Chiueh, Tzi-ckerLin, Wei-jenA. Kaufmann and W. Strasser and S. Molnar and B.-O. Schneider2014-02-062014-02-0619970-89791-961-01727-3471https://doi.org/10.2312/EGGH/EGGH97/017-0233D graphics transform 3D models into 2D images by simulating the physics of light propagation from the lighting sources, through the objects, and eventually to the eyes. Although specialized graphics hardware engines have been proposed and implemented in the past, and a heated interest in PC-class 3D graphics cards is currently emerging, detailed descriptions and analysis of 3D graphics workloads which graphics hardware design can be based on are almost non-existent. This work takes the first step towards a comprehensive 3D graphics workload characterization by reporting the results of an empirical study using an instrumented software polygonal renderer tested on a wide variety of static 3D graphics models with sufficiently sophisticated geometric and texture properties.