• A brand new leak exhibits that AMD’s Zen 6 APUs will use RDNA 3.5 structure as a substitute of RDNA 4
• RDNA 4 is proven to be unique to discrete GPUs solely through GPUOpen Drivers
• This implies future handhelds or laptops utilizing Medusa Level APUs could not have FSR 4

Whereas we await AMD’s addition to its Strix Level Ryzen AI 300 collection processors – just like the Ryzen Z2 Excessive for handheld gaming PCs – Workforce Pink is already planning its subsequent era of cell APUs, codenamed ‘Medusa Level’. Sadly, there’s been some disappointing information.

In response to Kepler_L2 (who covers tech rumors and leaks) on X, AMD’s upcoming Zen 6 APUs (notably the Medusa Level lineup) will not use RDNA 4 structure – primarily based on unearthed code in AMD’s GPUOpen Drivers – and as a substitute, will probably use RDNA 3.5. This discovery was made through RDNA 4’s gadget ID ‘Gfxlp12’, which is for discrete GPUs solely in line with one line of the code.

Basically, which means next-gen options like FSR 4 probably will not be obtainable on any gadgets that use next-gen Zen 6 APUs – which will probably be an enormous disappointment for a lot of anticipating the brand new upscaling tech to return to handhelds or laptops. We do not but know what APUs are included within the Medusa Level lineup or whether or not any of its processors will star in future handheld gaming PCs, however given the tempo of improvement within the handheld market proper now, it might be a shock in the event that they didn’t.

Whereas no FSR 4 is not precisely a dealbreaker, it has been proven to supply distinctive picture high quality enhancements – particularly inside its efficiency mode, in some sequences even outdoing Nvidia’s DLSS 3 CNN mannequin – and it might assist change FSR 3’s present efficiency mode, which considerably sacrifices picture high quality for higher efficiency.

This leaves me anxious concerning the state of potential Medusa Level APU-powered handheld gaming PCs…

I need to make clear once more that we nonetheless know little or no about Medusa Level APUs, significantly whether or not they’ll be used for handheld gaming PCs. However assuming that they may (which I am nearly actually positive of), no FSR 4 is a disappointment, to say the least.

I am conscious that AMD is not ruling out the possibility of FSR 4 coming to RDNA 3: Nvidia’s Body Era tech might solely now be making its strategy to RTX 3000 collection GPUs, much like FSR 4’s potential backport. Nonetheless, I am satisfied that even when it does, it will not be the complete package deal, with the brand new frame-gen mannequin probably lacking.

The excellent news is that the upcoming Medusa Level processors could yield unbelievable efficiency leads to video games regardless – we have seen AMD’s chief rival Intel obtain this just lately, with the MSI Claw 8 AI+ utilizing Intel’s Core Extremely 7 258V processor to supply an enormous bounce over the unique Intel-powered Claw, however there are nonetheless video games that positively require upscaling.

Hopefully, FSR 4 exclusivity on RDNA 4 GPUs can finish quickly (as this could even assist present handhelds just like the Asus ROG Ally), however I doubt it. Let’s pray that I am improper.

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