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[Gaiff]

• PSSR is more stable than TAAU with less flicker
• Grass with PSSR looks slightly blurrier but is less aliased and more stable. Oliver prefers the PSSR grass
• Particles have more ghosting/trails with PSSR
• PSSR isn't as clear as TAAU, but you likely won't notice at a normal viewing distance
• This however comes at a performance cost with PSSR often dipping into the mid 50s in busy areas such as Kyoto whereas TAAU maintains 60fps
• On quick camera pans, the frame rate might dip to the high low 50s or high 40s with PSSR, likely due to the DRS not responding aggressively enough
• In Oliver's base hideout, TAAU runs at a stable 60fps. PSSR does not. Seems to be around the mid-50s
• Not happy with the performance with PSSR, but it never drops below VRR
• Not as big of a difference in Quality mode. PSSR is clearer and TAAU is more stable
• Overall, Oliver prefers PSSR in Performance Mode
• Performance in Quality Mode is mostly a locked 30 with possible small dips during quick camera pans, but this also happens with TAAU
• Performance in Balanced Mode with PSSR is lower than with TAAU and drops frequently below 40fps
• Balanced Mode now has RT reflections
• Certain artifacts when combining HDR with PSSR such as halos around light sources

 

[Topher]

Article form....

Is Assassin's Creed Shadows with PSSR on PS5 Pro a game changer? We tested it across all display modes

Assassin's Creed Shadows has had its first major patch on consoles, bringing PSSR to the PS5 Pro version. How does it compare to the launch patch?

www.eurogamer.net

 

[Bojji]

Still watching, but for now, PSSR is a lot better than TAAU. Much more stable.

So that pre q4 2024 counting they did from trailer showing ~800p resolution on Pro was correct.

But 864p providing good image quality with PSSR is something new. Looks like algorithm is nicely updated compared to version that AW2 used (and looked like shit with 800p).

 

[Fake]

864p is really hard to diggest. Holy shit.

 

[Gaiff]

So that pre q4 2024 counting they did from trailer showing ~800p resolution on Pro was correct.

But 864p providing good image quality with PSSR is something new. Looks like algorithm is nicely updated compared to version that AW2 used (and looked like shit with 800p).

Alan Wake 2 has way more bullshit post-processing than this game and this massively impacts the final output. It was in a way a stress test for PSSR. Not only was the internal resolution extremely low, but it also had to deal with tons of stuff like film grain. The game looked cleaner when you disabled them I hear.

But yeah, PSSR at 864p>TAAU at 1008-1080p

 

[scydrex]

So that pre q4 2024 counting they did from trailer showing ~800p resolution on Pro was correct.

But 864p providing good image quality with PSSR is something new. Looks like algorithm is nicely updated compared to version that AW2 used (and looked like shit with 800p).

It has improved? Nice.

 

[FalconPunch]

As someone who purchased 2 ps5 pros at launch, it may be time to part with at least 1 of them. These base resolutions are unjustifiable as far as I'm concerned. Sony has massively underdelivered with the ps5 pro. I might just sell it and use the funds to build an sff pc just for living room gaming.

 

[Killer8]

864p is really hard to diggest. Holy shit.

And this image is "720p" (DLSS4 ultra performance):

 

[Bojji]

Alan Wake 2 has way more bullshit post-processing than this game and this massively impacts the final output. It was in a way a stress test for PSSR. Not only was the internal resolution extremely low, but it also had to deal with tons of stuff like film grain. The game looked cleaner when you disabled them I hear.

But yeah, PSSR at 864p>TAAU at 1008-1080p

AW2 also uses low setting for post processing on PS5 that looks like shit also on PC (it's also quite heavy on high). Probably a combination of all those things.

It has improved? Nice.

I think it has, yeah.

And this image is "720p" (DLSS4 ultra performance):

I tested some games with DLSS4 in ultra performance and I was suprised how decent they looked. With good enough ML upscaling lower resolutions are viable.

