DirectX 8.0
The promise of DirectX 8.0 is improved visual quality. By implementing features such as programmable shaders, DirectX 8.0 serves as a conduit that developers can use to make their titles look as stunning as possible. Because most of today's PC games are based on Direct3D, having a graphics card that can take advantage of these features is becoming increasingly important; otherwise, developers are stuck emulating these functions in software.
For example, programmable shaders are what make the GeForce4 a true next-generation 3-D GPU. Historically, 3-D accelerators have forced developers to send data through an inflexible pipeline. This coercive approach limits the types of effects that game developers can use. By letting these developers create and implement their own effects, the GeForce4 realizes its full potential by delivering effects that are worlds beyond what was previously available with legacy GPUs.
The core of the GeForce4 is its nFiniteFX II Engine, which consists of a programmable vertex processor and a programmable pixel processor. Because 3-D objects consist of multiple triangles, the vertex processor carries and computes information on the vertices of each object. The pixel processor generates the pixels used to represent the 3-D objects on screen. Combined with DirectX 8.0, the two processors let the GeForce4 compute almost any type of effect the developer desires.
Now this feature is nothing new if you already own a GeForce3. However, what the GeForce4 brings to the table is a second vertex shader that works in parallel with the original unit. Just like the XGPU found in Microsoft's Xbox, the two vertex shaders are completely multithreaded, which lets them process more than three times the number of vertices as the high-end GeForce3 Ti 500 processes.
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