Files
d4r/README.md
T
ayo 4334a0c3c4 Add RDNA4 (gfx12) support and a 0.1.2 optimization round
RDNA4 (experimental; untested on RDNA4 hardware)
- kernels/common/wmma_layout.h picks the WMMA operand/accumulator layout
  per target; K (pwin_*) and M (swin_*) index through it, so the same
  sources build for gfx11 and gfx12. D4R_WMMA_LAYOUT=12 on gfx11 is a test
  shim that runs the gfx12 indexing on gfx11 WMMA.

- M can use native e4m3 FP8 WMMA on gfx12 (D4R_NATIVE_FP8=1). Texture
  tails (enc0_tail, dec0_head) get gfx12 f16 and FP8 paths that match
  ZLUDA's gfx12 lowering.

- ZLUDA patch 0007: gfx12 WMMA helpers, optional native FP8 MMA
  (D4R_ZLUDA_WMMA_FP8_NATIVE), a layout override for testing, and an
  architecture argument for d4r_emit. Texture kernels are now compiled
  offline per target through d4r_emit (D4R_ZLUDA_EMIT) instead of on the
  local GPU.

- New d4r.ini option [Kernels] NativeFp8 (default on), wired through the
  shim and d4r_config.py. On gfx12 the bridge serves kernels/<arch>-fp8
  when it is on.

- The bridge picks the KFD GPU with the most SIMDs (so an iGPU is not
  chosen over a discrete GPU); D4R_GPU_ARCH overrides it.

- kernels/build.sh and package_release.sh build gfx1100-gfx1103 and
  gfx1200/gfx1201 (plus -fp8 variants), and D4R_BUNDLE_TEX takes
  per-target folders.

Performance (RDNA3; harness byte-identical unless noted)
- ZLUDA patch 0006: m16n8k8 f16 MMAs on WMMA (E; not bit-exact, 52-55 dB
  per layer, D4R_ZLUDA_WMMA_K8=0 disables it), per-key weight-image slots
  for native prep kernels (d4r_prep_key_at, d4r_prep_key_slots), and
  wave64 builds of MMA-free kernels (D4R_ZLUDA_WAVE64).

- M: packed FP8 encoding, conflict-free patch-merge reads, scalar weight
  loads in enc1, and weight prep once per weight set for the six enc3
  tube blocks.

- K: CU mode for the six non-wide pwin layers.

- Texture kernels: every DLSS flag variant is built natively (24 K output,
  8 M post, 4 M downsample, 4 M enc0), not only Townfall's; post and K
  output run as wave64.

- M direct output: rrlite_downsample_kernel writes the shim's output
  buffer; the shim's default direct-output presets are now 11,13.

Tools
- dump_runner takes the prep grid from d4r_prep_blocks and refuses
  texture/surface dumps.

- New pwin_check.py, swin_check.py, model_enc3.py and tail_check.hip.

Docs: README GPU table and RDNA4 notes, building (patches 0002-0007,
d4r_emit), native-kernels (RDNA4 section), performance (new numbers),
packaging README. Version 0.1.2.
2026-09-29 20:36:10 -04:00

