PC-based computing system employing a silicon chip implementing parallelized GPU-driven pipelines cores supporting multiple modes of parallelization dynamically controlled while running a graphics application

摘要

A PC-based computing system employing a silicon chip implementing parallelized GPU-driven pipelines cores supporting multiple modes of parallelization dynamically controlled while running a graphics application. The PC-based computing system includes system memory for storing software graphics applications, software drivers and graphics libraries, and an operating system (OS), stored in the system memory, and a central processing unit (CPU), for executing the OS, graphics applications, drivers and graphics libraries. The system also includes a CPU/memory interface module and a CPU bus. The routing unit (i) routes the stream of geometrical data and graphic commands from the graphics application to one or more of the GPU-driven pipeline cores, and (ii) routes pixel data output from one or more of GPU-driven pipeline cores during the composition of frames of pixel data corresponding to final images for display on the display surface. The control unit accepts commands from the software multi-pipe drivers, and controls components within the silicon chip, including the routing unit. The profiling unit profiles the performance of the GPU-driven pipeline cores and feeds back performance data to the software multi-pipe drivers, for dynamically determining and controlling the mode of parallelization during the generation of each frame of pixel data, while running a graphics application.