   Defining (more) precise codePaths in gfx boards...
  Hi,Where can a gfx programmer find specific info, on a per-board basis, where each gfx board has been "reviewed" and a list of warnings and notes can be seen?I ask because many times there are minute diferences which a programmer either:1) Could use, because they are positive and bring a speed gain2) Should avoid, because they are poorly implemented...This thread I had started seems to be a good example, some of the posters have very good knowledge what what the card seems to be able to do, thats the kind of detailed info I''m looking for, something like:Card Name: nVidia FX-5200Details: 128Mb, AGP 8xPros: Full DX-9 compliance with a few nVidia extras under the hood, some of these extras are... bla bla blaCons: Although fully DX9 compliant there are some things that are quite slow here, like the bla ba bla...Warnings: Do not use 32 bit precision on the whats_its_name, it is far too slow, switch to 24, even 16 if you dont require that level if precision...Notes: Use NV_some_extension instead of NV_other_extension, in this board the speed increase is significant.Downloads: Sample Code on how to use NV_some_extension.-----------------------------------------------Something like that, either in the form of a website or a book, although a website would be much better, because its real-time updateable....   [Hugo Ferreira][Positronic Dreams][Colibri 3D Engine][Entropy HL2 MOD]    [Yann  L.][Enginuity]  [Penny Arcade]  [MSDN][VS  RoadMap][Humus][BSPs][UGP][NeHe]"I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It''s the only way to be sure." 
  just read up on hw reviews to see how good a card performs in certain tasks.. beyond3d is a nice start i guess (the forums are filled with detailed hw info as well).for specs, both nvidia and ati have developer pages.. delphi3d has a big extension list as well.this is why i would suggest you to go with a 9600.- best results for its price-category by far on most hw pages (some are simply so nvidia fanboys they can''t get it that another card could be bether)- rather simple to program for, because simply standard compliant. you don''t have to use a certain feature to be fast, or leave one out. just use all the features it has, and you will be as fast as you can with it. it scales well up and down to other radeons with dx9 capabilities. means a 9700, 9800 will perform simply faster, and the mobile ones will perform slower.now lets go on and hear all the nvidia supporters bash in:D   If that''s not the help you''re after then you''re going to have to explain the problem better than what you have. - joanusdmentiadavepermen.net ;  davepermen stop sidetracking threads, for christ''s sake.... ;  i don''t. i gave you a lot of info on where you can find info. i just didn''t html-tagged them.there is no page having exactly what you request. there are ones that measure performance till the last detail (beyond 3d in the forums), there are extensionlists online for each card (delphi 3d), there are the hw dev pages (ati, nvidia, and *cough* others), there are more tests in real apps (anandtech, tomshardware, etc..), and there is just tons of source spread over the whole net.and then, there are of course the api dokus. for opengl, the extensions, and for dx.this is all there is. there is no "this card can do this good if you do it that way", and this is a GOOD THING. because by default, card should simply work good by just using the api the way it was always ment to be. this was true for all sort of nvidia and ati cards. this is only recently not true anymore, and the reason why carmack codes a special codepath for about every card. the only cards that don''t have a special one, are 9500 and newer ones. they simply use standard opengl1.4 + ARB extensions, because they simply perform fast in it. all others need extensions to eighter work fast (gfFX), or work at all (radeon8500 till before 9500, gf1 .. gf4).and you stated yourself you base this thread on your other thread about cheap gpu''s. and because you now want to get knowledge on what exactly wich card can do how fast, i''d thought you''d like to know wich card does work simply well in default settings, a.k.a. simple plain dx9 code, and simple plain opengl code (with ARB_fragment and ARB_vertex program, of course, as you look for a ps2/vs2 capable card). if you would check all the sources i gave above (on davepermen.net you''ll find most of the links to those pages i read often), you would know, that the radeon9600 is the best you can get. and this fact, and only this fact, is why i suggest it to you. because i know you give a lot of effort into it. so you should at least get something good for the bit of money you can invest.i''m not trying to diss you or hijack the thread or anything. i try to answer your questions, and give useful suggestions based on what i know.   If that''s not the help you''re after then you''re going to have to explain the problem better than what you have. - joanusdmentiadavepermen.net ;  Try:http://www.netsphere.jp/dxinfo/http://www.molybdenium.de/devicecaps/e_database.htmlhttp://www.eol.org/dxdiag/http://www.techlogic.ca/directx/caps/query.mvhttp://users.erols.com/chare/video.htmhttp://www.delphi3d.net/hardware/index.phpI recommend the Japanese site, it is good but needs a bit trial and error to find what you''re looking for. HTH. ;  Check out Tom Forsyth's (ex-Mucky Foot programmer) DX FAQ at here (the question headed "What TextureStateState stuff can different cards do?").  There's quite a bit of handy info there, plus a link (here) to another post by Mal Lansell with more handy info.Both of those are dead useful, hope you enjoy them!Ben Hedit: link-ize those addresses   [edited by - Hinch on February 4, 2004 9:13:01 AM]