36.2 Hardware: Graphics processor

Graphics Processor

GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is a customised electronic circuit which is designed to be fast and efficient to alter memory to rapidly speed up the creation of images in a frame buffer which is intended for output to a display. However a GPU wasn’t always like this as it started out for gaming in the 1970s. At this point in time, GPU was only designed to draw 2D pixels which was a basic feature so all the games were in 2D and didn’t have good graphics. Whereas, GPUs have evolved to handle complex mathematical equations which are much faster which is faster than most CPUs as the GPU is better adapted to render games which are now 3D which allows better graphics for the game and it is better for the user as the gameplay would look realistic. Within the GPU, there are 2D or 3D processors. The processors process information which is instructed to them in 2D or 3D. The information is given in calculations so it can appear on screen for the user to see. The rendering process of the graphic comes at the end of the pipeline and what appears on the screen varies at this step. The rendering engine consists of specialized hardware or software which generates a digital image within a frame buffer. Rendering is required for 2D and 3D graphics however 3D graphics takes a lot more processing power to render. This is because the calculations required need to work out how the objects (polygons) will be displayed and this takes up a lot of processing power than just calculating pixels for a 2D image. For gaming, if you are playing you will need a good GPU which can handle the calculations so textures like 3D models and graphics can run smoothly.

Pixels

Pixels are picture elements. The more pixels you have, the more closely the image resembles the original. Every picture and photograph, digital is made up of pixels. Pixels are the smallest fragment of information which creates the whole picture. It is shaped round or square and is 2D (Two dimensional) as it is arranged in a two dimensional grid. An example of pixels being used in video games is in 8-bit or 16-bit games such as Pac Man. Pixels are still used e.g. in the Call of Duty Black Ops Menu the text and images used in that frame is in pixels as Nurbs or Polygon Modelling isn’t being used.

Nurbs

NURBS (Non-Union Rational Basis Spline) represents two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects. An example of this would be shapes such as a cube, cylinder or it could be a free transform shape such as a shape of a car. NURBS are used for graphics such as video game graphics etc. and it allows the graphic designer to manipulate shapes by allowing it to bend and have curves. Nurbs are on computer software such as Maya. An example of NURBS being used is in the game: Call of Duty Black Ops and it is used to create the maps and the hills.

Polygon Modelling

Polygon modelling is used for 3D modelling and is used in the gaming industry. An example of polygon modelling is shapes such as sphere, cube, cylinder, cones, pyramids etc. The cube is a good example as it has faces, edges and vertices as if polygon modelling is used this could indicate that a complex model is being used. For example, in GTA polygon modelling could be used to create the planes, helicopters etc. as they’re created with detail and it looks realistic.

The difference between Pixels, NURBS and polygon modelling is that pixels are used to store an element of information of a graphic/picture whereas NURBS is used to put curves and bends on a model to allow it look realistic and smooth. Polygon modelling is used to model an object.

VRAM (Video Random-Access Memory) is a dual-ported iteration of dynamic RAM which was used to store frame buffer in graphics adaptors. The reason why VRAM was created as it was designed to run faster than the normal RAM for the GPU to access data for drawing and loading graphics such as textures. The more VRAM there is, this means more detail is added to the images which are rendered. Consequently, this would impact the draw distance within video games as the distance will be longer which means users will be able to see graphics from further which will make the graphics of the game better. An example of a video gaming system which has VRAM within it is the PlayStation 4. This is so the graphics for the user would be at its best. An example of a video game would be God of war. From many reviews, a lot of people enjoy this game due to its high-end user graphics which have detailed textures and character models.