TMS34010: Бірінші бағдарламаланатын графикалық процессор микросхемасы

Microprocessor with dedicated graphics instructions

The TMS34010, developed by Texas Instruments and released in 1986, was the first programmable graphics processor integrated circuit. While specialized graphics hardware existed earlier, such as blitters, the TMS34010 chip is a microprocessor which includes graphics oriented instructions, making it a combination of a CPU and what would later be called a GPU. It found use in arcade video games from the late 1980s through the mid 1990s, including Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam, and computer workstation video accelerator boards. TI later released the TMS34020 with an emphasis on 3D rendering.

The design of the TMS34010 was led by Karl Guttag, who previously worked on the TMS9918 video chip. Development took place at TI facilities in Bedford (UK) and Houston (US). First silicon was working in Houston in December 1985, with shipment of development boards to IBM's workstation facility in Kingston, New York, in January 1986. Midway Games was a prolific user of the chip in arcade video games beginning with the run and gun Narc in 1988. Subsequent releases include Smash TV (1990), Mortal Kombat (1992), and NBA Jam (1993). The 3D driving simulator Hard Drivin' (1989) from Atari Games contains two of the processors.

The TMS chips are compliant with the 1989 Texas Instruments Graphics Architecture (TIGA) standard, and in the early 1990s were used in professional level video coprocessor boards for MS DOS, Microsoft Windows, and SCO Unix. In a 1991 article on graphics adapters, PC Magazine reported that the fastest boards for regenerating AutoCAD test images were based on the TMS34010. The Aura Scuzzygraph, Radius PowerView, It was developed in conjunction with the University of Lowell. When running Amiga UNIX, the card supports the X Window System and gives a high resolution 8 bit display. The card can also be used when running Amiga OS, with support libraries and some Retargetable Graphics implementations.

In 1987, TI demonstrated real time 3D games with stereo sound effects on a personal computer, using a small TMS34010 adapter card called "The Flippy". The Flippy was designed as the basis of a game development system for consoles and as an IBM PC compatible gaming card in its own right. Texas Instruments engineer Michael Denio wrote The Adventures of Captain Pixel as a demo for the system. (1988), provides several enhancements including an interface for a special graphics floating point coprocessor, the TMS34082 (1989). The primary function of the TMS34082 is to allow the TMS340 architecture to generate high quality three dimensional graphics. The performance level of 60 million vertices per second was advanced at the time. The TMS34020 is used in some arcade games, such as Revolution X (1994). The Rambrandt Amiga extension card from Progressive Peripherals & Software supported up to four TMS34020, for use in virtual reality simulations.