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Software rendering can make old 3D games run sharply at high resolution

jamesfmackenzie.com 3 min read Editor score 6/10

The piece describes running Quake’s CPU-based software renderer at 800×600 and a locked 60 fps on a Dell OptiPlex 380, contrasting its sharp pixels with early 3D-card rendering. It offers a concrete perspective on rendering trade-offs and how much modern CPUs can do.

What

Software rendering uses a game’s CPU code to draw every pixel and write the frame to video memory, without a 3D card.

How

At high resolutions, every extra pixel adds CPU work; modern hardware can run some classic DOS games sharply, though demanding titles still need more power.

Why it matters

The example highlights how workload scaling can change with resolution: rendering choices that were impractical on old hardware may suit modern systems.

Read on jamesfmackenzie.com → Hacker News · 231 comments

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