Former AMD FSR Lead Hints Older Radeon GPUs Should Get FSR 4
AMD’s FSR 4 drama just got a bit more spicy, bro.
Colin Riley, the former AMD lead involved with FSR upscaling tech, has stirred the pot after responding to a question about why AMD has not officially released the INT8 version of FSR 4 for older Radeon GPUs. Instead of giving a straight answer, Riley posted the famous Jose Mourinho meme: “I prefer not to speak. If I speak I am in big trouble.”
That is not confirmation of anything, obviously. But coming from someone who previously worked on FSR, including the early version of FSR 4, it is enough to make Radeon users start side-eyeing AMD again.
Why this matters for older Radeon owners
Right now, AMD’s FSR 4 is officially tied to the newer RDNA 4 GPU generation. The problem is that plenty of PC gamers in Malaysia and SEA are still running RDNA 2 or RDNA 3 cards — think RX 6000 and RX 7000 series builds that are still perfectly usable for 1080p and 1440p gaming.
FSR 4 matters because it is a much bigger jump than older FSR versions. Previous FSR tech relied more on traditional hand-built upscaling methods, while FSR 4 uses machine learning to upscale visuals. In simple terms: better image quality, less shimmering, and a more serious answer to Nvidia DLSS.
The issue is format support. FSR 4 on RDNA 4 uses FP8, while older RDNA 2 and RDNA 3 GPUs do not fully support that setup. However, an INT8 version of FSR 4 exists, and that version appears to be the key to making the tech work on older hardware.
This whole situation kicked off after AMD accidentally uploaded INT8 FSR 4 source code to its GPUOpen GitHub repository. Since then, the community has been experimenting, and tools like Optiscaler have made it possible to run FSR 4 on older AMD GPUs, though not without limitations.
The PS5 Pro connection
One major detail here is the PlayStation 5 Pro. The INT8 version of FSR 4 is believed to exist partly because of Sony’s upgraded console tech, which is related to older RDNA architecture. AMD’s Jack Huynh previously said FSR 4.1 is built on the same neural network foundation as the upgraded PSSR used for PS5 Pro.
That makes the situation more confusing for PC gamers. If a version of this tech can exist for console hardware with older AMD DNA, why can’t PC users with RDNA 2 or RDNA 3 cards get an official beta at least?
AMD has not completely closed the door. The company has previously suggested that an official beta release could be possible. But nothing concrete has happened yet, which is why Riley’s meme landed so hard.
Conspiracy, business, or just bad software strategy?
There are a few theories floating around. The most cynical one is that AMD wants to push people toward RDNA 4 upgrades. Another is that Sony may have some kind of console-related arrangement around the INT8 version.
But the less dramatic answer might be more realistic: AMD may simply not see the engineering, support, and QA work as worth it for older GPUs. Riley also posted that the issue is “not the engineers,” but leadership failing to understand software, ecosystems, mindshare, and gaming technology.
For Malaysian gamers, this is exactly the kind of thing that matters. A GPU upgrade here is not a casual purchase — it can mean hundreds or thousands of ringgit depending on what you are buying. If your RX 6800 XT or RX 7800 XT still runs games well, getting better upscaling through software would be a huge win.
AMD has a habit of making messy decisions and then sometimes fixing them later. So no, FSR 4 on older Radeon GPUs is not dead yet. But right now, AMD needs to communicate properly. Radeon fans do not need mystery memes — they need a clear roadmap.
Source: PC Gamer
