Editing Graphics processing unit (section)

=== 1980s ===
[[File:NEC D7220.jpg|thumb|NEC [[μPD7220]]A]]

The [[NEC μPD7220]] was the first implementation of a [[personal computer]] graphics display processor as a single [[large-scale integration]] (LSI) [[integrated circuit]] chip. This enabled the design of low-cost, high-performance video graphics cards such as those from [[Number Nine Visual Technology]]. It became the best-known GPU until the mid-1980s.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2j4hTAqxJ_sC&pg=PA169 |title=Advances in Computer Graphics II |publisher=Springer |year=1986 |isbn=9783540169109 |editor1=Hopgood |editor-first=F. Robert A. |page=169 |quote=Perhaps the best known one is the NEC 7220. |editor2=Hubbold |editor-first2=Roger J. |editor3=Duce |editor-first3=David A.}}</ref> It was the first fully integrated [[VLSI]] (very large-scale integration) [[metal–oxide–semiconductor]] ([[NMOS logic|NMOS]]) graphics display processor for PCs, supported up to [[XGA|1024×1024 resolution]], and laid the foundations for the PC graphics market. It was used in a number of graphics cards and was licensed for clones such as the Intel 82720, the first of [[List of Intel graphics processing units|Intel's graphics processing units]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Marian |date=2018-07-18 |title=Famous Graphics Chips: NEC μPD7220 Graphics Display Controller |url=https://www.computer.org/publications/tech-news/chasing-pixels/famous-graphics-chips/ |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=IEEE Computer Society |language=en-US}}</ref> The Williams Electronics arcade games ''[[Robotron 2084]]'', ''[[Joust (video game)|Joust]]'', ''[[Sinistar]]'', and ''[[Bubbles (video game)|Bubbles]]'', all released in 1982, contain custom [[blitter]] chips for operating on 16-color bitmaps.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Riddle|first1=Sean|title=Blitter Information|url=https://seanriddle.com/blitter.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222155908/https://seanriddle.com/blitter.html|archive-date=2015-12-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Wolf |first1=Mark J. P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oK3D4i5ldKgC |title=Before the Crash: Early Video Game History |date=June 2012 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn=978-0814337226 |page=185 |language=en-us}}</ref>

In 1984, [[Hitachi]] released the ARTC HD63484, the first major [[CMOS]] graphics processor for personal computers. The ARTC could display up to [[4K resolution]] when in [[monochrome]] mode. It was used in a number of graphics cards and terminals during the late 1980s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Marian |date=2018-10-07 |title=GPU History: Hitachi ARTC HD63484 |url=https://www.computer.org/publications/tech-news/chasing-pixels/gpu-history-hitachi-artc-hd63484/ |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=IEEE Computer Society |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1985, the [[Amiga]] was released with a custom graphics chip including a [[blitter]] for bitmap manipulation, line drawing, and area fill. It also included a [[coprocessor]] with its own simple instruction set, that was capable of manipulating graphics hardware registers in sync with the video beam (e.g. for per-scanline palette switches, sprite multiplexing, and hardware windowing), or driving the blitter. In 1986, [[Texas Instruments]] released the [[TMS34010]], the first fully programmable graphics processor.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.computer.org/publications/tech-news/chasing-pixels/Famous-Graphics-Chips-IBMs-professional-graphics-the-PGC-and-8514A/Famous-Graphics-Chips-TI-TMS34010-and-VRAM |title = Famous Graphics Chips: TI TMS34010 and VRAM. The first programmable graphics processor chip &#124; IEEE Computer Society| date=10 January 2019 }}</ref> It could run general-purpose code but also had a graphics-oriented instruction set. During 1990–1992, this chip became the basis of the [[Texas Instruments Graphics Architecture]] ("TIGA") [[Windows accelerator]] cards.

[[File:IBM 8514.jpg|thumb|The [[IBM 8514]] Micro Channel adapter, with memory add-on]]

In 1987, the [[IBM 8514]] graphics system was released. It was one of the first video cards for [[IBM PC compatible]]s that implemented [[fixed-function]] 2D primitives in [[electronic hardware]]. [[Sharp Corporation|Sharp]]'s [[X68000]], released in 1987, used a custom graphics chipset<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nfggames.com/games/x68k/ |title=X68000 |access-date=2014-09-12 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903010307/https://nfggames.com/games/x68k/ |archive-date=2014-09-03 }}</ref> with a 65,536 color palette and hardware support for sprites, scrolling, and multiple playfields.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=298 |title=museum ~ Sharp X68000 |publisher=Old-computers.com |access-date=2015-01-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219114323/https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=298 |archive-date=2015-02-19 }}</ref> It served as a development machine for [[Capcom]]'s [[CP System]] arcade board. Fujitsu's [[FM Towns]] computer, released in 1989, had support for a 16,777,216 color palette.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hardcoregaming101.net/JPNcomputers/Japanesecomputers2.htm|title=Hardcore Gaming 101: Retro Japanese Computers: Gaming's Final Frontier|work=hardcoregaming101.net|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110113214919/https://www.hardcoregaming101.net/JPNcomputers/Japanesecomputers2.htm|archive-date=2011-01-13}}</ref> In 1988, the first dedicated [[3D computer graphics|polygonal 3D]] graphics boards were introduced in arcades with the [[Namco System 21]]<ref>{{cite web |title=System 16 – Namco System 21 Hardware (Namco) |url=https://www.system16.com/hardware.php?id=536 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518005344/https://system16.com/hardware.php?id=536 |archive-date=2015-05-18 |work=system16.com}}</ref> and [[Taito]] Air System.<ref>{{cite web |title=System 16 – Taito Air System Hardware (Taito) |url=https://www.system16.com/hardware.php?id=656 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316214310/https://system16.com/hardware.php?id=656 |archive-date=2015-03-16 |work=system16.com}}</ref>

[[File:IBM VGA 90X8941 on PS55.jpg|thumb|[[Video Graphics Array|VGA]] section on the motherboard in [[IBM Personal System/55|IBM PS/55]] ]]
[[IBM]] introduced its [[proprietary software|proprietary]] [[Video Graphics Array]] (VGA) display standard in 1987, with a maximum resolution of 640×480 pixels. In November 1988, [[NEC|NEC Home Electronics]] announced its creation of the [[Video Electronics Standards Association]] (VESA) to develop and promote a [[Super video graphics array|Super VGA]] (SVGA) [[computer display standard]] as a successor to VGA. Super VGA enabled [[graphics display resolution]]s up to 800×600 [[pixel]]s, a 56% increase.<ref name="InfoWorld 1988-11-14">{{cite news|title=NEC Forms Video Standards Group|first=Mark |last=Brownstein|work=[[InfoWorld]] |issn=0199-6649|date=November 14, 1988|volume=10 |issue=46 |page=3|access-date=May 27, 2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT2}}</ref>