History of the GPU - Eras and Environment

This is the second book in a three-part series that traces the development of the GPU, which is defined as a single chip with an integrated transform and lighting (T&L) capability. This feature previously was found in workstations as a stand-alone chip that only performed geometry functions. Enabled by Moore’s law, the first era of GPUs began in the late 1990s.Silicon Graphics (SGI) introduced T&L first in 1996 with the Nintendo 64 chipset with integrated T&L but didn’t follow through. ArtX developed a chipset with integrated T&L but didn’t bring it to market until November 1999.The need to integrate the transform and lighting functions in the graphics controller was well understood and strongly desired by dozens of companies. Nvidia was the first to produce a PC consumer level single chip with T&L in October 1999. All in all, fifteen companies came close, they had designs and experience, but one thing or another got in their way to prevent them succeeding.All the forces and technology were converging; the GPU was ready to emerge. Several of the companies involved did produce an integrated GPU, but not until early 2000. This is the account of those companies, the GPU and the environment needed to support it. The GPU has become ubiquitous and can be found in every platform that involves a computer and a user interface.

Dr. Jon Peddie is a recognized pioneer in the graphics industry, President of Jon Peddie Research, and named one of the world’s most influential analysts. Peddie has been an ACM distinguished speaker and is currently an IEEE Distinguished visitor. He lectures at numerous conferences and universities on topics about graphics technology and the emerging trends in digital media technology. Former President of Siggraph Pioneers, he serves on the advisory boards of several conferences, organizations, and companies and contributes articles to numerous publications. In 2015, he was given the Life Time Achievement award from the CAAD society. Peddie has published hundreds of papers to date; and authored and contributed to eleven books, His most recent books are, “Augmented Reality, where we all will live", “Ray Tracing, a Tool for all“.