Patent ID: 8933933
Filing Date: 2015-01-13
Classification: G06T

Abstract:
1. A configurable graphics rendering pipeline for processing graphics primitives, the graphics rendering pipeline comprising: a setup engine configured to determine whether processing should proceed in early Z-mode or late Z-mode; a raster engine configured to receive a geometry primitive from the setup engine and convert the geometry primitive into one or more pixel primitives; a shader engine configured to perform shading operations on one or more samples associated with a pixel primitive; a Z-raster operations (ZROP) unit configured to perform Z-testing on each of the samples; and a pre-raster operations (PROP) unit configured to modify, via one or more multiplexers, a data flow path between the shader engine and the ZROP unit to support both early Z-mode and late Z-mode, wherein the PROP unit includes a Z-resolve engine that is configured in both early Z-mode and late Z-mode to discard samples that do not pass the Z-testing performed by the ZROP unit, wherein the samples associated with the pixel primitive are processed first by the ZROP unit and the Z-resolve engine and then by the shader engine when the graphics rendering pipeline is configured for early Z-mode, and the samples are processed first by the shader engine and then by the ZROP unit and the Z-resolve engine when the graphics rendering pipeline is configured for late Z-mode.