Re: [Plib-users] Trouble making simple colored triangle

[Steve B. <sjb...@ai...>]

Ben Discoe wrote:

> > (BTW: The Quadro is a ripoff - it's an identical chip/board to the
> GeForce,
> > with the exception of a single resistor value.  If you know how to solder
> > small surface-mount parts, you can convert a GeForce card into a Quadro!)
> 
> The way i heard it, the Quadro was a ripoff because it was identical
> hardware, shipped with a different driver which enabled fast line-draw
> (because CAD people use wireframe so much).

Nearly.  In fact, the driver is identical - but either it or the nVidia
GeForce/Quadro chip reads the value of a resistor that's connected across
two pins of the chip - depending on the value, it either does LINE-SMOOTH
lines using the hardware - or in a software routine that must have been
deliberately crippled because it's AMAZINGLY slow.  One of my programs
runs at 500Hz plus with non-smoothed lines (about 1000 polygons in
wireframe mode) - and takes nearly a minute per frame (on a 750MHz PC)
with line-smoothing turned on.  When Mesa is run in software-only mode,
it does the same image at about 10Hz.  Hence either those nVidia programmers
are really bad at their job - or it's deliberately crippled.

> Anyhow, back at the time that
> card was purchased, it was also the only way to get a 64MB NVidia card.

Not any more.  There are 64Mb GeForce-2's in Fry's at $280 right now.

> I'm really tearing my hair out here over making simple coloured geometry.
> Steve, i beg of you to please help me with my previous email, the one with
> the stuff about sgSimpleState/ssgVertexColourArray.

I'm *really* busy right now - I'll try to find some time...no promises though.

You said that you could get this to happen with simple GL-level commands - shouldn't
you just take out all of the PLIB code and mail your example to one of the OpenGL
mailing lists (and possibly to the nVidia developers) ??

-- 
Steve Baker   HomeEmail: <sjb...@ai...>
              WorkEmail: <sj...@li...>
              HomePage : http://web2.airmail.net/sjbaker1
              Projects : http://plib.sourceforge.net
                         http://tuxaqfh.sourceforge.net
                         http://tuxkart.sourceforge.net
                         http://prettypoly.sourceforge.net