 

[Gaiff]

And this image is "720p" (DLSS4 ultra performance):

Now start moving in front of fences, wires, or in the woods with foliage. Or wait, try places with a lot of reflections and lighting and see how noisy surfaces become and how awful everything looks.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Adding this here:

These guys are such clowns it's not even funny

Otherwise, PSSR does hit image clarity somewhat, with a softer resolve overall - a change that's plain to see in side-by-side comparisons, especially ones that are magnified for analysis, but probably something that you just get used to in a normal gaming scenario from a typical viewing distance.

We know what we do is full of shit, but we're going to keep pushing it anyways. In other words, you can't tell at all.

There are also issues when quickly moving the camera from less taxing to more taxing scenes, eg a static shot that runs at 57fps might shoot to 60fps when looking at the sky, but drop to 40fps briefly while dynamic resolution scaling engages, causing a visible spike in frame times. It's possible that the game's DRS is not as aggressive as it could be in these moments, and in general the relatively low internal resolution needs to be even lower to hit a stable 60.

The DRS doesn't act fast enough when you're actively trying to break it rather than just playing the game like you normally would...

Video game developers don't developer their game around the way that DF tests games. They aren't expecting the player to pan the camera around at a stand still to see if they can drop the framerate or walk up to the tv with a magnifying glass. These are fundamentally unserious people who have somehow managed to amass a huge following for people interested in technical analysis.

So far, though, it seems like performance remains in the range of VRR-capable displays, both in the hideout and elsewhere in the game - and these sorts of screens are probably more common for PS5 Pro owners than they are for owners of less expensive consoles.

We didn't see any drops, but who knows maybe there are drops. This isn't the only time they say this, but it's curious when they say it and when they don't. It's such an odd thing to say in general. It's hard not to see this as a shot.

The balanced mode also now runs with RT reflections, a feature that Ubisoft previously felt they didn't have enough time to validate outside of quality mode where it first appeared. This improves reflections on bodies of water as you avoid SSR artefacts and instead get a more accurate fallback. It's not perfect, with some limitations in the way the world is represented in the reflection, but it's still a worthwhile inclusion.

Says the guys crying about the lack of RT in 5 year old games like TLOUP2... Again, this is a shot. Something isn't perfect, but it's better than SSR, but they don't want to give the PS5 Pro credit here. It's doing A LOT more than the base consoles with PSSR and without PSSR.

You can't take a lot of the criticism from DF regarding the PS5 Pro seriously, because the things they often get on PSSR for, they'll totally excuse in TAAU and then focus on framerate. They also seem so dismissive of the fact that the vast majority of people with PS5 Pros are going to have VRR capable displays. It's always an afterthought, but VRR is a big reason why the PS5 Pro is a significantly better machine than the PS5, especially when you're looking at quality modes unlocked or balanced modes unlocked.

It's also why the VRR issue on PlayStation is a big deal that needs to be addressed.

 

[scydrex]

As someone who purchased 2 ps5 pros at launch, it may be time to part with at least 1 of them. These base resolutions are unjustifiable as far as I'm concerned. Sony has massively underdelivered with the ps5 pro. I might just sell it and use the funds to build an sff pc just for living room gaming.

Sell both and build a PC with that money.

 

[MikeM]

864p is really hard to diggest. Holy shit.

Could be 360p for all I care. So long as the image quality is improved and more stable, whocares?

 

[FalconPunch]

Sell both and build a PC with that money.

I already have a pretty high spec pc and just ordered a 4080 laptop yesterday. I do need at least 1 ps5 for gran turismo but I think I might just get rid of my bedroom ps5 pro.

 

[Darsxx82]

Basically what could already be intuited from other analyses and comparisons seen.

-In performance mode: PSSR offers a more consistent IQ. Greater image stability is preferable to one with more sharpness but more shimmering.

On the downside, there's performance. TAAU 60fps vs. PSSR in the low 50s or high 40s in the same scene. Luckily, it remains within the VRR limit.

Quality mode: The improvements of PSSR over TAAU aren't as evident because it starts from a much higher base resolution, and it's almost a matter of which you prefer.

Balanced mode: The new feature is that it includes RT reflections, but at the expense of the framerate dropping below 40fps outside the VRR range in certain areas... TAAU is the preferable options here.

Also PSSR mode has a bug or defect with HDR that they hope can be fixed.

The positive? PSSR seems to be evolving better in terms of results, but it needs to improve in terms of cost. It's also true that it won't always compete with upscaling and AA formulas so optimized for a specific engine.

