Alternate frame rendering

<h2 id="parallel-rendering-methods">Parallel rendering methods</h2>
<p>AFR belongs to a class of parallel rendering methods, which subdivide a <a href="/facts/Four-dimensional/vFQd0M7T">four-dimensional</a> image frame[<i>dubious – discuss</i>] sequence (x,y,z and time) into smaller regions, each of which is then assigned to a different physical processor within a multi-processor array. Note that the regional boundaries may be defined in space or in time. Also, the multiple processors can be implemented within a single video card or separate video graphics cards can be combined, subject to the motherboard and I/O slot limitations. When separate video cards are used, they must be specifically designed to allow a "cross-link" between them.
</p><p>If a computer has two video cards that combine their outputs into a single video monitor, then one of four methods could be used to create the images.
</p>
<ul><li>Alternate Frame Rendering (AFR): One <a href="/facts/Graphics_processing_unit/PTK1RQVp">graphics processing unit</a> (GPU) computes all the <i>odd</i> video frames, the other renders the <i>even</i> frames. (i.e. time division)</li>
<li>Split Frame Rendering (SFR): One GPU renders the <i>top</i> half of each video frame, the other does the <i>bottom</i>. (i.e. plane division)</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Checkerboard_rendering/xeQQAyzy">Checkerboard rendering</a>: As the name implies, the image is split into smaller squares, which are assigned to different cards</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Scan-Line_Interleave/Swl0pPLP">Scan-Line Interleave</a>: The origin of the SLI trademark, as employed by the <a href="/facts/3dfx/8t0LNDBb">3dfx</a> <a href="/facts/Voodoo2/mXsgoaTQ">Voodoo2</a>, which renders a frame's even scan-lines on the first GPU and its odd scan-lines on the second.  The SLI trademark passed to <a href="/facts/Nvidia/8QfCgqbu">Nvidia</a> upon its acquisition of 3dfx in 2000 and now stands for <a href="/facts/Scalable_Link_Interface/AdEeMsh2">Scalable Link Interface</a>.</li></ul>
<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/AMD_CrossFireX/g0kg9ur0">AMD CrossFireX</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Scalable_Link_Interface/AdEeMsh2">NVIDIA SLI</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>Maximum PC, Future US, Inc.: 26, Autumn 2006, ISSN 1522-4279{{citation}}:  CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link) <a href="/wiki/Future_US,_Inc." target="_blank">/wiki/Future_US,_Inc.</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Alternate frame rendering open-in-new

Alternate frame rendering