vertex buffers in display lists

I wonder, what happens in the background when vertex buffers are used in display lists?
What is supposed to happen, and what do most driver architectures do?

I mean, is it safe to delete the vertex buffer after you’ve made a display list?
Is using a vertex buffer just as fast as just putting individual triangles in a display list?
…or is there some optimalisation stuff going on when a display list is created?

Also, triangle strips and fans etc.
Are they really much faster?
And again, does it help to use strips when making a display list, or doesn’t it matter which type of data i put into my display list.

Thanks…

I mean, is it safe to delete the vertex buffer after you’ve made a display list?
Yes.

Is using a vertex buffer just as fast as just putting individual triangles in a display list?
Probably not.

…or is there some optimalisation stuff going on when a display list is created?
There probably is, yes.

Due to OpenGL’s ‘blackbox’ nature, we’re not privy to what the driver gets up to. If the driver developers were having a good day and want good OpenGL support then the display method will always be fastest.

As always, benchmark to findout