A Technical Feat, But Not a Practical Replacement
In the ongoing quest to run NVIDIA’s DLSS on AMD hardware, a developer known as Countervolts has achieved a new milestone. The d4r project, which previously brought DLSS to RDNA 3 GPUs, now offers experimental support for RDNA 4 graphics cards—specifically the Radeon RX 9000 series. The update allows NVIDIA’s DLSS 3, DLSS 4, and DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution models to run on AMD GPUs in DirectX 12 games under Linux and Proton.
This is an impressive technical accomplishment, but it comes with significant caveats. For most gamers, sticking with AMD’s own FSR4 remains the more sensible choice.
How d4r Works
Unlike projects that attempt to replace DLSS with FSR, d4r takes a different approach. It uses NVIDIA’s official nvngx_dlss.dll alongside ZLUDA, ROCm, and custom Radeon kernels. This allows the DLSS models to execute on AMD hardware, albeit with some overhead. The project is limited to Super Resolution—there is no support for Frame Generation, Ray Reconstruction, or the upcoming DLSS 5 Neural Rendering.
For RDNA 4, the developer has added native FP8 kernels for the gfx1201 target, which covers the Radeon RX 9070 XT, RX 9070, RX 9070 GRE, and Radeon AI PRO R9700. There are also gfx1200 builds for the RX 9060 XT and RX 9060. The NativeFp8 option is enabled by default, leveraging the architecture’s native FP8 matrix operations. Disabling it forces the kernels to use 16-bit math, similar to the RDNA 3 implementation.
Performance and Limitations
The RDNA 4 support is still in its early days. The developer notes that the gfx1201 path has only been checked through emulation, while gfx1200 has only been compiled. No performance or image-quality results have been published from a physical Radeon RX 9000 card yet.
For context, the existing RDNA 3 implementation (tested on an RX 7700 XT) gives some idea of the current state. In Silent Hill: Townfall at 1440p with the Quality preset, DLSS 4.5 improved from 48.4 FPS with d4r 0.1.1 to 49.3 FPS with version 0.1.2. DLSS 4 and DLSS 3 also saw minor gains. However, these frame rates are below what FSR4 typically delivers on the same hardware, which is why the developer themselves suggests that FSR4 makes more sense for most users.
Why FSR4 Is Still the Better Choice
For AMD GPU owners, FSR4 offers a more integrated, officially supported experience. It works across a wide range of games, supports Frame Generation, and is optimised for RDNA 3 and RDNA 4 hardware. The d4r project, while clever, is experimental, limited to Linux/Proton, and only covers Super Resolution. It also requires users to jump through technical hoops to get it working.
That said, the project is a fascinating look at what’s possible when the community pushes hardware beyond its intended boundaries. It may also serve as a proof of concept for future developments. But for now, it’s a niche tool for tinkerers rather than a mainstream solution.
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The Bottom Line
Countervolts’ work on d4r is a testament to the ingenuity of the modding community. Bringing DLSS 4.5 to Radeon RX 9000 GPUs is no small feat. However, the limitations are clear: experimental support, no Frame Generation, and performance that lags behind FSR4. For the vast majority of gamers, AMD’s own upscaling technology remains the practical choice. Those who enjoy experimenting on Linux may find d4r an interesting project to follow, but it’s not ready to replace FSR4 just yet.
Source: d4r