Compaq 6000 Supplementary Manual page 10

W P
HITE APER
(cont' d)
Features
Video Features:
Interface
Multimedia Connector
MPEG HW Acceleration
Scaling
Color Space Conversion
Engine Acceleration:
BitBLT
Line Draw
Polygon
3D
Autodesk Display list driver
Heidi drivers support for 3D
Studio Max
Operating Systems
* Available from Matrox
3D Capabilities
Although the Millennium II has improved its 3D capabilities as compared to the original
Millennium graphics controller, there are significant differences between it and other 3D
graphics controllers offered on the Compaq Professional Workstation 5100. The new features in
the Millennium II support texture mapping and Gouraud shading along with 32-bit Z-buffering.
The Millennium II does not support fogging, alpha-blending, depth-queuing, MIP-mapping, anti-
aliasing and bilinear interpolation making it inappropriate for applications in the CAD and DCC
segments that require this level of 3D functionality.
Additionally, the Millennium II 3D capabilities are implemented mainly through software (i.e.
drivers). Thus, those functions not supported by the hardware graphics controller must be
emulated in software and processed by the CPU. This has a significant impact on performance
and makes it far slower than a hardware-based implementation. The Millennium II 3D graphics
capabilities make it appropriate for 3D games, viewing 3D web sites, and entry-level CAD
where rudimentary, low cost 3D capabilities are needed.
ELSA GLoria Synergy Graphics Controller
The GLoria Synergy controller in Compaq Professional Workstation 6000 comes standard with 8
MB of SGRAM memory to provide greater color depth in higher resolution modes. Unified
2D/3D graphics controllers available for the Compaq Professional Workstation provide
exceptional performance at a low cost. Professionals who require fast window and menu level
performance as well as robust 3D rendering capabilities use 2D/3D graphics. The 2D
performance of these solutions is competitive with 2D only controllers such as the Matrox
Millennium II.
Requirements for the 2D/3D graphics segment include exceptional 2D/3D-vector performance,
3D shading and lighting, and some texture mapping support. These features used by mainstream
OpenGL and Heidi based applications typically offer great price/performance without sacrificing
required functionality. This combination is important for mainstream CAD applications, such as
AutoCAD, Microstation, and SolidWorks that have recently integrated 3D techniques into their
environment. It is also useful in DCC where 2D and 3D animation applications are used in the
same environment. Financial analysis and trading environments can benefit from the 2D
performance provided by these solutions. Graphics controllers in this segment also provide
Compaq Workstations - Key Technologies
Technical specification
VGA Feature Connector
Optional Multimedia
module*
Yes – on the optional
module*
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Windows 95
Windows NT 3.51/4.0
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