What is a texture memory?
Memory texture is a computer memory area only for reading that has been specially reserved for quick access to images to be used as texture surfaces in computer graphics, usually three -dimensional (3D) rendering. The most effective type of texture memory exists in reserved memory chips on the graphics card, which has a processor separate from the main computer. There are times when the graphics card does not have enough memory. In these cases, virtual texture memory can be used with random access (RAM) of computer or even hard disk space, although in these cases the performance is negatively affected. The greater the amount of texture memory available, the larger and more detailed images stored in it can be and ensure more realistic graphic rendering.
When a 3D image is drawn on the computer screen, it is a process that takes a few steps. One of the last steps is the use of texture on the geometry of the rendered object. This texture is a two -dimensional (2D) image imageMemory in memory and provides color, surface and details to be applied to the polygon surfaces of the 3D object. Maintaining a 2D image in the texture memory allows it to access it, which can help improve the speed at which the scene is rendered, allowing smooth movement and animation.
When the texture memory is located on a reserved graphics card, also known as a graphics processing unit (GPU), it has several advantages over other types. The largest is that the GPU can optimize the way the memory is accessible, allowing programs to use memory in a way that is intuitive for 3D programming. The second advantage is that because the GPU is designed to process 3D calculations quickly and efficiently, it will have local access to the texture images, allowing it to complete the scene much faster than to use memory stored in another physical Loka on your computer.
There are other uses for texture memoryOutside 3D graphics. Foto editing software can use memory to store large images to make them manipulate and display quickly. Special memory optimization can be used programs that must quickly perform many calculations with a movable order comma. The space can also be used to store any data at a place where it can be quickly accessed without affecting the amount of primary memory of the system.