Methods and apparatus for efficient blending in a graphics pipeline

An apparatus comprising a graphics processing unit comprising:

• a multiplier;
• an input staging register configured to direct a first value and a first blend factor for a component of a render target to the multiplier for a first multiply operation and a second value and a second blend factor for the component of the render target to the multiplier for a second multiply operation;
• and
• an adder configured to add a first result of the first multiply operation and a second result of the second multiply operation.

An apparatus comprising a graphics processing unit comprising:

• a blending unit comprising blending logic having a first mode and a second mode;
• and
• an input staging register configured to direct first data having a first format with a first width to the blending unit in the first mode, and to direct second data having a second format with a second width to the blending unit in the second mode, wherein the second width is substantially larger than the first width;
• wherein the blending logic is configured to blend the first data at a first throughput in the first mode, and to blend the second data at a second throughput that is substantially lower than the first throughput in the second mode.