Jaton 3DForceS-128, User Manual

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Three-sided (triangle) or four-sided (Quadrilateral) or
occasionally more-sided simple geometric objects. A complex
3D object is composed into many polygons to allow regular
processing of the data and hardware acceleration of that
processing.
Ray Tracing
Ray tracing requires enormous computational resources, and is
supported by only the most advanced graphics systems. Ray
tracing software works by simulating the path of a single light
ray as it would be absorbed or reflected by various objects in
the image. To work properly, the artist must specify parameters
of the light source (intensity, color etc.) as well as all the
objects (how reflective or absorbent the materials are).
Rasterization
The process of transforming a 3D image into a set of colored
pixels.
Rendering
A term which is often used as a synonym for rasterization, but
which can also refer to the whole process of creating a 3D
image.
Setup engine
Setup engine calculates and prepares all of the parameters for
primitive drawing. All these operation, instead of making use of
CPU's loading, using 3D engine of VGA chip for 3D rendering.
Sideband Signaling
An extra 8-bits of addressing capability built into AGP, which
in effect, allows the AGP graphics board to request information
over AGP at the same time as it is receiving data over the 32-bit
datapath of the bus. This is yet another way that AGP graphics
board can create better efficiencies and improve overall
graphics performance.
Stencil Buffer