12 Graphics Card Generations Compared by the Performance Jump Each Delivered
4. The DirectX 9 Maturation - Shader Model 2.0 and Beyond (2003-2005)
The fourth generation refined programmable shaders with longer, more complex programs and improved precision, exemplified by cards like the NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 and ATI Radeon X800. While the raw performance improvement was more modest at 2-2.5x, this generation delivered significant advances in visual quality and shader complexity. The introduction of Shader Model 2.0 allowed for much longer pixel shader programs, enabling sophisticated effects like realistic skin rendering, complex material shaders, and advanced lighting models. The ATI Radeon X800 particularly excelled in this area, providing superior performance in shader-heavy games while maintaining excellent image quality. This generation also saw the maturation of anti-aliasing techniques, with cards finally having enough raw power to enable 4x MSAA at reasonable frame rates in most games. The performance improvements were particularly noticeable in games that heavily utilized the new shader capabilities, with titles like Far Cry and Doom 3 showing dramatic visual improvements over previous-generation hardware. Manufacturing process improvements to 130nm and 110nm nodes contributed to better power efficiency and higher clock speeds. While not as revolutionary as the introduction of shaders themselves, this generation proved that incremental improvements in shader capability could deliver substantial real-world benefits, establishing a pattern of evolutionary rather than revolutionary progress that would characterize many future generations.
