HelixSR (FSR 3.1 upscaler for AMD GPUs)

HelixSR is an unofficial, free upscaler for Direct3D 12 games. It replaces a game's AMD FSR 3.1 DLL with one that runs NVIDIA's DLSS network as plain compute shaders, so it works on AMD GPUs (RDNA 1 and newer). The HelixSR tab sets it up for you and puts it into your games. WindowManager does not change HelixSR itself; it runs HelixSR's own setup.

Does this PC qualify?

HelixSR runs as Direct3D 12 compute shaders. The line This PC at the top of the tab, and Check this PC, test your graphics adapters (shader model 6.6, 16-bit math, SIMD width), the free disk space (about 1.5 GB while setting up) and tar.exe. The check also runs before every set-up.

Result	Meaning
supported	An AMD RDNA 1 or newer card (RX 5000, 6000, 7000, 9000 series, recent Ryzen graphics) with everything above.
experimental	Works on paper but HelixSR was not tested on it: AMD Vega and older, NVIDIA (GTX 10 "should work"; GTX cards have no DLSS, so HelixSR is useful there; on RTX the game's own DLSS is better) or Intel. You are warned and may continue.
not supported	No Direct3D 12 device, shader model below 6.6, too little disk space, or a missing tool. Set-up is stopped.

Shader model below 6.6. HelixSR's shaders are built for shader model 6.6, so a card that reports less cannot run them. The graphics driver decides what the card reports: install the newest driver for the card and check again. If the newest driver still reports 6.5 or lower (this can happen with data-centre and older cards), HelixSR cannot run on that card. The app cannot work around this.

Set up HelixSR (once)

Press Set up HelixSR, read the notice and choose Download and build.

1. HelixSR is downloaded from its GitHub releases and checked against the published SHA-256. A file that does not match is deleted.
2. Python, numpy and a shader compiler are downloaded from the addresses HelixSR's setup names and checked against its SHA-256 sums. HelixSR's build script then downloads NVIDIA's DLSS 310.7.0 DLL and builds the network on this PC. This takes about 5 to 6 minutes. A progress bar and a running timer show how far it is. Cancel stops it and removes what it made. No game is changed while setting up.
3. Afterwards the app deletes what is no longer needed: the downloaded DLSS DLL, the shader compiler, numpy, the archives and HelixSR Scaler's files. HelixSR and a small Python stay.

Everything is kept in the helixsr folder next to the program (and %LOCALAPPDATA%\HelixSR for Python). The built DLL contains NVIDIA's network: it is for this PC, so do not share or upload it.

Updates

If HelixSR is set up, the app checks GitHub for a newer release when it starts (one small request). Check for updates does it on demand. When a newer one exists the tab is named HelixSR (update) and the button reads Update to x.y.z. The update downloads and builds the new version, removes the old one, and offers to update the games that still have the older DLL.

HelixSR 2.0's own setup (helixsr-setup), run unattended, goes on to install HelixSR Scaler into every game it finds, with frame generation on. The app never runs that step: it runs only HelixSR's build script (without frame generation, which only HelixSR Scaler uses) and puts HelixSR into the games you pick, through HelixSR's own installer (its JSON bridge), always as the FSR drop-in. A HelixSR 1.x that is already set up keeps working until you update. A newer major version (3.x) is shown as is out; this app does not support it yet until the app has been checked against it.

Games

HelixSR works in games that ship AMD FSR 3.1 (a file named amd_fidelityfx_dx12.dll or amd_fidelityfx_upscaler_dx12.dll).

1. The list shows every saved game (Steam games are added by themselves). The app looks through each game's folder in the background. Games with an FSR 3.1 DLL come first. Games without one are greyed out and cannot be selected.
2. Pick a game in the list and press Install, or just Run with HelixSR (double-click does the same): it installs when needed and then starts the game like Start does.
3. In the game's graphics settings choose AMD FSR as the upscaler.

Status in the list	Meaning
not installed	The game has an FSR 3.1 DLL; HelixSR is not in it yet.
HelixSR x.y.z installed	The game's FSR DLL is HelixSR's. "is available" means a newer build can be installed.
the game put its own DLL back	A game update or "verify files" restored the original. Install again (Run does it for you).
no AMD FSR 3.1 DLL: HelixSR cannot be used	Greyed out. The game has no FSR 3.1 (it may only offer DLSS, XeSS or an older FSR).

Remove puts the game's own DLL back (HelixSR keeps it as *.original.dll next to it). Close the game before installing or removing.

Settings for a game

With a game that has HelixSR installed selected, the row under the list edits that game's helixsr.ini (next to HelixSR's DLL):

Setting	Values	Meaning
Sharpening	off, nvidia, rcas	An optional sharpening pass after upscaling.
Strength	0.00 to 1.00	Used when sharpening is on.
Wave size	auto, 64, 32	Leave on auto unless the picture is broken.

Save settings writes the file (comments and other keys in it are kept; a missing file is created). Restart the game for the change to apply.

If installing is switched off

After a build the app tries HelixSR's installer on a throw-away folder. If a newer HelixSR changed its installer so that WindowManager no longer fits it, the tab says so and Install, Remove and Run are disabled until WindowManager is updated. The built HelixSR is not lost: Open folder shows it, and running helixsr-setup there installs it into games by hand (it asks about each game it finds).

Good to know

• Games that only offer DLSS, XeSS or FSR 2 need HelixSR Scaler; this app does not install it.
• Online games with anti-cheat may not accept a replaced DLL. Use it at your own risk.
• HelixSR's log is helixsr.log next to the game's DLL.
• Looking through a game's folder happens in the background, so a big game never blocks the app; a list entry reads "checking..." for a moment.
• Everything the app does for HelixSR is written to the application log and the game's log; see Logs and troubleshooting.