Graphics Hardware Trends

1
Graphics Hardware Trends

• Faster development than Moores law
• Double transistor functions every 6-12 months
• Driven by game industry
• Improvement of performance and functionality
• Multi-textures
• Pixel operations (transparency, blending, pixel
  shaders)
• Geometry and lighting modifications (vertex
  shaders)

2
Transistor Functions
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5800 (125M)
120
110
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro (110M)
100
transistors (millions)
90
80
70
NVIDIA GeForce4 (63M)
60
50
NVIDIA GeForce3 (57M)
ATI Radeon 8500 (60M)
40
30
Riva 128 (3M)
20
10
0
9/97
3/98
9/98
3/99
9/99
3/00
9/00
3/01
3/02
9/01
time (month/year)
3
Typical GPU Characteristics

• Brand
• Transistors
• Technology
• Clock rate
• Mem bandwidth
• Fill rate (peak)
• Pixel pipelines
• Textures per unit
• FSAA
• Bits per channel
• Tri transform (peak)
• Tris (3Dmark)
• Vertex shaders

ATI Radeon 9800 P 107 M 0.15 micron 380 MHz 22
GB/s 3 GPixel/s 8 8 6 x 18 Gsample/s 10 380 M 19
M 4
NVIDIA GeForceFX 5900 U 130 M 0.13 micron 450
MHz 27 GB/s 1.8/3.6 GPixel/s 4/8 16 4 x 27
Gsample/s 10 315 M 28 M 4
Source www.tomshardware.com
4
Modern Scientific Visualization

• Traditional plotting techniques are not
  appropriate for visualizing the huge datasets
  resulting from
• computer simulations (CFD, physics, chemistry,
  ...)
• sensor measurements (medical, seismic, satellite,
  )
• Map abstract data onto graphical representations
• Try to use colorful 3D raster graphics in
• expressive still images
• recorded animations
• interactive visualizations

The purpose of computing is insight not numbers
To see the unseen
5
Visualization Pipeline and Classification
visualization pipeline
classification
different grid types ? different algorithms
3D vector fields un/structured (eg. CFD)
trees, graphs, tables, data bases InfoVis
3D scalar fields Cartesian(eg. medical datasets)
6
GPU and Visualization Pipeline

• Renderer
• Texture-based techniques (e.g., for volume
  rendering)
• Large textured terrain height fields
• Mapper
• Classification in volume rendering
• Integrate ray segments (in unstructured volumes)
• Integrate particle traces (in flow fields)
• Assign color and transparency for NPR
• Filtering
• Data filtering in graphics memory
• Compression/decompression (of textures)

7
Visualization of Volumetric Data

• Direct volume rendering of scalar fields
• Flow visualization in 3D
• Focus on regular grids

8
Visualization of Volumetric Data