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PC-based computing system employing a silicon chip implementing parallelized GPU-driven pipelines cores supporting multiple modes of parallelization dynamically controlled while running a graphics application

  • US 7,812,845 B2
  • Filed: 10/26/2007
  • Issued: 10/12/2010
  • Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2004
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A PC-based computing system comprising:

  • system memory for storing software graphics applications, software drivers and graphics libraries, and;

    an operating system (OS), stored in said system memory;

    one or more graphics applications, stored in said system memory, for generating a stream of geometrical data and graphics commands supporting (i) the representation of one or more 3D objects in a scene having 3D geometrical characteristics and (ii) the viewing of images of said one or more 3D objects in said scene during an interactive process carried out between said PC-based computing system and a user of said PC-based computing system;

    one or more graphics libraries, stored in said system memory, for storing data used to implement said stream of geometrical data and graphics commands;

    a central processing unit (CPU), for executing said OS, said graphics applications, said drivers and said graphics libraries;

    a CPU bus;

    a CPU/memory interface module for interfacing with said CPU by way of said CPU bus;

    a display surface for displaying said images by graphically displaying frames of pixel data;

    a plurality of GPU-driven pipeline cores arranged in a parallel architecture and operating according to one or more parallelization modes of operation, determined during the generation of each said frame of pixel data, so that said GPU-driven pipeline cores process geometrical data and graphics commands in a parallel manner;

    wherein said one or more parallelization modes of operation include a time division mode, an image division mode, and an object division mode;

    a silicon chip having a routing unit and a control unit; and

    software multi-pipe drivers, stored in said system memory;

    wherein said routing unit (i) routes the stream of geometrical data and graphics commands from said graphics application to one or more of said GPU-driven pipeline cores, and (ii) routes pixel data output from one or more of said GPU-driven pipeline cores during the composition of each frame of pixel data corresponding to a final image, for display on said display surface;

    wherein said control unit accepts commands from said software multi-pipe drivers, over said CPU bus, and controls components within said silicon chip, including said routing unit;

    wherein said software multi-pipe drivers perform the following functions;

    (i) controlling the operation of said silicon chip,(ii) interacting with said OS and said graphics libraries,(ii) dynamically determining and controlling said parallelization mode during the generation of each said frame of pixel data during the running of said one or more graphics applications, and(iii) forwarding said stream of geometrical data and graphics commands, or a portion thereof, over said CPU bus to one or more of said GPU-driven pipeline cores; and

    wherein, for each image of said one or more 3D objects to be generated and displayed on said display surface, the following operations are performed;

    (i) said silicon chip uses said routing unit to distribute said stream of geometrical data and graphics commands, or a portion thereof, to said GPU-driven pipeline cores,(ii) one or more of said GPU-driven pipeline cores process said stream of geometrical data and graphics commands, or a portion thereof, during the generation of each said frame, while operating in said parallelization mode, so as to generate pixel data corresponding to at least a portion of said image, and(iii) said silicon chip uses said routing unit to route said pixel data output from one or more of said GPU-driven pipeline cores and compose a frame of pixel data, representative of the image of said one or more 3D objects, for display on said display surface.

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