Intel is taking aim at Nvidia with the introduction of a new Frame Generation feature on its line of Arc GPUs that fixes a common problem with DLSS.
Intel is a familiar and trusted name in the field of CPUs, but a relative newcomer in the world of graphics cards. As reported by TechRadar, the chipmaker is aiming to try and one-up rival GPUs from Nvidia with the creation of a new frame generation feature called ExtraSS, part of the Intel Arc graphics card feature set.
Technologies such as Nvidia’s DLSS are designed to improve the framerate of the most modern and demanding games by using frame generation – a practice where extra frames are inserted in order to create a smoother experience for players. Nvidia and AMD both use a technique called frame interpolation to achieve the effect, but Intel has instead opted for frame extrapolation.
Accuracy versus input lag
Frame interpolation uses the information from two frames to generate the extra frame – the frames that come before and after. Intel will be using extrapolation, which uses only one frame of data to create the extra frame. This means the system has to guess more about the contents of the frame it is creating, but crucially it also reduces the input lag.
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By using extrapolation, Intel can score an advantage against its rivals at AMD and Nvidia, especially when it comes to extremely fast-paced games and esports like Counter-Strike 2 or Fortnite where response time is critical.
Despite the advantage in terms of input speed, Intel is still having to make a trade-off against the accuracy of the generated frames. Though fundamentally, the technology behind ExtraSS is not that far removed from Nvidia’s DLSS, it remains to be seen how it will perform in real-world situations, and how gamers, in particular, will react to it.