A graphics
processing unit (GPU) is a computer chip that performs rapid mathematical
calculations, primarily for the purpose of rendering images. A GPU may be found
integrated with a central processing unit (CPU) on the same circuit, on a
graphics card or in the motherboard of a personal computer or server.
In
the early days of computing, the CPU performed these calculations. As more
graphics-intensive applications such as AutoCAD were developed; however, their
demands put strain on the CPU and degraded performance. GPUs came about as a
way to offload those tasks from CPUs, freeing up their processing power.
NVIDIA,
AMD, Intel and ARM are some of the major players in the GPU market.
GPU vs. CPU
A
graphics processing unit is able to render images more quickly than a central
processing unit because of its parallel processing architecture, which allows
it to perform multiple calculations at the same time.
A
single CPU does not have this capability, although multicore processors can
perform calculations in parallel by combining more than one CPU onto the same
chip. A CPU also has a higher clock speed, meaning it can perform an individual
calculation faster than a GPU. Therefore, a CPU is often better equipped to
handle basic computing tasks.
History of GPUs
Specialized
chips for processing graphics have existed since the dawn of video games in the
1970s. Graphics processing units came to high-performance enterprise computers
in the late 1990s, and NVIDIA introduced the first GPU for personal computers,
the GeForce 256, in 1999.
Over
time, the processing power of GPUs made the chips a popular choice for other
resource-intensive tasks unrelated to graphics. Early applications included
scientific calculations and modeling; by the mid-2010s, GPU computing also
powered machine learning and artificial intelligence software.
In
2012, NVIDIA released a virtualized GPU, which offloads graphics processing
power from the server CPU in a virtual desktop infrastructure. Graphics
performance has traditionally been one of the most common complaints among
users of virtual desktops and applications, and virtualized GPUs aim to address
that problem.
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