GeForce GTX 980 Whitepaper
MAXWELL: ENABLING THE NEXT
FRONTIER IN PC GRAPHICS
13
Maxwell: Enabling The Next Frontier in PC Graphics
Correct modelling of lighting is the most computationally difficult problem in graphics, and with
Maxwell, our objective was to make an enormous leap forward in the capability of the GPU to perform
near-photo-real lighting calculations in real time.
In the real world, all objects are lit by a combination of direct light (photons that travel directly from a
light source to illuminate an object) and indirect light (photons that travel from the light source, hit one
object and bounce off of it and then hit a second object, thus indirectly illuminating that object). “Global
illumination” (GI) is a term for lighting systems that model this effect. Without indirect lighting, scenes
can look harsh and artificial. However, while light received directly is fairly simple to compute, indirect
lighting computations are highly complex and computationally heavy.
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