Patent ID: 8059131
Filing Date: 2011-11-15
Classification: G06T,H04N

Abstract:
1. A method of utilizing a tiled graphics memory in a graphics system, comprising: detecting via driver software that monitors execution of a graphics program whether a graphical surface is of a graphical surface type requiring stencil data and based on stencil data requirements selecting on a frame-by-frame basis a tile format to improve at least one of memory access efficiency and packing efficiency by generating a control signal that is forwarded to a memory controller; the driver software in response to determining that the graphical surface does not require stencil data signaling the memory controller to store data for the graphical surface using a first tile format having a plurality of fields for z data but having no fields reserved for stencil data; and the driver software in response to the determining that the graphical surface requires stencil data signaling the memory controller to store data for the graphical surface using a second tile format having a plurality of fields for z data and associated stencil data wherein z data and stencil data are stored in different independently addressable portions of said second tile format.