Last Updated:
08
/
09
/
2010
OpenGL 4.1 support. New July 2010
Quick Links:
Windows driver version 259.31 and Linux drivers version 256.38.03 provide full support for OpenGL 4.1 and GLSL 4.10 on capable hardware. This driver also supports several new OpenGL extensions for both 4.1-capable GPUs and older GPUs. The driver download links are at the bottom of this page.
You will need any one of the following Fermi based GPU to get
access to the OpenGL 4.1 and GLSL 4.10 functionality:
- Quadro Plex 7000, Quadro 6000, Quadro 5000, Quadro 5000M, Quadro 4000
- GeForce GTX 480, GeForce GTX 470, GeForce GTX 465, GeForce GTX 460
For OpenGL 2 capable hardware, these new extensions are
provided:
For OpenGL 3 capable hardware, these new extensions are provided:
For OpenGL 4 capable hardware, these new extensions are provided:
The OpenGL 4.1 and GLSL 4.10 specifications, and all ARB extension
specifications, can be downloaded here: http://www.opengl.org/registry/
For any bugs or issues, please file a bug through the
developer website: https://nvdeveloper.nvidia.com/
1) How do I start using OpenGL 4.1 in my code base?
In order to use OpenGL 3.0 and later versions, an
application should "opt in" to use these versions. There is a
new context creation call CreateContextAttribsARB (for WGL and
GLX defined in the WGL/GLX_ARB_create_context extensions) that
you should use in order to request a context that supports
OpenGL 3 or OpenGL 4.
For OpenGL 3.2, and later versions including OpenGL 4.1,
you additionally will have to indicate what profile you want
the OpenGL context to support. Either the "Core" or the
"Compatibility" profile.
2) I hear about deprecation and removing functionality
from OpenGL. What is going on?
Together with OpenGL 3.0, the OpenGL ARB introduced a
deprecation mechanism. Deprecation means that a feature is
marked for removal from a future version of the OpenGL spec.
It is not actually removed yet from OpenGL 3.0, but this means
that future versions of OpenGL will remove features. Several
features are marked as deprecated in the OpenGL 3.0
specification (but none are removed).
The OpenGL 3.1 specification removed those features that
were marked as deprecated in OpenGL 3.0. However, the
OpenGL ARB has recognized that there is a need to provide both
new functionality in future versions of OpenGL, and still
support the removed functionality. To support that market
need, the ARB_compatibility extension has been created. This
single extension encapsulates all the removed functionality,
and re-introduces that back into core OpenGL 3.1. The entry
points and tokens in this extension have not changed. No "ARB"
suffix has been attached, for example. Implementation of the
ARB_compatibility extension is optional. Some OpenGL vendors
might chose not to implement it. NVIDIA does support this
extension across all its OpenGL 3 capable offerings. This
means that if the ARB_compatibility extension name is present
in the OpenGL extension string, that the OpenGL implementation
supports a fully backwards compatible OpenGL 3.1.
Starting with OpenGL 3.2, the OpenGL ARB has introduced two
profiles. The "Core" profile and the "Compatibility" profile.
A profile is a well defined subset of the OpenGL
specification. The "Core" profile builds on top of OpenGL 3.1
(without ARB_compatibility). The Core profile does not support
any deprecated features. The Compatibility profile builds on
top of OpenGL 3.1 including ARB_compatibility. The
Compatibility profile has full support for all features,
including the deprecated ones. Both profiles are available in
our OpenGL 4.1 drivers.
NVIDIA recommends that developers always create a
Compatibility profile context, to ensure full backwards
compatibility of existing OpenGL code.
The OpenGL ARB provides two OpenGL 4.1 specifications, one
each for the Core and Compatibility profiles. For the OpenGL
Shading Language version 4.10, the OpenGL ARB provides only
one document, with the Compatibility profile functionality
integrated and clearly marked. These three specification
documents can be downloaded from http://www.opengl.org/registry
3) What about the "old" context creation API,
WGL/GLXCreateContext. Can I still use it?
Yes. However, if you are writing new code we strongly
recommend you use the new CreateContextAttribsARB API
described in the WGL/GLX_ARB_create_context extension. The
"old" CreateContext API will still function, and it will
create an OpenGL 4.1 Compatibility profile.
4) Is NVIDIA going to remove functionality from OpenGL in
the future?
NVIDIA has no interest in removing any feature from OpenGL
that our ISVs rely on. NVIDIA believes in providing maximum
functionality with minimal churn to developers. Hence, NVIDIA
fully supports the ARB_compatibility extension and
Compatibility profile, and is shipping OpenGL drivers without
any functionality removed, including any functionality that is
marked deprecated.
5) Will existing applications still work on current and
future shipping hardware?
NVIDIA has no plans for dropping support for any
version of OpenGL on our existing and future shipping
hardware. As a result, all currently shipping
applications will continue to work on NVIDIA's existing and
future hardware.
6) What NVIDIA hardware will support OpenGL 3?
The new features in OpenGL 3 require G80, or newer
hardware. Thus OpenGL 3.0/3.1/3.2/3.3 is not supported on
NV3x, NV4x nor G7x hardware. This means you need one of the
following NVIDIA graphics accelerators to use OpenGL 3:
Desktop
- Quadro FX 370, 570, 1700, 3700, 4600, 4700x2, 4800,
5600, 5800, Quadro VX200, Quadro CX
- GeForce 8000 series or higher; Geforce G100, GT120, 130,
220, GTS 150, GTS 250, GT310, 320, 330, 340, GeForce GTX 260
and higher, any ION based products.
Notebook
- Quadro FX 360M, 370M, 570M, 770M, 1600M, 1700M, 2700M,
2800M, 3600M, 3700M, 3800M
- GeForce 8000 series or higher
7) What NVIDIA hardware will support OpenGL 4?
The new features in OpenGL 4 require a Fermi GPU. Thus
OpenGL 4 is not supported on NV3x, NV4x, G7x, G8x nor GT2xx
hardware. This means you need one of the following NVIDIA
graphics accelerators to use OpenGL 4:
- Quadro Plex 7000, Quadro 6000, Quadro 5000, Quadro 5000M, Quadro 4000
- GeForce GTX 480, GeForce GTX 470, GeForce GTX 465, GeForce GTX 460
8) Will functionality marked as deprecated be slow on
NVIDIA hardware?
No. NVIDIA understands that features on the deprecated list
are critical to the business of a large part of our customer
base. NVIDIA will provide full performance, and will support,
tune, and fix any issues, for any feature on the deprecated
list. This means that all the functionality in the
ARB_compatibility extension and Compatibility profile will
continue to operate at maximum performance.
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