Re: Can this loop be made faster ?

From: wolfgang kern (nowhere_at_nevernet.at)
Date: 02/28/05 

Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 17:22:34 +0100

Hi Beth,

| Ah, basically, the hardware is now designed to work with the 3D stuff
| directly...you know, "optimised" for it...

Yes:
| > If just all this new hardware would come with detailed documentation
| > instead of HLL-created windoze-drivers...
 
| Actually, actually...the "pixel shaders" are pretty interesting
| things...first off: You program them with a special "pixel shader assembly
| language"...
 
| Basically, what the videocard people have done is that they have
| _programmable_ GPUs...little dedicated CPUs for the graphics...

Are details on these chips available ?
I'm afraid every manufacturer will produce its own ill hidden soup here.

[graphic MPU]
Yes, seems our 'SPU' already exists, even in a way we can only guess.
 
| But, yes, we unfortunately still have to go "via" DirectX...because
...
|...there's all these different graphics cards out there
| Ah, it's the same old, same old, wolfgang...nVidia, of course, have their
| "no documentation" policy and "binary only" drivers...and they don't seem
| to want to give that up...

Perhaps one day, either 'Beth's re-engineering tool' or the 'ultimate
KESYS hardware&code-analyser' will be able to destroy the illusion of
some producers that anything can be hidden by not showing the source.

I've done it manually too often already, so NVidea will not be on my
recommendation list until the guys open their books.

 
[ pixel shaders ]
|... some "assembly language instructions" to play around with
...
| At first, it was just a few instructions that could be executed but these
| limitations are what is getting less and less with each new card and
| version of the "pixel shader" language...it's getting more and more
| "flexible" all the time...

Interesting, where can I find more details on this language?

 
["Half-life 2"]
Thanks for the brief description, it saves me from 400 MB dn-load ;)
 
__
wolfgang