AGP System Architecture

The Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) interface is a platform bus specification that enables high-performance graphics capabilities, 3-D, and video--over networks as well as on individual PCs. Platform-independent, AGP is supported by numerous hardware and software vendors, and is now a standard on Intel-based platforms. Software and hardware engineers working with graphics must have a good understanding of this important technology. AGP System Architecture, Second Edition includes all the essentials from the first edition, but has been expanded and reorganized for even better coverage. This comprehensive and concise book provides an overview of the technology, a detailed description of the specification, a discussion of AGP Pro, and a practical tutorial for mastering AGP. In particular, it focuses on 3-D graphics and video-related applications most served by AGP. It also provides a primer for the PCI bus protocol as background for a discussion on AGP and analyzes the advantages of AGP over PCI for 3-D graphics.You will find coverage of the following essential topics: *AGP dynamic memory allocation and aperture implementation *The relationship of the Microsoft(R) Windows OS to the AGP hardware environment *AGP subsystem enumeration and configuration using the Intel 440BX chipset as the example *AGP signaling, including North Bridge/AGP adapter interconnect examples *AGP transfer types, transaction ordering rules, and the Fence and Flush commands *AGP arbitration, including a discussion of grant pipelining optimization *AGP data transactions in the 1x, 2x, and 4x data transfer modes *FastWrite transactions *Use of turnaround cycles to prevent bus collisions during back-to-back transactions *The AGP Pro connector and card This indispensable resource will enable you to understand AGP tools, design a high-quality AGP device, and support AGP in software applications.The PC System Architecture Series is a crisply written and comprehensive set of guides to the most important PC hardware standards.Each title is designed to illustrate the relationship between the software and hardware, and thoroughly explains the architecture, features, and operation of systems built using the targeted technology. 0201700697B04062001