When addressing the DX10 question, Intel simply points out that this shader architecture is a good basis for future products with proper DX10 support.
INTEL 965 EXPRESS CHIPSET FAMILY DRIVER UPDATE DRIVERS
Given that, we would be surprised to see Intel release DirectX 10 drivers for the GMA X3000 to the public.
Intel hasn’t sold the G965 as a DX10-ready solution, and even if the IGP could replicate the behavior and produce the output required to meet the DX10 specification, it’s probably not powerful enough to do so in real time. Although this may sound like a brewing scandal at first blush, it’s almost assuredly not. Intel could release a driver to enable DX10 support, but may never do so.
Intel says the question of DirectX 10 support for the GMA X3000 is a driver issue, as well. Intel has a driver in the works that implements hardware vertex processing (which we saw in action at GDC), but it’s not yet ready for public consumption. As a unified architecture, the GMA X3000 is capable of performing vertex processing operations in its shader units, but it doesn’t do so with Intel’s current video drivers. Integrated graphics processors typically lack dedicated vertex processing hardware, instead preferring to offload those calculations onto the CPU. 32 bits of floating point precision are available throughout, and shader programs are supported up to 512 instructions in length. Vertex texture fetch, instancing, and flow control are all implemented in hardware. For now, the GMA X3000’s internal architecture manifests itself as a DirectX 9-class part that’s quite fully compliant with the Shader Model 3.0 spec. That said, its status as a DX10-compliant part is questionable.
Intel says it designed the GMA X3000 to be compliant with DirectX 10’s Shader Model 4.0. In such an architecture, dynamic load balancing can ensure the most efficient use of the chip’s execution units based on the demands of a given scene, be it biased toward pixel shading calculations, vertex calculations, or a balance of the two. Like the G80 graphics processor that powers Nvidia’s high-end GeForce 8800 series, the X3000 has a unified shader architecture populated with eight scalar execution units that can perform both pixel and vertex operations. Intel’s GMA X3000 graphics core sits at the heart of the G965 Express north bridge, and it’s quite a departure from IGPs of old. Combine that with a Clear Video processing engine and support for HDMI output with HDCP, and you have quite an attractive graphics proposition for budget systems.Ĭan the X3000-equipped G965 Express hold its own against competing chipsets from AMD and Nvidia? Has Intel produced its first truly competitive integrated graphics core? Read on to find out.Ī unified approach to integrated graphics Intel went all out with the X3000, crafting a graphics core with a unified shader architecture that sports eight Shader Model 3.0-compliant scalar execution units and a blistering 667MHz clock speed. This isn’t your average integrated graphics core, though. The latest addition to Intel’s integrated graphics arsenal is the Graphics Media Accelerator X3000, which can be found in the company’s G965 Express chipset. No, it’s the ubiquity of Intel’s integrated graphics chipsets that have allowed it to carve out the largest share of the desktop graphics market. This unlikely king of the jungle has risen to power not on the strength of ultra-high-end GPUs strapped to elaborate cooling systems, nor on the back of popular mid-range products that offer unparalleled value for money. A S AMD AND NVIDIA trade blows in a seemingly perpetual but always animated battle for graphics dominance, it’s easy to forget that the 800-pound gorilla sitting in the corner still commands the lion’s share of the market.
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