Abstract: A graphics rendering system includes a continuum, or collection, of quality control data groups, each of which contains a plurality of quality control type variables. Each of the type variables contains a value which selects among a plurality of options in a respective trade-off between rendering quality and rendering speed. Each of the quality control data groups may be associated with the respective quality index. Thus, an application program can select a point on the overall rendering speed/quality rendering trade-off, merely by selecting a quality control index value. Moreover, the application program can make the current quality control index accessible to a user, for example in such an intuitive form as an iconic "quality knob". The mechanism permits the user to have fine control over the rendering speed/quality rendering trade-off, without being concerned with adjustments to the individual rendering parameters.