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# d4r (dlss 4 radeon)
d4r runs NVIDIA's official DLSS Super Resolution library (`nvngx_dlss.dll`) in Windows games on AMD Radeon GPUs under Linux and Proton. The game asks for DLSS as usual; the DLSS network runs on the AMD GPU through [ZLUDA](https://github.com/vosen/ZLUDA) (CUDA on ROCm/HIP), with the heaviest DLSS kernels replaced by hand-written RDNA3 and RDNA4 code.
**Supported DLSS models:** DLSS 3 CNN (E), DLSS 4 transformer (K, default), and DLSS 4.5 transformer (M). DLSS 5 is not supported.
**Proof of concept:** d4r shows that DLSS can run on an AMD GPU, but it is not really that practical for everyday use yet. It has been tested on one GPU in a handful of games and depends on unreleased patches to ZLUDA and vkd3d-proton.
See [supported games](SUPPORTED_GAMES.md) for the tested games and DLSS models.
> **Not affiliated with NVIDIA or AMD.**
## Results
[DLSS Ultra Performance demo video](https://cdn.ayois.gay/dlss).
Radeon RX 7700 XT (RDNA3, gfx1101), SILENT HILL Townfall at 2560×1440, every DLSS result is presented in the frame it belongs to (no added latency).
| Mode | DLSS 3 CNN (preset E) | DLSS 4 (preset K) | DLSS 4.5 (preset M) | FSR 4\* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality (1705×960) | **71.7** fps | 67.9 | 49.3 | 76.0 |
| Balanced (1488×837) | **80.8** | 75.9 | 58.0 | 84.5 |
| Performance (1280×720) | **89.7** | 84.1 | 69.0 | 94.0 |
| Ultra Performance (853×480) | 89.1 | **95.5** | 92.2 | 107.3 |
\* FSR 4 was measured in an earlier session (2026-09-27); the DLSS columns on 2026-09-29, when the same machine ran about 2–4% slower overall. Run back to back on the same day, this release is faster than 0.1.1 at Quality with every model (E 71.2 → 71.9, K 67.9 → 68.1, M 48.4 → 49.3 fps), and more in games whose DLSS settings differ from Townfall's, whose kernel variants now run natively too.
For reference, native 2560×1440 without upscaling (the game's TSR at 100%) runs at 49.1 fps on the same walk.
On the same GPU DLSS starts at a disadvantage: its networks were designed for NVIDIA's tensor cores, and parts of them still run as translated NVIDIA code. How the numbers were measured, and what each optimisation contributed, is in [docs/performance.md](docs/performance.md).
## Known issues
- In some games native upscaling can show visible artifacting.
## GPU support
d4r builds for RDNA3 and RDNA4. A newly built release compiles native DLSS 4 and 4.5 network kernels for the targets below and selects the matching set at runtime. Only the RX 7700 XT has been tested on a real GPU; RDNA4 runtime and performance remain unverified on hardware.
| GPU | Chip | FP8 math | Runtime testing |
|---|---|---|---|
| RX 7700 XT, RX 7800 XT, RX 7700, Radeon PRO W7700 | gfx1101 | widened to f16 | RX 7700 XT only |
| RX 7900 GRE / XT / XTX, Radeon PRO W7800 / W7900 | gfx1100 | widened to f16 | untested |
| RX 7600 / 7600 XT, RX 7650 GRE | gfx1102 | widened to f16 | untested |
| RDNA3 integrated GPUs | gfx1103 | widened to f16 | untested |
| RX 9070 XT / 9070 / 9070 GRE, Radeon AI PRO R9700 | gfx1201 | native FP8 (`NativeFp8`, default on) | emulator only |
| RX 9060 XT / 9060 | gfx1200 | native FP8 (`NativeFp8`, default on) | compile only |
| RDNA2 and older | | | unsupported |
Native network kernels are built for all listed gfx11/gfx12 targets. Texture kernels are compiled for each target by `d4r_emit` when supplied to the package script; RDNA4 also has a `-fp8` variant. The bridge selects the KFD GPU with the most SIMDs, avoiding an integrated GPU when a discrete GPU is present; `D4R_GPU_ARCH` overrides that choice. Missing native kernels fall back to ZLUDA. Without the native network kernels, NVIDIA's translated DLSS 4 layers produce invalid values and DLSS discards the network's output, so K loses the transformer's image quality. Preset E does not use the native network kernels.
