Intel reveals XeSS 2 with XeSS Frame Generation and XeSS Low Latency tech

Intel gives its new ARC B-Series GPUs a boost with XeSS 2

Alongside the reveal of their new ARC “Battlemage” B580 and B570 graphics cards, Intel has revealed a major overhaul of the company’s XeSS technology. Now, XeSS isn’t just an AI upscaling solution; it is a broader technology that has wider benefits for users of Intel graphics cards. XeSS 2 is here, and it features latency mitigation and Frame Generation support.

Until now, XeSS has been a super-resolution solution. It used AI to deliver high-quality upscaling results comparable to Nvidia’s DLSS upscaler. Now, Intel won’t just use their XMX AI accelerators to upscale games; they will also be used to generate AI frames. Add on Intel’s XeLL (Xe Low Latency) technology, and games should have smoother framerates and be more responsive than before.

XeSS Super Resolution – The Core of XeSS 2

Using a low-resolution frame render, motion vectors, and some AI magic, XeSS delivers excellent upscaling results in supported games. This is especially true when Intel hardware is used, as their XMX acceleration tech allows them to use a more advanced AI model.

XeSS Super Resolution allows Intel to deliver high-resolution results using lower-resolution inputs. This allows Intel to deliver high-quality results with less performance overhead, which makes it easier for gamers to achieve high performance levels at high resolutions.

Using XeSS in Performance mode at 1440p allows Intel to achieve a 47% boost in framerate in supported games. This results in a smoother experience for gamers.

For games with ray tracing, the impact of XeSS is much larger. After all, lowering a game’s baseline resolution can dramatically decrease the ray count required to render a scene. Because of this, XeSS can allow ray-traced games to achieve much higher levels of performance.

XeSS FG (Frame Generation) – An XeSS 2 Newcomer

Using the power of AI, Intel has created a frame generation technique that uses data from previous and new frames to create interpolated frames. This creates a new frame that can sit between both traditionally rendered frames, increasing the number of frames rendered. This makes games appear much smoother than before.

With XeSS, Intel can use AI to upscale frames and then add new information frames with AI. This allows XeSS to act as a performance multiplier for games, both using image upscaling and using frame generation.

Below, we can see how XeSS Frame Generation and XeSS Super Resolution can be used together to deliver huge performance multipliers in games. At 1440p Ultra settings, performance boosts of up to 3.9X can be achieved using XeSS SR and XeSS FG.

XeLL – Intel’s Latency Killer

The final part of the XeSS 2 puzzle is XeLL, Intel’s latency-lowering technology. It is Intel’s answer to Nvidia Reflex and AMD Anti-Lag 2. When integrated into games, it can lower the click to response rate of games, making games feel more responsive.

This technology lowers the time it takes for gamers to see their actions on-screen. This makes games feel snappier, and acts as an answer to XeSS Frame Generation’s only major downside.

XeSS Frame Generation adds latency by generating and showing an AI interpolated frame before showing the “new” frame used to generate it. Thanks to XeLL, this added latency is removed, making games with XeSS Frame Generation feel no less responsive than games that don’t. That said, those who want minimal latency should see XeLL without XeSS Frame Generation enabled.

With XeSS 2, Intel’s XeSS technology is now competitive with Nvidia DLSS and AMD FSR, thanks to the addition of latency reduction and frame generation. That said, it can be argued that XeSS is ahead of AMD’s FSR tech. After all, FSR isn’t an AI upscaler, and XeSS already delivered better upscaling results than FSR. Expect to see XeSS 2 support arrive in games in the near future.

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