Superscalar Design The NVIDIA GeForce 6 Series includes a totally new superscalar shader architecture, which doubles the number of operations that can be executed per cycle compared to traditional architectures. The result is a significant performance increase over single-shader non-scalar designs. Shader Model 3.0 Shader Model 3.0 is the main component in the next-generation of DirectX—DirectX 9.0c—and NVIDIA is pioneering its adoption. Shader Model 3.0 is the next evolution of the vertex and pixel shader specification that is defined by Microsoft DirectX API. DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 3.0 is a significant step forward in terms of ease of use, performance, and shader complexity. NVIDIA GeForce 6 Series of GPUS are the only GPUs that support Shader Model 3.0 One major feature of both Shader 3.0 models (vertex and pixel) is Dynamic Branching. Put simply, this allows a shader author to create true loops and conditionals in their shader programs. Another key feature of Shader Model 3.0 is the support for the Microsoft DirectX® Geometry Instancing API. Currently, games face limits on the number of unique objects they can display in the scene, not because of graphics horsepower, but often the CPU-side overhead of either storing or submitting many slightly different variations of the same object. Instancing allows the programmer to store a single data tree for a model, and to define color, height, branch size and other specifics. on a per instance basis using several other vertex data streams. This can be repeated many times in the scene using the same single. CineFX 3.0 No other GPU in the industry provides the raw shader horsepower and the breadth of hardware support provided by GeForce 6 Series GPUs. At the heart of GeForce 6 Series GPUs is the NVIDIA CineFX 3.0 engine which features vertex and pixel processors and full support for the Microsoft DirectX 9.0 Shader 3.0 specification. This means very long shader programs and advanced programming techniques for unprecedented new levels of visual effects. Full conditional control, as well as displacement maps and geometry instancing, are all part of the new functionality that is unleashed with CineFX 3.0. For more details, see the CineFX 3.0 technical brief. UltraShadow II The NVIDIA UltraShadow II technology allows game engines with multiple shadow passes calculated from multiple light sources (for example next-generation titles such as Doom III) to do the needed calculations and render those shadows much faster and efficiently than previously possible. For more details, see the UltraShadow II technical brief. Intellisample 3.0 Technology NVIDIA Intellisample 3.0 technology leverages the memory bandwidth efficiency techniques and image quality technologies of the original Intellisample technology and maximizes its effectiveness for the new 256-bit memory architecture. Intellisample 3.0 with NVIDIA 64-bit floating point texture filtering and blending technology delivers graphics that are more vibrant and lifelike than any previous enthusiast product. With full floating point support throughout the entire pipeline, GeForce 6 Series GPUs vastly improve the quality of images in motion with floating point filtering. Using floating point precision on texturing operations drives new levels of clarity and image detail, while floating point precision in blending operations gives detail to special effects like motion blur and explosions. Lastly, the new rotated grid antialiasing feature removes jagged edges for incredible edge quality and a new 16x anisotropic filtering mode adds clarity to textures. True 128-bit Precision GeForce 6 Series GPUs continue to be the only GPUs to offer true 128-bit full floating point color through out the pipeline for vivid, lifelike images with the same dynamic range and subtle changes in hues that are prevalent in feature films. In addition, the pipeline of GeForce 6 Series GPUs is true 32-bit native. There are no performance compromises when using 32-bit mode on GeForce 6 Series GPUs. CineFX 3.0 offers the maximum color accuracy and most accurate shader precision available. CineFX also supports 16-bit floating point instructions. Rotated Grid Antialiasing With GeForce 6 Series GPUs, NVIDIA has made changes to the antialiasing algorithm resulting in drastic improvements in the image quality of the antialiased images produced when compared to previous generation processors. GeForce 6 Series GPUs and ForceWare Release 60 software mark the debut of NVIDIA’s rotated grid antialiasing for the industry’s best antialiasing image quality. 64-Bit Texture Filtering and Blending Did you know that the human eye is more sensitive to low intensities of light, and sees darker shades with more detail than high-intensity or bright light? Developers would like to take advantage of the subtle light, texture, and color intricacies that you see in the real world and put them in their games, so you can experience rich, detailed scenes that fully immerse you in their game environments. Digital Vibrance Control 3.0 Technology Allows the user to adjust color controls digitally to compensate for the lighting conditions of their workspace, in order to achieve accurate, bright colors in all conditions. PCI Express Certified Designed to run perfectly with the next-generation PCI Express bus architecture. This new bus doubles the bandwidth of AGP 8X delivering over 4GB/s in both upstream and downstream data transfers. Only supported in some NVIDIA GPUs. Please check product details for bus information. NVIDIA SLI Multi-GPU Ready Dramatically scales performance by allowing two graphics cards to be run in parallel. (GeForce 6800 Ultra, 6800 GT, and 6600 GT only) High-Speed GDDR3 Memory Interface Support for the world’s fastest GDDR3 memory delivers fluid frame rates for even the most advanced games and applications. (GeForce 6800 Ultra, 6800 GT, 6800, and 6600 GT only) |
