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Any “3D application”, a game, VRML, or modeling package, can benefit
from 3D rendering. This is especially true of an application that uses
texturing extensively, because texturing and texture filtering are very
intensive operations at the pixel level in terms of CPU operations and
demands for memory bandwidth. Without a set-up engine in a graphics
controller, the CPU has to calculate the delta values for edges, color,
and textures; the drivers need to handle ten (10) times more extensive
data. This results in slower 3D pipeline operations between the CPU
and the graphics controller.
Q5 If we use powerful CPUs, such as a Pentium™ 4, can a standard
2D graphics card achieve 3D performance?
Answer
Yes and no. Software rendering can take advantage of "tricks" learned
by force of necessity through years of trial and error. With such
stratagems, the speed of software rendering for simple scenes can
approach that of low-level hardware 3D rendering. On the other hand,
as scenes become more complex (or frame sizes become larger),
there are conflicts between using the CPU for high-level game logic,
geometry, lighting, and rendering, all of which increase their demands.
No current CPU or system can perform advanced quality-
enhancements (bilinear filtering and alpha blending) in real time. Even
general case texture mapping with RGB lighting is too much for the
current CPU generation.
Q6 What does "software 3D" mean?
Answer
Software 3D is generally used to mean using non-specific (2D)
hardware in conjunction with the CPU to render for 3D applications.
Some of these techniques allow usable 3D applications when high-
powered and/or MMX™-equipped CPU's are employed along with
special-case software optimization techniques. As stated above, SW
3D can achieve credible results with today's (software optimized)
applications, but the rising popularity of good 3D hardware at the
consumer price level is inexorably compelling the public to expect
hardware level scene enhancements and frame rates.
Q7 What is “SGRAM”?
Answer
Synchronous Graphics Random Access Memory (SGRAM) is a new
and improved type of memory, custom-designed for graphics use.
Q8 What is the advantage of as compared to ordinary DRAM?