## How it works
```
game (D3D12) ──► OptiScaler (DLSS inputs) ──► d4r_nvngx.dll (NGX D3D12 API, tools/d4r_nvngx_shim.cpp)
│ inputs/output stay in VRAM (vkd3d-proton Vulkan interop,
│ command list split around DLSS for same-frame results)
▼
official NGX core + nvngx_dlss.dll (their CUDA path)
▼
nvcuda.dll (Wine CUDA bridge, tools/wine_nvcuda_bridge.c)
▼
ZLUDA (patches/zluda: PTX → AMDGPU, WMMA, native kernel overrides)
▼
native RDNA3 and RDNA4 kernels (kernels/: DLSS 4 and 4.5 network layers)
```
- **The shim** (`d4r_nvngx.dll`) implements the D3D12 NGX entry points OptiScaler calls, copies the game's colour, depth and motion vectors into buffers shared with HIP, evaluates DLSS through the CUDA version of NGX, and writes the result back into the game's output texture.
- **The bridge** is a Wine builtin `nvcuda.dll` that forwards the CUDA driver API to ZLUDA on the Linux side, plus a few helpers the shim needs (Vulkan memory import, asynchronous array copies, GPU-side waits).
- **ZLUDA** compiles NVIDIA's PTX for the AMD GPU. The patches add what DLSS needs (textures, surfaces, FP8 and tensor-core MMA on RDNA3/RDNA4 WMMA) and a hook that serves hand-written kernels in place of selected PTX kernels.
- **Native kernels** reimplement the DLSS 4 and 4.5 network layers for RDNA3 and RDNA4 and replace parts of a few texture-heavy kernels. The 2–3× speedup was measured on the RX 7700 XT; RDNA4 speed is unverified.
Details: [docs/architecture.md](docs/architecture.md) and [docs/native-kernels.md](docs/native-kernels.md).
## Install the release
The release zip works like an OptiScaler release: its contents go into the folder that holds the game's main `.exe`.
1. Extract `d4r-<version>.zip` there. It contains:
- OptiScaler 0.9.4 as `dxgi.dll`, with an `OptiScaler.ini` set up for d4r;
- the d4r-patched vkd3d-proton (`d3d12.dll`, `d3d12core.dll`);
- an `d4r` folder with the shim, the CUDA bridge, ZLUDA, the ROCm 7.2.4 runtime, the native kernels, this game's `d4r.ini`, and NVIDIA's `nvngx_dlss.dll` (310.7) and `_nvngx.dll`.
2. In Steam, select GE-Proton 11 for the game and set these launch options: `PROTON_FORCE_NVAPI=1 DXVK_NVAPI_GPU_ARCH=AD100 %command%`.
ROCm does not need to be installed: the zip includes its runtime (from AMD's Ubuntu 22.04 packages, which run under Steam's container runtime on any distribution). The zip's NVIDIA files and the kernels built from NVIDIA's code are not covered by this repository's license (see [NOTICE](NOTICE)). The Proton prefix and the system are not changed. [packaging/D4R_README.txt](packaging/D4R_README.txt) is the full guide that ships in the zip; `scripts/package_release.sh` builds the zip (see [docs/building.md](docs/building.md#7-package-a-release)).
## Requirements (building from source)
- Linux with an AMD RDNA3 or RDNA4 GPU. The native kernels use gfx11 or gfx12 WMMA. `scripts/package_release.sh` builds network kernels for gfx1100–gfx1103 and gfx1200–gfx1201 by default; `D4R_GPU_ARCH` selects one target for a standalone `kernels/build.sh` invocation. Runtime support outside the RX 7700 XT remains unverified on hardware (see [GPU support](#gpu-support)).
- ROCm with HIP and its clang (tested with ROCm 7.2).
- GE-Proton with OptiScaler integration (tested with GE-Proton11-3).
- Build tools: a Rust toolchain and git-lfs (ZLUDA), meson and ninja (vkd3d-proton), `winegcc`/`winebuild` (bridge), `x86_64-w64-mingw32-g++` and `clang-cl` (shim), Python 3.
- NVIDIA's `nvngx_dlss.dll` 310.7 and a matching NGX core `_nvngx.dll`.
