AMD Fidelity FX Review - Featuring RAGE 2

Is FidelityFX a gimmick?

AMD FidelityFX Review - Featuring Rage 2

At E3 2019, AMD discussed a new technology called FidelityFX, a contrast-aware sharpening algorithm which is designed to bring out fine details in rendered images without introducing the artefacts that are associated with post-process sharpening techniques.



To do this, AMD showcased the image below, highlighting the effect's use in Borderlands 3 to deliver a sharper overall image with no notable performance impact.



Today, just a few weeks later, FidelityFX is now available within a shipping game, Bethesda's Rage 2, which offers the effect on both Geforce and Radeon graphics products, confirming that the feature isn't exclusive to AMD's graphics cards.



Early reports surrounding the effect's inclusion within Rage 2 weren't positive, with multiple websites claiming that the feature either didn't work or presented no noticeable changes to the game. This hasn't discouraged us from looking into Fidelity FX ourselves, and we can confirm that it does work with Nvidia's Geforce hardware and has a positive effect on Rage 2's image quality.







So what about the websites that claim the feature doesn't work? Our thoughts are that they either weren't looking hard enough, were focusing on macro details (rather than micro ones), or simply expected too much from FidelityFX.



Below we have included some screenshot comparisons which highlight the kinds of changes that Fidelity FX brings to Rage 2. These screenshots were taken at 1080p on an Nvidia Geforce RTX 2080 Ti at Ultra settings with resolution scaling disabled.





If you were looking for a night and day difference, I'm afraid to inform you that that's not happening. The impact of FidelityFX is a subtle one, so much so that you could miss it if you didn't know what you are looking for.



Below, you should be able to see how FidelityFX makes the painted metal surface of these shelves appear sharper and allows some of the imperfections of the paint cans become clearer. This undoubtedly makes Rage 2 look better, but it is easy to see why some have claimed that FidelityFX doesn't work.







(Fidelity FX On VS Off - Click to see Full Size)





In this second set of screenshots, we can see that AMD's Fidelity FX has a notable impact on the sharpness of RAGE 2's terrain, the player's weapon and on the textures for rocks and other debris. Again, this difference isn't huge, but it is more than enough to sell FidelityFX as a worthwhile feature. You may need to look closely at your monitor to see the difference.



Performance-wise, turning Fidelity FX on and off presented no notable changes to game performance. All changes to game performance fell well within margin of error territory.







(Fidelity FX On VS Off - Click to See Full Size)



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