Any chance Sharpening is coming back to IGS?

[BringBackSharpening]

Sharpening's utility was game dependent, but it made a significant difference sometimes.

For example, XeSS in Witcher 3 looks very blurry without being able to add 60% sharpening from IGS. It's bad enough that FSR Quality now looks significantly better in comparison.

[VonM_Intel]

Hi BringBackSharpening,

Thank you for posting in our Community. Sharpening can make a noticeable difference depending on the game, and I appreciate the specific example you gave with The Witcher 3. Your comparison with XeSS vs. FSR is very helpful for us to understand the impact from an end-user perspective. At this stage, I’d like to gather a few more details:

• Besides The Witcher 3, are there other games where you’ve found sharpening especially useful?
• You mentioned 60% sharpening, was that your typical setting across most games, or did you adjust depending on the title?
• Have you tried using any in-game sharpening sliders or post-processing tools as a workaround, and if so, how do they compare to the IGS implementation?

• Could you confirm which Intel® Graphics Driver version you’re currently running? This helps us understand compatibility with XeSS and sharpening-related features.

Have a nice day!

Best regards,

Von M.
Intel Customer Support Technician

[BringBackSharpening]

Thank you for getting back. To help with this further I am using the MSI Claw 8 AI+.

In the Witcher 3, the difference is especially huge in Toussaint. Everything looks like vaseline is smeared across the screen now even when it is set to XeSS Ultra Quality at 1920x1200p. This is with all medium settings except textures are at ultra.

This is also with the in game sharpening set to high. Distant details and foliage suffer the most but everything is pretty blurry looking now in my opinion. Switch between XeSS and FSR and the difference is immediately noticeable.

I actually have videos I recorded on my phone that I was showing to friends back in February showing how great the game looked with XeSS over FSR. That's when I could enable sharpening from IGS though. So I know I'm not remembering incorrectly.

Yes, I also used sharpening to help with blur in Red Dead Redemption II. I can't remember if I set it to 60% like in the Witcher though. IGS sharpening is superior to the slider used in RDR2 for FSR (since XeSS isn't available).

I'm on 32.0.101.6989 I think. I know I updated the drivers last in the middle of August.

[VonM_Intel]

Hello BringBackSharpening,

Thank you for sharing that. Please note that the Image Sharpening, Adaptive Tessellation, and Anisotropic Filtering features were removed from Intel® Graphics Software (IGS) beginning with version 25.22.1502.2, which is included in driver version 32.0.101.6913. From this version onward, these features are no longer available, and at this time there is no indication that they will be reinstated in future updates. 

For more information, you may refer to the following article: [Intel® Graphics Software (IGS) Image Sharpener, Adaptive Tessellation, and Anisotropic Filtering not Working]

Best regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[VonM_Intel]

Hello BringBackSharpening,

Have you had a chance to review my previous response? Please let us know if you require any further assistance. I'm here to help.

Best regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[BringBackSharpening]

I did, thanks for the information. I don't have any other questions about it. I just hope it will be considered to be brought back one day. I will be very interested in future Panther Lake based handheld systems.

[VonM_Intel]

Hello BringBackSharpening,

I have not heard back from you, so I will close this inquiry now. If you need further assistance, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Best regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician