Intel's Lisa Pearce: GPU integer scaling graphics support coming

by Mark Tyson on 25 June 2019, 13:11

Tags: Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)

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Intel has been engaging with the community quite extensively in the run up to the Gen 11 graphics launch, and this marks a change in the last few months as the firm has got serious about graphics. A few hours ago Intel's Lisa Pearce @gfxlisa took to Twitter to share an update on Intel's efforts to respond to user feature requests going forward. I've embedded the video below for your convenience.

A recent Reddit AMA hosted by Intel Graphics resulted in a top-voted comment regarding GPU Integer Upscaling. A user asked Intel to implement this feature, suggesting it could differentiate itself from the competition. The scaling method, also sometimes called 'nearest-neighbour' and/or 'pixel doubling/quadrupling' would be especially welcome to gamers who play titles that play pixel-art style games or use emulators to play classic games based upon pixels and sprites rather than 3D rendering etc.

click to zoom image

Redditor Whatever070 pointed out that gamers had asked Nvidia and AMD to implement such a feature many times over the years, to no avail. The star attraction of the feature would be that "By enabling integer scaling, you can play your games without upscale filter artefacts at the resolution you want. You can have your cake and eat it too."

In her video response to the request, Pearce says that the Intel team took a hard look at the request and support it later this year (in an update around the end of August). However, the feature is only going to be available to buyers of the newest Intel processors that feature Gen 11 graphics. End users will toggle this scaling option in the Intel Graphics Command Centre.

Pearce explained that Gen 9 hardware doesn't have support for nearest neighbour algorithms, and developers didn't want to 'hack' in a software solution, with possible user experience impacts.

Source: Lisa Pearce Twitter account, via TechPowerUp.



HEXUS Forums :: 7 Comments

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I'm struggling to see validation for this, what specifically is the benefit other than having smoother edges/images in pixel based games…?
Actually I think smoother edges is _not_ a benefit of this method, quite the opposite. It's saying take my one pixel and instead represent it as a square of 4/9/16/etc. pixels. The benefit is simply an enlarged image on higher res monitors without any smoothing/blurring - but equally steps/jaggies get enlarged too.

It's trivial, and thus embedded in almost any tool for running older games already without needing driver support. Monitors can also do it, but the advantage of keeping it to a window is you could just enlarge a single window rather than your whole desktop.
Tabbykatze
I'm struggling to see validation for this, what specifically is the benefit other than having smoother edges/images in pixel based games…?
They are just trying to add some benefit to those who don't play Forza but rather F-Zero. Players who may not have a lot of money/space/whatever to play AAA games on ultra and want to use integrated. I see this as perfectly valid for SFF/USFF/Mobile PC's and where people just don't want to have to buy a nVidia/AMD graphics card just for some extra features for basic games.
This has probably had more hype than it needed to. I suspect a bit of marketing is at play here as well, ‘we listened to our customers, here do you see it on Reddit, we’re such a nice company'…
kalniel
Actually I think smoother edges is _not_ a benefit of this method, quite the opposite. It's saying take my one pixel and instead represent it as a square of 4/9/16/etc. pixels. The benefit is simply an enlarged image on higher res monitors without any smoothing/blurring - but equally steps/jaggies get enlarged too.

It's trivial, and thus embedded in almost any tool for running older games already without needing driver support. Monitors can also do it, but the advantage of keeping it to a window is you could just enlarge a single window rather than your whole desktop.

Yeah, I thought I have seen some monitors do it and it sometimes does look better/the same. The term is quite familiar but i'm not all up to snuff with it.

AGTDenton
They are just trying to add some benefit to those who don't play Forza but rather F-Zero. Players who may not have a lot of money/space/whatever to play AAA games on ultra and want to use integrated. I see this as perfectly valid for SFF/USFF/Mobile PC's and where people just don't want to have to buy a nVidia/AMD graphics card just for some extra features for basic games.
This has probably had more hype than it needed to. I suspect a bit of marketing is at play here as well, ‘we listened to our customers, here do you see it on Reddit, we’re such a nice company'…

I play F-Zero, that's it I'm sold!

I kid, a lot of emulators these days have anti-aliasing for the upscaling and frankly, I don't have a problem upscaling to 1080p. So this still just feels like a mediocre “oh ok, so you've got something in the driver that no one else has because everyone else does it in software because the use case for it is so niche it's not worth noting…?”
AGTDenton
I suspect a bit of marketing is at play here as well, ‘we listened to our customers, here do you see it on Reddit, we’re such a nice company'…

This.