Exciting news for Intel graphics card owners! The company has just announced that its brand-new XeSS 3 technology, which includes multi-frame generation, will instantly work with all games that currently support XeSS 2. This means existing games will benefit from Intel’s latest GPU upscaling innovation without needing any updates from developers.
Previously, multi-frame generation was a premium feature exclusive to owners of the latest Nvidia graphics cards, enabled by technologies like Nvidia DLSS 4. However, Intel’s new software is democratizing this powerful functionality, making it accessible to a wider range of Intel GPUs. This could be a game-changer, especially for lower-powered systems and integrated GPUs.
This exciting development was confirmed by Intel fellow Tom Petersen. Crucially, this feature will integrate seamlessly into existing XeSS 2 games, acting as a direct replacement. This means game developers won’t need to perform any additional work to enable XeSS 3’s benefits for their titles.
Similar to DLSS 4, XeSS-MFG works by inserting up to three AI-generated frames between each frame rendered by your hardware. Users will have the flexibility to select 2x, 3x, or 4x frame generation modes directly within the Intel Graphics Software application, potentially leading to significantly smoother visuals – up to four times the original motion fluidity. However, a solid base framerate, ideally above 60 frames per second, is recommended for optimal performance to avoid visual artifacts or glitches.
Intel has ambitious plans to extend XeSS-MFG support across its entire Xe GPU family. Initially, the feature will roll out to Intel Core Ultra 200 series CPUs with Xe2 cores, as well as Intel Arc A and B-series GPUs. Older Xe1 GPUs are slated to receive support at a later date, followed by upcoming Intel Panther Lake CPUs, which will feature Xe3 GPU cores.
Full details on XeSS 3 are still emerging, but initial performance data, shared by Hassan Mujtaba of Wccftech, looks highly promising. In a test using XeSS-MFG with ultra quality upscaling, frame rates in ‘Painkiller’ reportedly jumped from a native 62.9fps to an impressive 245fps. Similarly, ‘Dying Light The Beast’ saw a boost from 34.2fps to 133fps, utilizing an unannounced Panther Lake CPU equipped with 12 Xe3 cores.
These are truly remarkable performance gains that, if consistently replicated, could drastically improve the gaming experience for those relying on Intel’s integrated GPUs. This multi-frame generation capability could also provide Intel GPU users a significant edge over AMD’s current offerings in the lower-end market, where this functionality is often absent.
The next big question is how effectively Intel can expand this support. With currently fewer than 50 games optimized for XeSS 2, its widespread adoption will be key. If Intel can solidify XeSS 3 as a compelling alternative, it has the potential to become a formidable contender against both AMD and Nvidia, particularly in the competitive budget gaming GPU segment.
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