Maybe in a few months a better PSSR optimization in the game will make the TAAU option useless, but for now it's clear that they made the right decision to keep it, especially for non-VRR users (although I don't think there are many Pro users without VRR TV either)

 

[yamaci17]

Could be 360p for all I care. So long as the image quality is improved and more stable, whocares?

that's what I've been saying for years, playing at 540p/720p with DLSS in most games

 

[Magic Carpet]

PSSR Grass. Please go behind the tree, it needs the nitrogen.

 

[Bojji]

Now start moving in front of fences, wires, or in the woods with foliage. Or wait, try places with a lot of reflections and lighting and see how noisy surfaces become and how awful everything looks.

Wires look bad in higher resolutions as well. In most games every reconstruction technique has problems with them (even DLSS4).

Looking at performance of ACS with PSSR, game runs 50-60fps with PSSR in performance mode and almost 60 locked with TAAU:

With VRR it's good, it stays in that VRR window.

Now balanced mode is much worse with PSSR:

With TAAU it's close to locked 40fps.

I think performance mode is the best with PSSR (on VRR screen), while balanced is the best with TAAU - resolution should be high enough (vs. 60 mode) to show decent image quality.

 

[simpatico]

864p is really hard to diggest. Holy shit.

I wish we could go back in time when we were counting pixels in the PS360 era and tell them: "The year is 2025, we have a PS5 Pro, and it's rendering the new Assassins Creed game at 864p". I'd just love to see the reactions.

 

[yamaci17]

720p, 864p or 1080p upscaled to 4k has nothing to do with actual 720p and 864p.

motion comparisons

Imgsli

Imgsli

Imgsli

static comparisons

Imgsli

Imgsli

and 1080p upscaled to 4K is better than running the game at actual native 1440p output

Imgsli

so bringing ps3 / xbox 360 / xbox one resolutions into discussion is pointless. pssr is improving and it is similar to dlss 3 in ac shadows and that was already great

pssr allows ps5 pro players to enjoy ray traced global illumination at 50+ FPS with decent image quality

Bojji why didn't they compare pssr to dlss 3 or dlss 4 in this game like they did with alan wake 2???

 

[OverHeat]

 

[Bojji]

Bojji why didn't they compare pssr to dlss 3 or dlss 4 in this game like they did with alan wake 2???

Good question, input resolution of DLSS can be edited so they can match shots 1:1.

Sometimes they do comparisons, sometimes they don't. They are very inconsistent with this for sure...

 

[Nankatsu]

 

[SlimySnake]

864p vs 1080p and I had people telling me that PSSR has the same cost as TAAU.

This shit be expensive. Stop listening to cerny PR. nothing costs 1 ms.

 

[Bojji]

864p vs 1080p and I had people telling me that PSSR has the same cost as TAAU.

This shit be expensive. Stop listening to cerny PR. nothing costs 1 ms.

Resolution + fps drop.

End result is worth it but for sure it's not as cheap as some people suggested here...

 

[skyfinch]

They need to release a PS5 Pro Slim asap!

 

[adamsapple]

Other than the RT reflections in Balanced mode, looks like the rest of the stuff is kinda net negative. More ghosting, worse performance etc. It's a true monkey's paw for asking to add PSSR.

 

[//DEVIL//]

864p…. For the ps5 pro .. with more ghosting and negative performance …

 

[yamaci17]

Resolution + fps drop.

End result is worth it but for sure it's not as cheap as some people suggested here...

this is actually really funny coming from people who refused to believe that ps5 was GPU bound when dropping to 720p with FSR 3 (fsr 3 is also really heavy and similar to dlss 3) in heavy ray traced or lumen games



but of course everyone can say anything they want and get away with it around here. I don't really forget. quite funny.

