ForPre many yearsDirectX9 graphics cards only supported paletted or integral color types. Various formats are available, each containing a red element, a green element, and a blue element. Sometimes an additional alpha value is added, to be used for transparency. Common formats are:
*8 bits per pixel - Palette mode, where each value is an index into a table with the real color value specified in one of the other formats. Possibly 2 bits for red, 3 bits for green, and 3 bits for blue.
*16 bits per pixel - Usually allocated as 5 bits for red, 6 bits for green, and 5 bits for blue.
Line 16:
*32 bits per pixel - 8 bits for each of red, green, blue, and alpha
For standardearly fixed function or limited programmability graphics this iswas sufficient because this is also the representation used in displays. This representation does have certain limitations, however. Given sufficient graphics processing power even graphics programmers would like to use better formats, such as [[floating point]] data formats, in order to obtain effects such as [[high dynamic range imaging]]. Many GPGPU applications require floating point accuracy.
As this is written ([[9 December]] [[2005]]) GPUs commonly support two floating point formats:
