Abstract: An apparatus method is provided for mipmapping a texel to a pixel to computer graphics objects on a display for a graphics computer system. The rendering speed is increased by determining the texture coordinates and the mipmap level of detail of the mipmap in parallel. The texture coordinate and mipmap level of detail constants are calculated in parallel for an object primitive and pixels are selected in the primitive. The pixels are rendered based on parallel texture coordinate and mipmap level of detail calculations using the previously calculated texture coordinate and mipmap level of detail constants.

Abstract: In a graphics subsystem of a computer system, a method for adjustable texture replication. The method is implemented within the graphics subsystem of the computer system. The method includes the step of configuring a plurality of raster engines into a first cluster and a second cluster. The raster engines of the first cluster and the raster engines of the second cluster are each communicatively coupled to respective texture memories. A first texture image copy is stored among the texture memories of the first cluster such that each respective texture memory stores a respective portion of the first texture image copy. A second texture image copy is stored among the texture memories of the second cluster such that each respective texture memory stores a respective portion of the second texture image copy. A parallel texture mapping process is performed on a surface using the first cluster and the second cluster.

Abstract: A method and system for processing textures for a graphical image on a display is disclosed. The graphical image includes a plurality of polygons. Each of the plurality of polygons includes at least one fragment. The fragment includes at least one texture and a w-value for the fragment. Each polygon has a plurality of vertices, a display area, and a texture space area. Each of the vertices has a vertex w-value. The at least one texture is associated with at least one MIP map. The MIP map includes a plurality of MIP map levels. The method and system include determining a selection value for each fragment of a polygon of the plurality of polygons. The selection value includes ½ multiplied by the base two logarithm of the texture area divided by the display area and divided by the product of the vertex w-values for each of the plurality of vertices. The selection value also includes 3/2 multiplied by the base two logarithm of the w-value for each of the at least one fragment.

Abstract: The invention provides for cache organization of texture information and a method and apparatus for accessing cached texture information and an index for cached information. Texels are represented in two dimensions and stored in groups referred to as tiles. Cache is configured to contain multiple tiles of texture image data, each tile being stored as a line in the cache. A cache line can be multidimensional (e.g., two or three or more dimensions) and may be viewed as an identifiable storage element in the cache. Memory may consist of a plurality of cache lines. Direct mapped cache may be utilized wherein each DRAM location maps to a single cache line. A tag table contains the tag information for all tiles currently stored in cache. A portion of the texel information may be utilized as an index assigned to a specific cache line. Another portion of the tag information identifies the tile currently stored in cache.

Abstract: A process and implementing computer system for graphics applications in which information files such as texture maps (TMs) are prioritized and stored in a local relatively fast RDRAM memory. The method of prioritization includes initially sorting the information files by order of the frequency with which corresponding graphics primitive elements are called by the application. The priority is adjusted such that the smaller TMs get an increase in their priority so that more TMs may be placed in faster graphics memory. Thereafter among similarly prioritized groups of information files, the larger of the files are first stored in the fast graphics memory and the remaining files are marked for storage in the system memory after the fast local memory has been fully utilized.

Abstract: The present invention concerns a method for determining the representation of a picture on a display and a method for determining the color of a pixel displayed on a display. It is the object of the present inventions to enable computers disposing of a relatively low capacity for calculating the displayed image to fast and unalterated representations of images disposing of textures with a large size. This is achieved by altering the textures in MIPmaps and determining the MIPmap level for displaying the texture and calculating the color value of a pixel in a manner adapted to screen resolution and computing speen.

Abstract: A process and implementing computer system for graphics applications in which information files such as texture maps (TMs) are prioritized and stored in a local relatively fast RDRAM memory. The method of prioritization includes initially sorting the information files by order of the frequency with which corresponding graphics primitive elements are called by the application. The priority is adjusted such that the smaller TMs get an increase in their priority so that more TMs may be placed in faster graphics memory. Thereafter among similarly prioritized groups of information files, the larger of the files are first stored in the fast graphics memory and the remaining files are marked for storage in the system memory after the fast local memory has been fully utilized.

Abstract: A deferred graphics pipeline processor comprising a texture unit and a texture memory associated with the texture unit. The texture unit applies texture maps stored in the texture memory, to pixel fragments. The textures are MIP-mapped and comprise a series of texture maps at different levels of detail, each map representing the appearance of the texture at a given distance from an eye point. The texture unit performs tri-linear interpolation from the texture maps to produce a texture value for a given pixel fragment that approximates the correct level of detail. The texture memory has texture data stored and accessed in a manner which reduces memory access conflicts and thus improves throughput of said texture unit.