logos1

well yea.. you can't access the bios after u set the proc in protected mode, but that's the only way you're going to be able to access it without the use of an api.. i don't know what the kernel call will be or where the hal maps the io memory for the video card so i left it in dos. but i'd imagine that there would be some software interrupt that allows you to do this.

directx isn't just a simplification that apps use.. it's the sole basis for the driver. it does, like every other driver, require a minimal set of functions for windows to interface with.. but aside from the most basic of elements, the rest of the functions pertain to a specific api.
the api defines a set of functions, such as drawing a 3d rectangle, which gets decoded by the driver as a combination of procedural calls to the video card (if u want a list.. call ur local ati or nvidia rep and ask em.. most likely u'll have to sign a nda tho). that's what drivers do.. interface the hardware with an api.
just drawing a stationary object without any effects shouldn't be too hard.. but if you did want to, it'd require knowledge on matrix algebra and linear 1:1 transformations on top of the code. u won't need to know how to write them, but u would need to know how to use em.. i.e. take an image, transform it from 1 domain to another.. do some arithmetic on it or take another transform (and inverse), then take the inverse transform of the previous image to get computed image.
well.. aside from all this, i'm takin a class on computer graphics next semester, so i'll know more after that.