Re: software-only 3d really that slow?

LittleOldMe <x560z@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hi folks,

> This may sound like a silly question,
> but I'm curious as to whether software-only
> 3D graphics, when accelerated with MMX,
> SSE or SSE2 is really all that slow.
> I don't have a 3D-capable video card,
> so excuse my ignorance...

It's seriously unlikely for you to have MMX, SSE or SSE2 available on
any machin that has a video card without any 3D hardware acceleration.
2D-only graphics hardware went out of fashion before SSE hit the
streets.

> Not that I expect software-only to be fast... but is there a rule
> of thumb as to how much of a speedup one can get using 3D hardware?

No need for a rule-of-thumb --- just try it for yourself! Just go to
DirectX / screen controls, turn off all hardware acceleration, and run
some none-too-heavy game on it. Turn the acceleration back on and be
astonished.

> My expectation is that in software-only 3D, each frame is rendered
> in relatively fast main memory, so the CPU can for instance
> rasterize each triangle fairly quickly.

The problem is that a general-purpose CPU is far from being able to do
the kind of operation needed by a 3D engine 'fairly quickly'. 3D
hardware acceleration exists for a reason, and there's reason it has
as many transistors on the die as the entire main CPU, too.

General-purpose processing, even if it's as specialized like that MMX
stuff, can essentially never be serious competition for specially
designed, dedicated processors. At least not on the raw speed front.
CPU design is about flexibility for generic applications, not raw
speed in specific ones.

--
Hans-Bernhard Broeker (broeker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)
Even if all the snow were burnt, ashes would remain.
.

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