AMD FSR4 Frame Generation Bug Persists for Three Years: 120 FPS Looks Like 60 FPS

Summary

Hardware Unboxed, a well-known hardware review channel, recently published a test report indicating that a core flaw in AMD's FSR frame generation technology has not been fully resolved since its debut with FSR 3 in 2023. Even in the latest machine-learning-based FSR 4 implementation, uneven frame pacing remains evident. The report explains that the issue is not about the ability to generate intermediate frames, but how these frames are delivered to the display. Tests found that when frame generation is enabled, generated frames and natively rendered frames do not stay on screen for consistent durations, resulting in a repetitive 'double hit' pattern. This leads to a paradox: the in-game frame rate counter may show 120 FPS, but the actual smoothness of motion is far inferior to a true uniformly paced 120 FPS, making the experience feel closer to 60 FPS than 120 FPS. The test was conducted on AMD RX 9070-series graphics cards across several popular games, consistently showing the issue. This defect has been criticized since the FSR 3 era, yet AMD has failed to provide an effective fix through drivers or technical updates over the years, raising questions about whether the company neglects the importance of frame pacing. For players, this means that even with sufficient GPU performance, enabling FSR frame generation does not deliver the fluidity matching the frame counter…