Developer Newsletter: Issue #18

This release includes over a hundred new code samples and effects, and technical documentation describing how to apply the latest tips and techniques in your applications. You'll also find the latest versions of cutting edge content creation, code integration, performance analysis and educational resources from NVIDIA. Packed with powerful solutions to challenging problems, this release gives you the information you need to take advantage of NVIDIA GPUs using DirectX and OpenGL.

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GPU Gems: Programming Techniques, Tips, and Tricks for Real-Time Graphics was published at GDC 2004, where it was the runaway bestseller at the show bookstore. Already in its second printing, GPU Gems is a compilation of articles covering practical real-time graphics techniques arising from the research and practice of cutting-edge developers. The book is hard-bound, has 816 pages, and is in full color throughout, with over 300 diagrams and screenshots. GPU Gems is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and is described in detail at the book's home page (including the table of contents, sample chapters, contributor biographies, and more).

We have arranged a special 20% discount for you with our publisher, Addison-Wesley. To take advantage of this offer, please use the following link: http://www.awprofessional.com/title/0321228324. Once you add the book to your shopping cart and begin checkout, you can enter the promotional code "gpugems04" (without the quotes) to receive the 20% discount.

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This handy command line utility uses the same technology as the Shader Perf panel in FX Composer to report shader performance metrics. NVShaderPerf analyzes DirectX and OpenGL shaders written in HLSL, !!FP1.0, !!ARBfp1.0, PS1.x and PS2.x. You can get performance reports for your shaders on the entire family of GeForce FX GPUs, including cycle count and register usage.

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Modern graphics processing units (GPUs) generate images through a pipelined sequence of operations. A pipeline runs only as fast as its slowest stage, so tuning graphical applications for optimal performance requires a pipeline-based approach to performance analysis. NVPerfHUD helps you improve the overall performance of your application by identifying slowest stage in your graphics pipeline.

Be sure to check out the NVPerfHUD User Guide, which describes a methodology for effectively identifying and crushing performance bottlenecks in your application. This release automatically performs the setup & configuration process, making NVPerfHUD 2.0 even easier to use than earlier versions.

NVPerfHUD 2.0 will be available to registered developers in a few days, and to all developers in about a week.

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Joining our Registered Developer program is free and gives you access to a number of benefits:

• Developer Forums
• Prerelease Tools
• Prerelease Drivers
• Bug Reporting
• Board Store Access

Joining is easy!  Simply fill out one of applications below:

• Game Developer Application
• Workstation Developer Application
• Handheld Developer Application

Please note that it may take a few weeks to receive a decision on your application, due to the large number of applicants.

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Recently, we introduced the NVIDIA® GeForce(TM) 6800 models of graphics processing units (GPUs) for high-performance desktop computers. The NVIDIA GeForce 6 Series, which includes the flagship GeForce 6800 Ultra and GeForce 6800, is designed to deliver: 

• Industry-leading 3D performance -- new superscalar 16-pipe architecture delivers more than twice that of current industry leading NVIDIA GPUs 
• New features, including Microsoft DirectX® 9.0 Shader Model 3.0 feature set -- for ultra-realistic cinematic effects
  • Vertex textures
  • Dynamic branching and advanced flow control in both vertex and pixel shaders
  • Dramatically increased instruction count limits
  • Floating-point blending
  • Floating-point texture filtering
  • Generalized floating-point texture support
  • Multiple Render Targets
• Unprecedented on-chip video processing engine -- enabling high- definition video and DVD playback

In case you haven't seen them yet, we have a number of videos that show off the GeForce 6800:

• GeForce 6800 Launch Event Replay
• GeForce 6800 Demos
• GeForce 6800 Demo Collage Video
• GeForce 6800 Testimonials Video
• The Making of Our "Clear Sailing" Demo

We recently announced the NVIDIA Quadro® FX 4000, a professional graphics solution that shatters all performance and image quality records, and reaches new heights in programmability and precision. Armed with a radically new graphics architecture driving twice the geometry and fill rates and up to five times the pixel read-back performance of the former industry leader, the NVIDIA Quadro FX 4000 features unlimited programmability and true 128-bit floating point precision -- giving developers using it the power to create visual content that others with competitive boards can only imagine.

The NVIDIA Quadro FX 4000 introduces many other new technologies that drive the highest performance and image quality for OpenGL- and DX-based professional applications, including:

• Rotated-grid full-scene antialiasing significantly increases the visual quality of lines and edges on 3D models without compromising performance.
• Innovative high-precision dynamic range technology sets new standards for imaging through extended 32-bit floating point capabilities in shading, filtering, texturing, and blending for unprecedented rendered image quality in visual effects processing such as motion blur and explosions.
• World's fastest 256-bit GDDR3 memory interface and the industry's highest memory bandwidth (32GB/sec.) for extremely fast data throughput.
• Two dual-link DVI-I connectors, an industry first, drive multiple very high-resolution displays at up to 3840 x 2400 resolution rates, satisfying demanding medical, satellite, and geospatial imaging application requirements.

We recently unveiled NVIDIA® Gelato(TM), the first 3D final-film renderer accelerated by industry-standard graphics hardware. Armed with the full feature set required by film and TV production professionals, NVIDIA Gelato is set to revolutionize digital film production with speed, precision, and productivity increases never before seen in offline, film-quality rendering.

Designed to create the highest-quality digital effects and animation, NVIDIA Gelato is the first commercially available application in the feature film segment to solve a critical problem-rendering-by using all of the mainstream hardware advantages available, such as floating point acceleration, 64-bit computing, PCI Express, and multithreading.

PNY Technologies and NVIDIA are teaming up to give you the power of NVIDIA Quadro at special pricing!

The NVIDIA Quadro FX series of professional solutions delivers the fastest application performance and the highest quality workstation graphics. NVIDIA Quadro FX takes the leading digital content creation (DCC) applications for game development to a new level of interactivity by enabling unprecedented capabilities in programmability and precision.

Go to http://www.pny.com/products/quadro/gamedev for more information on this incredible deal.

The most popular pages and downloads over the past few weeks have been:

• GeForce 6 Series Developer Video Clips. These educational video clips are meant to help developers by explaining some of the techniques that are possible with GeForce 6 Series GPUs.
  
• NVSDK 7.0. A suite of cutting edge content creation, code integration, performance analysis and educational resources to help you take advantage of NVIDIA GPUs using DirectX and OpenGL.

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