Patent ID: 8094152

Claim:
A method for performing depth peeling when rendering a graphics scene, the method comprising: performing a rendering operation across a plurality of geometric primitives in the graphics scene to produce a first set of pixels, wherein each pixel is associated with one of the geometric primitives and resides at a different depth within the graphics scene; performing a first depth test to produce a second set of pixels, wherein the depth of each pixel in the first set of pixels is compared to a first reference depth to determine whether the depth of the pixel is greater than or equal to that of the first reference depth; performing a second depth test for each pixel in the second set of pixels to produce a first surviving pixel, wherein the depth of each pixel in the second set of pixels is compared to a first active depth to determine whether the depth of the pixel is less than or equal to the first active depth; and storing the first surviving pixel in a first color buffer.