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The shader assembly language in Direct3D 8 and 9 is the main programming language for vertex and pixel shaders in Shader Model 1.0/1.1, 2.0, and 3.0. It is a direct representation of the intermediate shader bytecode which is passed to the graphics driver for execution.
The R600 core processes vertex, geometry, and pixel shaders as outlined by the Direct3D 10.0 specification for Shader Model 4.0 in addition to full OpenGL 3.0 support. [8] The new unified shader functionality is based upon a very long instruction word (VLIW) architecture in which the core executes operations in parallel. [9]
The first shader-capable GPUs only supported pixel shading, but vertex shaders were quickly introduced once developers realized the power of shaders. The first video card with a programmable pixel shader was the Nvidia GeForce 3 (NV20), released in 2001. [ 3 ]
The High-Level Shader Language [1] or High-Level Shading Language [2] (HLSL) is a proprietary shading language developed by Microsoft for the Direct3D 9 API to augment the shader assembly language, and went on to become the required shading language for the unified shader model of Direct3D 10 and higher.
The unified shader model uses the same hardware resources for both vertex and fragment processing. In the field of 3D computer graphics, the unified shader model (known in Direct3D 10 as "Shader Model 4.0") refers to a form of shader hardware in a graphical processing unit (GPU) where all of the shader stages in the rendering pipeline (geometry, vertex, pixel, etc.) have the same capabilities.
The primary change between the R580 and the R520 is that ATI changed the pixel shader processor-to-texture processor ratio. The X1900 cards have three pixel shaders on each pipeline instead of one, giving a total of 48 pixel shader units. ATI took this step with the expectation that future 3D software will be more pixel shader intensive. [15]
FP16 blending is not part of Shader Model 3.0, but is supported mostly by cards also capable of Shader Model 3.0 (exceptions include the GeForce 6200 series). FP16 blending can be used as a faster way to render HDR in video games. Shader Model 4.0 is a feature of DirectX 10, which has been released with Windows Vista.
The shaders support shader model 4.0 features. Architecturally, the GMA X3500 is very similar to the GMA X3000, [ 12 ] with both graphics cores running at 667 MHz . The major difference between them is that the GMA X3500 supports Shader Model 4.0 and DirectX 10 , whereas the earlier X3000 supports Shader Model 3.0 and DirectX 9 . [ 12 ]