Microsoft is poised to release a DLSS-like feature, AI super-resolution, to the next Windows update, which could help to improve gaming performance on older systems.
Windows 12 isn’t happening any time soon, after several rumors over the past several weeks, it was revealed that the company is planning a significant update to the OS in the second half of 2024. The update is appropriately named the 24H2 update.
The update will enhance support for AI features like Copilot, but it’s not all about chatbots and image generation. The new update will also add gaming-focused features, as one Twitter / X user pointed out.
Version 24H2 will have an AI "Super Resolution" feature, as previous reports mentioned. Here are some settings for it in Graphics settings – a default toggle and per-app options. (26052) pic.twitter.com/fI9t4ksTWH
— PhantomOcean3 🌳 (@PhantomOfEarth) February 10, 2024
The feature will add “Super Resolution” features, which functionally act in the same way as DLSS 2 and FSR 2. It is named “Auto SR”, which scales a game’s internal resolution down, then upscales it using AI. The difference with Windows’s implementation here is that it will not rely on the GPU itself for this, but instead on an assumed Neural Processing Unit, likely coming from your CPU.
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Faster AI-processing CPUs are coming
Newer CPUs such as upcoming ones from both AMD and Intel are set to increase their AI performance. We’re still expecting to see next-gen CPUs released in the second half of this year, and this Microsoft update seems to be angled around the increased capabilities of this new hardware.
Auto SR seems to be a feature more geared toward users who want to inject this straight into a title that might not have DLSS or FSR enabled in the settings menus. The tweet even specifies that you can configure it on a system level, or a per-game basis. They also note that there may be some unexpected results, as the tech improves. So, even if you have a powerful GPU, there could still be some use for the feature in modern systems.