Video Drivers 和 OpenGL

OpenGL位于video driver之上。理想情况下，OpenGL的命令组（command set）应该由图形硬件来实现，这时候performance会高一些，最新的显卡一般都做到了这一点。但是，能否实现这种feature取决于video driver。
个人理解是：OpenGL是一套API，API就是一个接口，负责上下联系。对上显示图形，对下调用video driver，因为最终的描画还是通过video driver实现的。

引用某个graphic card硬件厂商的广告：
http://www.scotweave.com/opengl.htm

The ScotWeave 3D modules use the OpenGL graphics standard for fast, effective 3D graphics. Almost all Windows computers support OpenGL but there are important differences about how OpenGL operates that can affect the efficiency of your system.

Ideally the OpenGL command set should be implemented in your graphics hardware for best performance and with most modern graphics cards this feature is available. However, the availability of this feature depends vitally upon the video driver that is installed on your computer.

If OpenGL is not implemented in the graphics hardware then it will run from within Windows resulting in much slower performance.

Generally, if the 3D graphics performance is poor then you should check the OpenGL implementation. If it is running in Windows then it may be possible to update your video driver with a newer one which will allow OpenGL to run in the graphics hardware. The difference in performance can be stunning.