz TV, FSR is freaking awesome. Just look at games like Dying Light 2, going from 68 FPS to 110 FPS at Quality and 144 in Performance mode, that is purely fantastic! What do you think of FSR, are you happy with the quality and performance it can deliver? I know I am, and I'm eager to see these technologies taken to the next level in the coming years.