Apex Compute has unveiled its new Apex Neural Rendering (ANR) technology, a software tool aimed at competing with NVIDIA's DLSS technology, with a core advantage being its support for a wide range of graphics cards from various manufacturers, including older generations that lack support for modern upscaling technologies.
What is ANR technology?
The technology relies on a three-pronged approach that includes Frame Generation, Super Resolution, and Ray Reconstruction. Currently, the company has made only the Frame Generation feature available via the GitHub platform, with promises to add the other features in future updates.
The technology is characterized by being GPU-agnostic, as it supports NVIDIA RTX 20 through 50 series cards, as well as the GTX 16 series, AMD RX 5000 series cards and later, including the integrated GPU in the Steam Deck, and up to Intel Arc cards.
What changes practically for users?
The company claims that its technology is capable of delivering performance 2.4 times faster compared to DLSS, with lower VRAM consumption. According to the company's tests on an RTX 5090 card, ANR recorded lower latency in frame generation compared to DLSS, with a notable decrease in memory usage from 562 MB to 214 MB.
For users who own older graphics cards, this technology represents an opportunity to improve performance without the need to upgrade hardware, which is vital given the continued widespread reliance on cards like the GTX 1650 and RTX 3060 according to recent Steam surveys.
Challenges and questions
Despite the promising results in demonstrations that show greater clarity and a reduction in the ghosting phenomenon, there are legitimate technical reservations. First, the high-performance claims have not been independently verified yet. Second, the company's tests relied on an RTX 5090 card, which is a high-performance card that does not reflect the experience of the average user who owns mid-range or older cards. This technology remains a project under development, and its true success will depend on its stability and compatibility with a variety of games and hardware under actual usage conditions.