System and method for optimizing a graphics intensive software program for the user's graphics hardware

A system for optimizing the performance of a graphics intensive productivity software application while using graphics acceleration hardware of a video card comprising:

• graphics intensive productivity application software which employs 3D graphics;
• a drawing layer that interfaces with the application software to a computer's Central Processing Unit via a software renderer resident in the application software and that interfaces via a graphics acceleration renderer to the graphics acceleration hardware of the video card, and wherein
• said graphics acceleration renderer interfaces with graphics accelerator hardware and software through a drawer which converts drawing layer commands to graphics accelerator commands;
• and wherein
• said graphics accelerator renderer initializes the graphics accelerator hardware and software through an initialization module and tests the graphics accelerator hardware via a compatibility test module if the initialization module initializes the graphics accelerator hardware;
• and wherein
• said application software uses graphics accelerator hardware functions that are compatible with said application software as determined by the compatibility test module.

A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions for optimizing the performance of a graphics intensive productivity software application while using graphics acceleration hardware of a video card comprising, said computer executable instructions comprising:

• attempting to initialize the graphics acceleration hardware;
• and
• if attempting to initialize the graphics acceleration hardware is successful, testing one or more software functions of the graphics intensive productivity application software requiring the graphics acceleration hardware to establish the optimum utilization of the graphics acceleration hardware of the video hardware;
• and
• automatically using the established optimum utilization of the graphics acceleration hardware with the software functions of the graphics intensive productivity software application tested.