Intel improves the performance and quality of its upscaling technology

Intel has just announced version 1.3 of its XeSS upscaling technology. The manufacturer announces performance improvements, but also much better image quality than the previous version.

As video games become far too demanding for our PCs which become far too expensive and our consoles not powerful enough, upscaling becomes a necessity. In addition to Nvidia’s DLSS and AMD’s FSR technologies, Intel also offers its own image scaling and reconstruction solution with XeSS (for Intel Xe Super Sampling).

And just like AMD recently, the manufacturer has just deployed an update which significantly improves the performance of its XeSS, but also my image quality.

Between 8 and 10% more performance

Intel has just unveiled version 1.3 of its XeSS technology for developers. The firm promises notable performance improvements compared to the previous version, between 8 and 10% depending on the games, but also the components, between the dedicated Arc graphics card or the chip integrated into the Intel Core Ultra processor.

It is, without too much surprise, the Arc GPU which benefits greatly from this new version, with a performance gap of up to 28% on a title like Diablo IV. The figures concerning integrated graphics solutions are also interesting to observe, particularly for the future of the Intel platform on portable PC consoles like the MSI Claw.

Superior image quality thanks to AI

Intel also announces that it has worked on the image quality of its XeSS technology. Just like Nvidia’s DLSS, and unlike AMD’s FSR, Intel’s solution indeed uses AI learning models to improve from version to version, accelerated via the XMX cores.

Thanks to model optimization, additional training, and particularly on complex visual elements, the new version of XeSS offers more detailed reconstruction, better antialiasing, less ghosting and greater temporal stability.

But this is not the only new feature of this XeSS 1.3, which adds three new quality presets: Ultra Performance mode (3.0x), Ultra Quality Plus (1.3x) and Native anti-aliasing. If the first two are explicit, the third uses the same concept as its competitors, namely “a native anti-aliasing preset, which powers native resolution rendering through the new XeSS model to deliver the highest level of detail with intelligent anti-aliasing“.

With these updates, the XeSS confirms its competitiveness, particularly against AMD’s FSR which announced a similar update recently. The two manufacturers are challenging Nvidia in the area of ​​temporal stability, making the two solutions even more interesting alternatives.