## Build and run
The full sequence is in [docs/building.md](docs/building.md). In short:
1. Build ZLUDA `ee2f25a` with `patches/zluda/0002`–`0007` applied, including its `d4r_emit` example for offline texture builds.
2. Build the patched vkd3d-proton: `scripts/build_vkd3d_proton_d4r.sh OUT_DIR`.
3. Build the shim and bridge: `scripts/build_d4r_nvngx_shim.sh`, `scripts/build_wine_nvcuda_bridge.sh`.
4. Stage the runtime with your NVIDIA files: `scripts/install_d4r_runtime.sh _nvngx.dll nvngx_dlss.dll`.
5. Build the native kernels: `D4R_ROCM_DIR=… D4R_DLSS_DLL=… D4R_ZLUDA_EMIT=… kernels/build.sh`.
6. Fill in `~/.config/d4r/d4r.ini` (created from `config/d4r.ini.default` on first launch) and start the game with `scripts/d4r_play.sh`.
The launcher backs up and restores everything it touches in the Proton prefix: OptiScaler.ini, the prefix's `d3d12.dll`/`d3d12core.dll`, and the game's Engine.ini when cvars are set.
## Preset videos
Gameplay recordings of each DLSS model at the Quality, Performance and Ultra Performance presets.
**Ready or Not**
| Model | Quality | Performance |
|---|---|---|
| DLSS 4.5 | [video](https://cdn.ayois.gay/sk-ant-api03-OPG1vqqsmDkNduG5fXJBelDI-1APyL9_ytJrnOSekZxoh-2NL8NqNuqL3pCI24kJQsudaB896GYpu5TFv93tabAgK1H2sAA) | [video](https://cdn.ayois.gay/sk-ant-api03-d-4XS1it5mtMkm-QRz0Qnkfu9FAjz_dFJURvsh_3gPZTnC1sljpWc28F6fyjUWIC6xlZm-FckWGjaP-KuIipYmroa3dQ8AA) |
| DLSS 4 | [video](https://cdn.ayois.gay/sk-ant-api03-uXTWm4hN5jZksiSm4fvgIOr0dw43hGJ0TpZLe2ZghIbGb7aR9CGGlTV-1paBYO7G6lzIf83tOrCdaKdJerJ4re6epRWDEAA) | [video](https://cdn.ayois.gay/sk-ant-api03-fcZCkctdFOv513z1u6rPBrRseY47Qnw43Gnv5mZf_GekHw-yUoWYcBixjp2qqqbBIf7sVmht0Y676U96n2cwmFIsRgWkHAA) |
| DLSS 3 | [video](https://cdn.ayois.gay/sk-ant-api03-_vuywLcsMzZiJxcNgucBeeXFzWi44mes5A1777bg_4XQ2X0MH22J9M7JFpTS0_q6yaGWMXf3FvL8MDiv_dc7UANxrCmlGAA) | [video](https://cdn.ayois.gay/sk-ant-api03-WzaIy34WIesQeOOTVQNXZwpPPE8khmbUynvMw9B-Luj8GFcZ_sJvGXfg6aW00TD0Rr3nWu43ELJGx2K6qs_HL6FkLdmb1AA) |
**Townfall**
| Model | Quality | Ultra Performance |
|---|---|---|
| DLSS 4.5 | [video](https://cdn.ayois.gay/sk-ant-api03-p8uL0hOUklvA-BSeEafS8LQU-gayzbqAE3NacWAmckLoXOSf2sXGf7OeG1LmvOqeGFRh_ceCWi4pLBl9yxJlvYwQWH3Y1AA) | [video](https://cdn.ayois.gay/sk-ant-api03-Mz0BzYTrLjaYSuQXtOEHTw4ydYVbPvHmMjflm8UhFp976ftXqMExD8BCMYlo93JLEGwVL3rMWoZR0CH_deJJU7jX8_s3GAA) |
| DLSS 4 | [video](https://cdn.ayois.gay/sk-ant-api03-WgNoUPTwH0vt55Ag7RaWprXXINU5OOOEtuDXOvIjHgfAScSiIPIJGVaERoF-EA3JO7LS8xkohUlb6AFsW8AVZ2vMB14JwAA) | [video](https://cdn.ayois.gay/sk-ant-api03-skXZVD6G4DUdAfQw0RLz_UJW8GOfBlpZx1N4ezaF_UIXm7OIY1ciQysfRu4zRsxSXA8plZJi4NSzkXkV7Oxmg9ytg9zaaAA) |
## Repository layout
| Path | Contents |
|---|---|
| `tools/` | the NGX shim, the Wine CUDA bridge, a D3D12 DLSS harness, probes and kernel replay tools |
| `kernels/` | native RDNA3/RDNA4 kernels (`k/` DLSS 4, `m/` DLSS 4.5, `tex/` texture-kernel parts, `common/` WMMA layouts), their build script, validation tools and numpy reference models |
| `patches/` | ZLUDA and vkd3d-proton patches |
| `scripts/` | build, install, launch and probe scripts |
| `config/` | the default `d4r.ini` for the developer launcher |
| `packaging/` | the release's `d4r.ini`, OptiScaler settings, user guide and install check |
| `docs/` | architecture, build, native kernel and performance notes |
## Stars
[![Star History Chart](https://api.star-history.com/svg?repos=countervolts/d4r&type=Date)](https://star-history.com/#countervolts/d4r&Date)
## License
Apache License 2.0 (see [LICENSE](LICENSE)). The patches in `patches/` are offered under the licenses of the projects they modify: ZLUDA (Apache-2.0 or MIT) and vkd3d-proton (LGPL-2.1). See [NOTICE](NOTICE).
To contact me my discord is `._ayo`.