Patent ID: 6115054
Filing Date: 2000-09-05
Classification: A63F,G06T,G09G

Abstract:
A method of emulating operation of a graphics processor in a target computer system, the emulation being performed by a general purpose computer, the method comprising steps of:receiving a sequence of graphics commands;storing the graphics commands in a command cache; andupon detecting a frame end, executing at least some of the commands in the command cache so as to at least partially render a frame represented by the commands in the command cache and thereby store image data in a video memory (VRAM);the executing step including,evaluating the ability of the general purpose computer to generate video frames fully synchronized with the target computer system;when the evaluation is positive, fully executing all the commands in the command cache so as to fully render the frame; andwhen the evaluation is negative, executing a first subset of the commands in the command cache, and skipping execution of a second subset of the commands in the command cache, so as to partially render the frame.