A few days ago, we reported on HelixSR—a free software solution that allows AMD hardware to utilize NVIDIA's DLSS super sampling technology, including on the Steam Deck. The potential benefits of DLSS go far beyond just higher frame rates. Depending on the specific game, it may improve image quality at similar performance levels, or secure more frames while maintaining roughly equivalent visual effects. However, comparative testing is still needed to determine if it truly offers a significant improvement over AMD's FSR technology.
Development of the project appears to be progressing rapidly. Since our last report, multiple updates have been released, and HelixSR 2.0 is now available for download on GitHub. The new version not only fixes some minor bugs but also addresses some issues that previously raised questions about the software's practicality—particularly regarding its frame generation feature.
This technology artificially generates extra frames between two traditionally rendered frames to make motion appear smoother. However, generating these additional frames also requires processing power—and the Steam Deck's processing power is typically very limited.
HelixSR 2.0 aims to significantly improve frame generation efficiency
HelixSR 2.0 aims to significantly reduce this additional overhead. According to the developers, the new default "Light Mode" reduces GPU time per generated frame by approximately 20% at 1080p and 1440p resolutions. At 4K resolution, the reported improvement is around 11%. However, the developers also pointed out a limitation: moving HUD elements may appear duplicated in artificially generated frames.
But this doesn't mean that previous issues have been completely resolved. The fundamental problem is that frame generation can introduce noticeable input lag when the base frame rate is low. Although this update reduces additional processing overhead, it is unlikely to eliminate the inherent latency issues caused by low frame rates.
There are no hands-on reviews for version 2.0 yet. However, HelixSR seems to perform quite well on the Steam Deck platform—it will be interesting to see how much further this software can be optimized. This update also introduces several other improvements, including faster high-resolution rendering speeds and more optimized memory management. Additionally, this version supports DirectX 11 and Vulkan games. The full changelog has been published on GitHub.