PSSR has become a transformative piece of technology for PlayStation 5 Pro users, helping boost performance without the loss of graphical fidelity – for the most part. We’ve gotten to learn even more about the upscaling technology in a recent interview, specifically discussing the new “upgraded PSSR” model, unofficially known as PSSR 2. Mark Cerny, the Lead System Architect for PlayStation 5 consoles (often seen as the technical face of PS5), says you should basically always turn it on.

While we’ll have to wait for frame generation for PlayStation, the improved PSSR model helps deliver better image quality and is available in any game that supported the original PSSR model – you can see a full list here, and support is coming to more games in the coming weeks. Sony advises you turn it off if you “experience unexpected behaviour,” but so far, so good.

You should probably toggle on Enhanced PSSR Image Quality

Mark Cerny discusses PSSR in more detail in a lengthy interview with Digital Foundry, touching on when you should be using the new enhanced PSSR 2 model. In short, pretty much all the time. While he admits the team noticed some aliasing issues affecting lighting in some cases, “99 percent+” of the game still looks better using the new upgraded model.

“For a few of the titles we found that turning on the ‘Enhance PSSR Image Quality’ feature provides wonderful overall improvement to the title, but also causes aliasing in a few scenes, e.g. instability in light sources smaller than a pixel in size.

Personally I’d turn it on in such a case, as 99 percent+ of the game is better, but it’s a choice we each need to make individually as gamers. I’m guessing the PS5 Pro community (and yourselves) will quickly have some guidance on what is best to do on a title by title basis.”

Mark Cerny, via Digital Foundry

The new PSSR model uses the same core algorithm for upscaling as FSR Redstone, formerly referred to as FSR 4 by Cerny. The algorithm is co-developed between AMD and Sony, which is why you can enjoy FSR Redstone-level upscaled visuals on PlayStation 5 Pro. If you didn’t already know, the base PS5 is not compatible with PSSR due to a lack of hardware for AI upscaling, so the tech is reserved for the more expensive ($699.99) model.

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Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.