Not too much, I guess, at least to a lesser extent than the NV4x cards. The NV3x series needed it badly, the NV4x slightly (though in some cases it did help) but hopefully doesn't matter too much for the G70. More than the _pp gain, nVIDIA cards gain performance from using lookup tables over straight math. Also, the DST thing is a big performance gainer.ERK said:Follow up question for the experts. How much does _PP help the 7800GTX in the shader above?
For any willing to speculate...
Probably, but it wouldn't make a difference if they're using 8 test samples (which is probably why they're using DB! Mwahahahaha). I don't see the water using DB either (from what's given in their whitepaper - 2 scrolling normal maps and 4 Gerstner wave functions). The Heterogenous Fog is another likely candidate, though they clearly mention that they're able to get away with just 5 samples (which wouldn't require DB).Chalnoth said:Probably soft shadows.
I believe Nick mentioned somewhere in this thread that they use a custom 16-sample pattern.poly-gone said:Probably, but it wouldn't make a difference if they're using 8 test samples (which is probably why they're using DB! Mwahahahaha).
Yes, that can be done by encoding the offsets in a 3D volume map. You use 8 test samples to check if the pixel is fully shadowed (then exit the shader quickly), otherwise fetch the remaining 8 samples to soften the edges. It doesn't require DB though, if you skip the testing.Chalnoth said:I believe Nick mentioned somewhere in this thread that they use a custom 16-sample pattern.
Chalnoth said:You've got a typo in your CPU score results, mongoled
But yeah, that definitely seems very strange to me.
Both used the nForce4. So it more likely has something to do with hyperthreading. But what, I don't know.ANova said:Probably has to do with the chipsets, Intel's tend to be very good and fast.
Thanxs for tht, sorted it out. Still interested to see if someone else can shed more light on this as the difference in the scores is quite obvious. Would the CPU's be doing work with regards to SM2.0 and SM3.0?Chalnoth said:You've got a typo in your CPU score results, mongoled
But yeah, that definitely seems very strange to me.
Chalnoth said:Both used the nForce4. So it more likely has something to do with hyperthreading. But what, I don't know.
Yes. But that doesn't necessarily mean that hyperthreading wouldn't have had an effect. It is, after all, the primary advantage available for the P4.Fox5 said:Weren't both cpus used dual core cpus?
Just because 8 samples lie within, or out of, the shadow doesn't mean all 16 will! A better solution is to generate an edge mask so that only pixels within the edge mask get all 16 samples. Pixels outside the edge mask only need 1 sample to determine whether they are shadowed or not.poly-gone said:Yes, that can be done by encoding the offsets in a 3D volume map. You use 8 test samples to check if the pixel is fully shadowed (then exit the shader quickly), otherwise fetch the remaining 8 samples to soften the edges.
I think it's time for Ati to admit that they lost the IQ crown in favor of the technologically superior nVIDIA™ cards.geo said: