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Next-gen of 3D acceleration
by Marcus Yam, Jul 06, 1999 12:01am PDTHey it's the return of Kenn (FiringSquad), discussing next generation 3D accelerators from 3dfx, Nvidia, and others. They discuss the implications of T&L, massive-multitexturing, multiple processors, and more.
One big effect of geometry acceleration is the difference (or lack of difference) on lower-end PCs. Potentially, if you've got a P2-266 and a P3-500 side by side, the graphics portion of games such as Quake 2 and Unreal will run at near exactly the same speeds on each of the systems. Unreal might lag slightly due to more sophisticated AI, but you'll no longer need to worry about upgrading the CPU to get more FPS. Yep, this is probably Intel's nightmare as the CPU becomes a non-factor in the specifics of 3D performance
Comments
Karl
Karl
does it nullift the need for a new cpu fully? no. but does it slow down the need to shell out bucks on the newest intel cpu. yeh.
I can run Aliens vs. Predator, halflife, Q3a, all of them at 1200x1000 resolution at 30 - 40 FPS! 10 - 30 for Q3a. I don\'t think the CPU matters at all when just the 3D chip can get this much performance. These computers are really old!
In my opinion, 3D chips will become even less dependent on the CPU then they are now.
If Intel forces everybody to use some crappy on-board 3D acceleration (and trust me it will be crappy!) it will be the end of all the wonderful advances in 3D rendering that games are making.
In fact, I predict that Intel will eventually buy out the dominant 3D chip manufacturer and integrate their chip into their \"card-chip\" that they have now. When they do, it would only take a CPU upgrade to significantly upgrade the core MHz and the 3D accelerator at the same time-- in time, it would resemble the math coprocessor of the past x86\'s.