Steam Deck gets massive performance boost with AMD FSR 3.1 and frame generation

AMD frame generation with FSR 3.1 is making all the supported games run exceptionally well on Steam Deck. YouTuber ETA Prime has shown off five titles with these two on the gaming handheld. Notably, Spider-Man Remastered, Spider-Man Miles Morales, Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart see a massive improvement in the gaming handheld.

ETA Prime was able to get those running smoothly at 720p or 800p resolution. Before enabling FSR 3.1 and frame generation, they were running at around 30 to 45 FPS in medium settings, but after applying the two, ETA Prime shows that the games ran at a smooth 60 FPS and even higher.

On Ghost of Tsushima, a game that's not easy to get smooth frames on low-spec systems, FSR 3.1 and frame generation allowed Steam Deck to run the title at over 70 FPS with medium settings at 800p. One thing to note here is that all these games were shown running at the balanced FSR setting. Performance mode would've allowed the gaming handheld to run them at even higher FPS.

Another challenging game that ETA Prime has showcased is Horizon Forbidden West. Valve says it's unsupported on the gaming handheld, but it's possible to get the game running. Unfortunately, AMD FSR 3.1 and frame generation didn't do much to make the title run well. Even with the FSR in performance mode, resolution set to 720p, and visual settings dialed down to low, it's hard to get a steady 60 FPS. However, with the GPU clock locked at 1600 MHz, the experience gets a little better.

Overall, AMD FSR 3.1 with frame generation is a great feature for gaming handhelds such as the Steam Deck (Legion Go curr. $601.51 on Amazon). It's currently limited to only a handful of games, but hopefully, more will see support soon.