"Avatar goes up to 1800p in its 30 fps mode at times, and in this video struggles to hit 60 fps at 720p. thats 0.9 million pixels vs 5.6 million pixels. so the same gpu that had no issues rendering 5.6 million pixels is now all of a sudden struggling to render 0.9 million pixels twice per second?"



let him explain why ps5 pro can push 4.6 million pixels (1620p) at 30 fps on quality mode with the same PSSR with ray traced reflections and hair strands but has to drop to 1.3 million pixels (864p) just to reach an unstable 60 fps (50 fps at times) with only rt gi and no hair strands so it means it would have to drop to 720p to get an actual locked 60 which means... 0.9 million pixels

it has to be a cpu bottleneck, no? after all it's not like 3600 can push 60+ fps in this game with all settings enabled with a high end GPU. but gotta be a CPU bottleneck

 

[Dark Shinobi]

Honestly, I don't care about ray tracing and high quality reflections if it means we have to play games at a lower resolution. Very disappointed with this game's optimization and overall performance on the Pro. Valhalla on the XSX looks much better/cleaner on its performance mode than Shadows does on its balanced mode. Especially with a larger tv, the resolution trade off is annoying and feels like we're taking a step backwards.

 

[sncvsrtoip]

864p vs 1080p and I had people telling me that PSSR has the same cost as TAAU.

This shit be expensive. Stop listening to cerny PR. nothing costs 1 ms.

1080p has 1.56x more pixels than 864p (1536x864p) ! big difference, tough good pssr has still better quality from this low internal res cost is big as not only so many pixels less but also noticable fps drop

 

[Karim]

So that pre q4 2024 counting they did from trailer showing ~800p resolution on Pro was correct.

But 864p providing good image quality with PSSR is something new. Looks like algorithm is nicely updated compared to version that AW2 used (and looked like shit with 800p).

It's not. RE4R at 120 fps uses PSSR and the same resolution and it's way ahead the horrid capcom CBR. A pity who hasn't a 120hz tv is stuck to the same shit IQ of the ps5 base. AW2 is not absolutely bad with PSSR with the last update, far the contrary outside the raytracing artifacts.

 

[PeteBull]

Resolution + fps drop.

End result is worth it but for sure it's not as cheap as some people suggested here...

Ps6 with around 4090 performance cant come soon enough, we need:

 

[Codeblew]

• Performance in Quality Mode is mostly a locked 60 with possible small dips during quick camera pans, but this also happens with TAAU
• Performance in Balanced Mode with PSSR is lower than with TAAU and drops frequently below 40fps

Shouldn't Quality mode have less FPS than Balanced or am I tripping?

 

[Gaiff]

Shouldn't Quality mode have less FPS than Balanced or am I tripping?

Meant 30. Corrected.

 

[Karim]

Other than the RT reflections in Balanced mode, looks like the rest of the stuff is kinda net negative. More ghosting, worse performance etc. It's a true monkey's paw for asking to add PSSR.

Just my humble opinion eh, but Oliver seems do his best to downplay PSSR compared whatever upscaler released on the market, from his first video. Seems has sort of personal agenda. Honestly the difference amid PSSR and TAAU it's almost embarassing (in favour of the PSSR especiallyin performance mode) . I don't know how he can find clearer with TAAU because it's a fuzzy fest with it. I have the game just to be clear and I'm not pretending to say PSSR it's flawless. But I prefer PSSR at worst fps than the abomition it was TAAU and I don't get this attitude of DF to minimize any benefit of PSSR compared the traditional upscaler.

 

[Fake]

Could be 360p for all I care. So long as the image quality is improved and more stable, whocares?

Maybe is good for screenshots, but saying 'whocares' is a really low effort comment.

I still care about resolution because the price of the PS5pro if you notice, if you don't care is just fine.

 

[Karim]

Maybe is good for screenshots, but saying 'whocares' is a really low effort comment.

I still care about resolution because the price of the PS5pro if you notice, if you don't care is just fine.

You are free to believe me or less but with PSSR AC Shadows it's far better even at 800p.

 

[Fake]

You are free to believe me or less but with PSSR AC Shadows it's far better even at 800p.

I watched the video. There a pros and cons about reduce the resolution and put all the weight on the AI, but just don't act like resolution doesn't matter anymore.

There are very low resolutions that AI can't save, not to mention the computional power necessary for all those things.

 

[Topher]

Other than the RT reflections in Balanced mode, looks like the rest of the stuff is kinda net negative. More ghosting, worse performance etc. It's a true monkey's paw for asking to add PSSR.

