4 generations of GPU


  • Before the introduction of the GPU, there only existed very expensive specialized hardware such as the machines from SGI.
  • The first generation of GPU, including NVIDIA TNT2, ATI Rage and 3dfx Voodoo3, only supported rasterizing pre-transformed triangles and some limited texture operations.
  • The second generation of GPUs, which were introduced around 1999, included the NVIDIA GeForce 2 and ATI Radeon 7500. They allowed for both 3D vertex transformations and some lighting, conformant with OpenGL and DirectX 7.
  • The tird generation GPUs, including NVIDIA GeForce 3, Microsoft Xbox and ATI Radeon 8500, included both powerful vertex processing capabilities and some pixel-based configuration operations, exceeding those of OpenGL and DirectX 7.
  • Finally, the fourth generation of GPUs, such as the NVIDIA GeForce FX and ATI Radeon 9700, allow for both complex vertex and pixel operations.