Nvidia's NV1: A Deep Dive into its Groundbreaking Architecture
This article delves into the architectural innovations behind Nvidia's early graphics chip, NV1. Author David S. H. Rosenthal recounts his experiences at Sun Microsystems and early Nvidia, revealing the secrets to NV1's success. Two key innovations stood out: a novel imaging model and I/O architecture. The imaging model used quadric patches instead of triangles, significantly reducing data transfer, enabling smooth gameplay of titles like Virtua Fighter on the then-bandwidth-constrained PCI bus. The I/O architecture featured a virtualized object system with a software resource manager, allowing flexible emulation of hardware features, dramatically accelerating development and reducing risk. The author argues that NV1 wasn't just a minimal viable product, but a forward-thinking architecture built upon a deep understanding of future operating system and graphics needs, laying the foundation for Nvidia's subsequent triumphs.