Abstract: An apparatus and method for splitting vertex streams relating to graphics data into substreams, and processing the substreams in parallel. A graphics subsystem of a computer system includes a vertex splitting module, which determines whether incoming vertex streams are of a unicast, unlocked type, and thus available for splitting, and further whether graphics primitives in the vertex stream are of a type that may be split. If appropriate, the vertex splitting module then locates vertices in the vertex stream, generates substreams from the vertex stream, and transmits the substreams in a load-balanced operation to multiple graphics processors for parallel processing and outputting to an output device. If the vertex stream is too large to store in FIFO queues of the graphics processors, it is not split into substreams.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for splitting vertex streams relating to graphics data into substreams, and processing the substreams in parallel. A graphics subsystem of a computer system includes a vertex splitting module, which determines whether incoming vertex streams are of a unicast, unlocked type, and thus available for splitting, and further whether graphics primitives in the vertex stream are of a type that may be split. If appropriate, the vertex splitting module then locates vertices in the vertex stream, generates substreams from the vertex stream, and transmits the substreams in a load-balanced operation to multiple graphics processors for parallel processing and outputting to an output device. If the vertex stream is too large to store in FIFO queues of the graphics processors, it is not split into substreams.