Microsoft has unveiled a new feature that will excite gamers on Windows 11, especially those using machines equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X chip: Auto SR, or “Automatic Super Resolution.” This impressive-sounding name hides an AI-based upscaling solution, similar to NVIDIA’s DLSS or AMD’s FSR.
So, what exactly is upscaling?
Imagine playing on a 4K screen, but your GPU struggles and displays a much lower native resolution, like 1080p. Upscaling artificially increases the image resolution to 4K, giving you a much more detailed rendering while preserving your precious FPS. Of course, Auto SR has some limitations since it is currently only available for Snapdragon X chips that include an NPU (the processor dedicated to AI). Additionally, it only works with native ARM games and certain DirectX 11 and 12 titles (forget DirectX 8/9, OpenGL/Vulkan).
Auto SR also does not support display resolutions below 1080p or HDR, which is unfortunate if you have a high-quality OLED or IPS display. Sometimes, you may need to tweak registry keys to enable options, making it not very user-friendly.
However, major games like The Witcher 3, God of War, and Borderlands 3 are already compatible. For other games, you can visit Worksonwoa.com to see if they can benefit from automatic upscaling.
To adjust the default Auto SR setting, go to Settings > System > Display > Graphics and enable automatic super resolution in the default settings.
When you launch a game compatible with Auto SR, a notification will appear to confirm that automatic super resolution is enabled.
We can’t wait to test it out!
