Geometry Engine Optimization: Cache Friendly Compressed Representation of Geometry

Recent advances in graphics architecture focus on improving texture performance and pixel processing. These have paralleled advances in rich pixel shading algorithms for realistic images. However, applications that require significantly more geometry processing than pixel processing suffer due to limited resource being devoted to the geometry processing part of the graphics pipeline. We present an algorithm to improve the effective geometry processing performance without adding significant hardware. This algorithm computes a representation for geometry that reduces the bandwidth required to transmit it to the graphics subsystem. It also reduces the total geometry processing requirement by increasing the effectiveness of the vertex cache. A goal of this algorithm is to keep the primitive assembly simple for easy hardware implementation.