New DLSS Competitor Promises Higher FPS, Better Quality, and Half the Memory Usage

Apex Compute has released an open beta of ANR, an alternative to NVIDIA DLSS that supports GeForce, Radeon, and Intel Arc graphics cards, including older models. The developers say the technology generates frames faster, better preserves image quality, and uses less video memory.

Apex Neural Rendering includes frame generation, image upscaling, and ray tracing reconstruction. For now, only ANR Frame Generation is available. It supports GeForce GTX 16 and RTX 20 series cards or newer, Radeon RX 5000 series cards or newer, and Intel Arc A and B series cards. Steam Deck is also supported. The beta is compatible with Windows 10 and 11, Linux, and SteamOS through Proton.

According to Apex Compute, generating a frame at 4K resolution on an RTX 5090 takes 1.01 ms in 2x mode, compared with 1.26 ms for DLSS Frame Generation. In 4x mode, the figures are 0.61 ms and 0.82 ms, respectively. ANR also uses 214 MB of video memory, compared with 562 MB for NVIDIA’s technology.

The company also claims higher image quality and has published comparisons, including one using The Last of Us Part II. However, the developers produced the results themselves, so independent tests are needed to verify ANR’s advantages. Faster frame generation does not necessarily mean higher overall performance or lower input latency.

The ANR Frame Generation beta is available on GitHub and uses OptiScaler. Installation requires changing files in each game’s folder, so compatibility depends on the game.

Source: iXBT.games