VPro is the next generation graphics set for Octane. It offers high polygon and fill performance, excellent image quality, and advanced features important to 3D modeling and image processing applications on the desktop. VPro highlights include the following:
Industry-leading transform performance for the desktop: performance increases over existing Octane products
Hardware-accelerated features for enhanced image quality and interactivity
Customer-upgradable on Octane
Two versions of VPro: V6 with 32MB of graphics memory, V8 with 128MB of graphics memory
VPro brings dramatically higher performance and many new features to the desktop. Some of these features are detailed below as they relate to various markets and industries. For all markets, VPro offers superb transform and fill rate performance for both textured and non-textured data sets.
VPro has been optimized to deliver high performance transform and lighting critical to the CAD and 3D animation markets so that the end user can interact freely with large, finely tesselated models.
Industry-leading textured fill-rate performance provides image processing, visual simulation, and volume visualization applications a new level of interactivity.
For 3D modeling and image processing markets, VPro includes a number of differentiated features and meets compliance for OpenGL 1.2 certification.
For 3D modeling markets, new features include the following:
Per-pixel (per-fragment) lighting for accurate lighting even with simplified geometry
Deep graphics FIFO for better host and graphics load balancing
Improved graphics context switching, allowing multiple windows to render at high performance.
For graphics and visualization-intensive image processing markets, VPro offers a set of specific hardware-accelerated features. These features enable enhanced performance for applications and guarantee a high level of image quality and accuracy for the end-user.
48-bit RGBA (supported on V8 and Next Generation VPro) for applications like film compositing and CAD styling that demand high color precision
Up to 104 MB of texture memory with non-blocking texture download, for fast handling of very large textures
3D textures for very fast rendering of volumetric data sets
48-bit texture look-up table for very fast and accurate interaction with volume-rendered data sets
24-bit per component hardware accumulation buffer (128MB version only)
Dual-channel for a two-screen display out of a single graphics card (128MB version only)
VPro is a customer-upgradable add-in board on Octane. The upgrade entails replacing the current graphics subsystem and installing the latest IRIX maintenance release. A single VPro occupies the upper left high-speed XIO port in the Octane machine (the card will physically occupy two XIO slots because of physical dimensions).
VPro will supercede the current SE, SSE, and MXE graphics sets available today on Octane and offer significant price-performance advantages. VPro will be available in two versions: V6 and V8.
The following are distinguishing features of the V6 and V8 versions:
V6 includes 32MB of graphics memory (memory shared among framebuffer, texture, pbuffer, accumulation buffer, etc.).
V8 includes 128MB of graphics memory.