GPU is a CPU?

[Jaybird]

I know linus has covered this before whether in a livestream or in a video but what is the direct differences between a CPU and a GPU. obviously each are assigned a specific task to handle but Im looking for understanding more on the hardware side, relations to the die, etc.

[orangecat]

GPU handles graphics processing and a CPU handle running tasks like the OS and other software. A GPU is a very parallel processor and a CPU (at least modern ones are) are also parallel processors but they just have less but more powerful cores. i don't know how to explain it better because i just know the difference but i hope that clears things u a bit.

[SteepGnomeKing]

Like Kilobytes said somewhat.

They are programmed to do completely different tasks and they way they work. Your average cpu is 4/6 cores at 3.5-5ghz while a GPU like a 780 has 2304 cores at 1Ghz.

 

I don't know enough to talk about it but all I know it that a GPU does parallel tasks. 

Like this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_computing but some of that isn't required to understand the difference. It's so god dam confusing.

 

Very very confusing. But a CPU and GPU do tasks in a completely different manner. 

 

The simplest way is like myth busters talked about. A cpu does task by task but at a fast rate. A gpu does a task all at once but can incur errors.

[wng_kingsley7]

Hypothetically your somewhat right. Both are physical chips on pcb's that processes data(encoding, decoding etc) and changes the apparent form into a useful information. Requiring electricity.

But here's the difference  the two from my understanding atleast, the GPU dramatically improves performance visually & graphically, relieving stress from the CPU side of processing. Though most of the processing, calculations in-terms of crazy algorithms are placed with the GPU the CPU takes over the basic operations of the system such as input,process,output, logic extraction from the ram back and forth

[winny3141]

A CPU is a serial processor while a GPU is a parallel processor. Kilobytez95 is right in the sense that a CPU has more powerful cores, but the GPU is more powerful then the CPU. This article might help explain this a little better: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/AMD-HSA-hUMA-APU,22324.html. 

Also this video should help to explain Parallel Processors a little better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtZu9MP4llQ.

 

Hope that helped!

 

- winny3141

[D3MON]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P28LKWTzrI
this^ a cpu processes a stream of instructions (or in the advent of multi-cores and multi threads) many streams of instructions very quickly (3000+ times a second, hence mhz/ghz) which makes it good for doing things like web browsing, virus scanning and the like. which arnt overly complex but can take a long time.
a gpu does a similar job except it does it slightly differntly, a gpu core isnt the same as a cpu core in that its specifically designed to do a simple job of graphics by applying textures and shading. it does this with LOADS of stream processors, texture mapping units and render output units. hence why most graphics cards like the 7970 have over 2000 "cores", these however run at a much slower speed such as 1000mhz, they run 4x slower but are something like 500x more parallel.

This of course requires huge amounts of bandwidth hence why mine and your pc has 2x 64bit bus's (dual channel) akin to a dual lane highway with ddr3 ram at 1333mhz. wheras something like the the 7970 has a 384 bit bus (thats 3x wider) and uses gddr5 upto 6000mhz to get huge amounts of data through very quickly.

back in 2005 the amd athlon architecture was faster per clock and got more work done than intels pentium 3 and pentium 4 lineup, intel developed hyperthreading which makes 1 pentium 4 core run 2 simultaneous threads getting more work done, nowadays its a role reversal. intel said we we're going to hit 10ghz at some point...

...well clock speeds have had a hard time increasing and we started going to multi-core and multi threaded and more parallel on cpus now and even some software is now being made that now uses the integrated graphics chip (igpu) such as amd has with thier "apus" to complete faster than the cpu could do it alone.

the future is getting more multithreaded (hence amd created the module architecture) and is making thier graphics cards much more powerful in terms of computation and thier apus for low end home systems provide allot of power for the price.

hope this helped (and entertained) a little.

[Jaybird]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P28LKWTzrI

this^ a cpu processes a stream of instructions (or in the advent of multi-cores and multi threads) many streams of instructions very quickly (3000+ times a second, hence mhz/ghz) which makes it good for doing things like web browsing, virus scanning and the like. which arnt overly complex but can take a long time.

a gpu does a similar job except it does it slightly differntly, a gpu core isnt the same as a cpu core in that its specifically designed to do a simple job of graphics by applying textures and shading. it does this with LOADS of stream processors, texture mapping units and render output units. hence why most graphics cards like the 7970 have over 2000 "cores", these however run at a much slower speed such as 1000mhz, they run 4x slower but are something like 500x more parallel.

This of course requires huge amounts of bandwidth hence why mine and your pc has 2x 64bit bus's (dual channel) akin to a dual lane highway with ddr3 ram at 1333mhz. wheras something like the the 7970 has a 384 bit bus (thats 3x wider) and uses gddr5 upto 6000mhz to get huge amounts of data through very quickly.

back in 2005 the amd athlon architecture was faster per clock and got more work done than intels pentium 3 and pentium 4 lineup, intel developed hyperthreading which makes 1 pentium 4 core run 2 simultaneous threads getting more work done, nowadays its a role reversal. intel said we we're going to hit 10ghz at some point...

...well clock speeds have had a hard time increasing and we started going to multi-core and multi threaded and more parallel on cpus now and even some software is now being made that now uses the integrated graphics chip (igpu) such as amd has with thier "apus" to complete faster than the cpu could do it alone.

the future is getting more multithreaded (hence amd created the module architecture) and is making thier graphics cards much more powerful in terms of computation and thier apus for low end home systems provide allot of power for the price.

hope this helped (and entertained) a little.

Hmm getting there. This is currently the best answer. You are my type of person, rich in detail.