METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISPLAYING DATA FROM MULTIPLE FRAME BUFFERS ON ONE OR MORE DISPLAY DEVICES

A computer system including a processor, a display, and a graphics unit coupled between the processor and the display, in which the processor is configured to perform multi-display operations which generate multiple frames of display data for simultaneous display, and a graphics unit for use in such a system. Typically, the graphics unit includes graphics memory that includes at least two frame buffers, and the processor operates as if it were independently asserting multiple streams of display data to multiple frame buffers for driving multiple displays independently. Another aspect of the invention is a system that displays data from a frame buffer on a screen. The frame buffer holds data indicative of a virtual desktop that is larger than can be displayed on the screen or available portion thereof, the system can display on the screen any of a number of different subsets of the frame buffer data, each subset indicative of a different portal of the desktop, and the system includes a processor including texture processing circuitry operable to filter a subset of the frame buffer data that is indicative of a portal to be displayed.