I played the game before and after and PSSR is not a "net negative". Performance is better and the flickering is removed with PSSR. It is an improvement.

 

[omegasc]

So weird seeing people saying it's worse now because of trailing at specific points of the game vs shimmering 'everywhere' with TAAU.

 

[adamsapple]

I played the game before and after and PSSR is not a "net negative". Performance is better and the flickering is removed with PSSR. It is an improvement.

Not sure if you feel that because the Hideout is no longer locked to 30, but the video and commentary is kinda saying the opposite. Both Perf. and Balanced mode are "shakier" and drop more than with TAAU.

 

[yamaci17]

I played the game before and after and PSSR is not a "net negative". Performance is better and the flickering is removed with PSSR. It is an improvement.

I personally believe that there's a sharpening filter with TAAU here
because I did some experiments on PC and found out that the reason why TAAU looks so much shimmery is sharpening

Imgsli

I guess they removed the sharpening filter for PSSR. it makes no sense for TAAU to appear sharper even at similar resolutions.

I think this is a problem. these games simply should just put a sharpening slider in game settings and let players choose it. but it is just my guess

 

[Karim]

I watched the video. There a pros and cons about reduce the resolution and put all the weight on the AI, but just don't act like resolution doesn't matter anymore.

There are very low resolutions that AI can't save, not to mention the computional power necessary for all those things.

Where I acted as resolution not count anymore? I just say PSSR with AI around 800p is far better than TAAU at 1008p. It's not even a match. The funny part, the artifacts pointed out to Oliver with PSSR are almost if not all present also with TAAU but the image is so worse blurried, aliased and fuzzy with it which you notice less especially on the snow. I'm quite maniacal with such stuff and checked immediately.

 

[BigLee74]

Devs used to pull this sort of stuff with the XBox One X - they'd push features and resolution at the expense of performance, often in post release patches.

 

[Fake]

Where I acted as resolution not count anymore? I just say PSSR with AI around 800p is far better than TAAU at 1008p. It's not even a match. The funny part, the artifacts pointed out to Oilver with PSSR are almost if not all present also with TAUU but the image is so aliased and fuzzy with it which you notice less. I'm quite maniacal with such stuff.

You quote me, so you must know I was talking about resolution. In case you missed, the little guy I was talking said he doesn't care if we get a Nintendo DS resolution, as long as the AI do a good job.

Problem is, AI can't make miracles. People are getting too much comfortable with AI and will let devs open the doors to reduce the resolution even further, aka doing lazy job.

Devs need to find a middle ground between native resolution and AI upscaler, not doing UGA BUGA homework and leave the rest to the AI. No way in hell I'll ever accept 360p as a resolution for PS6.

 

[Karim]

I personally believe that there's a sharpening filter with TAAU here
because I did some experiments on PC and found out that the reason why TAAU looks so much shimmery is sharpening

Imgsli

I guess they removed the sharpening filter for PSSR. it makes no sense for TAAU to appear sharper even at similar resolutions.

I think this is a problem. these games simply should just put a sharpening slider in game settings and let players choose it. but it is just my guess

From my personal experience TAAU was always like this, on console at least. It works terrible with subpixels details.

 

[Topher]

Not sure if you feel that because the Hideout is no longer locked to 30, but the video and commentary is kinda saying the opposite. Both Perf. and Balanced mode are "shakier" and drop more than with TAAU.

I played it and performance mode is much improved. You might recall that I called bullshit on DF's initial praise of Shadows Pro implementation and I talked about how choppy the gameplay was. Post PSSR patch is much improved. I don't need DF to tell me what I can see with my own eyes.

 

[saintjules]

Sell both and build a PC with that money.

I wouldn't do such a thing, especially the way PC ports are broken at launch. Why not have both options?

 

[Karim]

I played it and performance mode is much improved. You might recall that I called bullshit on DF's initial praise of Shadows Pro implementation and I talked about how choppy the gameplay was. Post PSSR patch is much improved. I don't need DF to tell me what I can see with my own eyes.

Call one of the biggest boost with Pro and find serviceable such IQ left me a bit perplexed. TAAU is horrid as FSR. TAAU can be fine but below 1440p has very visible compromises.