Treffer: PC GAMING GRAPHICS IN 2004.

This article evaluates NVidia NV40 and ATI R420 graphics processors. The NV40 is extremely complex. It weighs in at 220 million transistors, 80 million more than R420. The added complexity comes from a number of sources, the most significant of which is Shader Model 3.0 support. Shader Model 3.0 is wholly contained in DirectX 9.0c, an incremental update from Microsoft that will allow developers to write games with the NV40 in mind. There are two principle components of Shader Model 3.0: Pixel Shader 3.0 and Vertex Shader 3.0. Each extension controls a different aspect of the graphics pipeline, but the overall goal is to facilitate longer shader programs that run faster. Packed with 160 million transistors, the R420 wields 16 pixel pipelines. It features six vertex shading engines compared to the R360's four. While it does not support Shader Model 3.0, it does promise enhanced antialiasing and greater normal map detail through 3 Dc, a Direct3D compression algorithm. As of October 2004, two products employ R420. ATI's Radeon X800 XT is the faster. Its core operates at 520 MHz and is mated to 256 megabyte of GDDR3 memory running at 560 MHz on a 256-bit bus. ATI's Radeon X800 Pro is a reasonalble alternative for computer gaming enthusiasts. It features a detuned version of the R420 processor, with 12 pixel pipelines instead of 16.