A new AMD FSR 4.1 DLL has just quietly surfaced on the internet, prompting plenty of Radeon owners to download the file before AMD could wipe it from its own website. Despite the chip maker’s best efforts to contain it, this new iteration of the upscaler is now widespread, as enthusiasts attempt to unpack its improvements over FSR 4.
Following a prior FSR 4.1 leak in February, this file originates from AMD directly and presumably contains improvements to the machine learning algorithm. Unfortunately, the download page did not highlight any changes relative to earlier versions, nor specific comparisons to FSR 4. As such, it’s up to pixel peepers to manually conclude what upgrades this version offers.
However, we do know that this file arrives as part of the wider Radeon Software suite. Specifically, it replaces the existing FSR 4.0.3 DLL that you can use to upgrade FSR 3.1 games via driver injection. Upon successful replacement, games will reflect this change in their settings menus with an FSR 4.1 option.
Tech YouTube channel Hardware Unboxed put FSR 4.1 under the proverbial microscope using a Radeon RX 9070 XT, focusing on the image quality using the upscaler’s Performance mode at 4K, where it upscales a 1080p source image. Naturally, presets that tip the scales in favour of image quality over performance by increasing the base resolution should net superior results.
The most noticeable improvement that FSR 4.1 brings to the table, based on Hardware Unboxed’s analysis, is greater retention of texture detail in motion via reduced smearing. This provides a sharper image overall, relative to FSR 4.0.3, but AMD’s tech remains softer to the eye than Nvidia DLSS 4.5.
However, FSR 4.1’s change in approach can result in an increase of shimmering artefacts. This is particularly noticeable on foliage edges and thin lines, with leaves, grass, and chain-link fencing appearing sharper but more unstable relative to FSR 4.0.
In a small handful of games, Hardware Unboxed didn’t find any notable performance differences between FSR 4.0.3 and 4.1 across several upscaling modes. It’s possible that a wider set of tests could reveal differences in frame rates, but for now it seems that AMD is primarily focusing on image quality.
It’s important to stress that this isn’t necessarily the final form that FSR 4.1 will take, as we don’t know when AMD plans to officially launch the new version of its upscaler. This does leave time for AMD to further iterate and improve the tech, possibly resolving some of the stability issues described above, but there’s no guarantee this will come to pass.
In lieu of an official release date, I suspect we’ll see FSR 4.1 debut at Computex 2026 in June at the latest. We’ll be attending the show, so make sure you’re following Club386 on Google News and set us as one of your Google Preferred Sources so you don’t miss a beat. Until then, check out our best GPU guide for recommendations on the top graphics cards you can purchase today.
