Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

• The graphics processing unit (GPU) is responsible for processing graphics within the computer to reduce the load on the CPU
• The GPU can be used as an additional computing resource, allowing it to perform tasks such as machine learning or video encoding.
• CPUs are general purpose processors whereas GPUs are designed specifically for graphics
• GPUs are likely to have built in circuitry or instructions for common graphics operations
• GPUs can perform an instruction on multiple pieces of data at one time
• The ability of GPUs to perform an instruction on multiple pieces of data at once is useful when processing graphics (e.g. transforming points in a polygon or shading pixels) which means it can perform transformations to on screen graphics quicker than a CPU
• The GPU can either be part of the graphics card or embedded in the CPU
• GPUs can be used for:

  • graphics processing
  • 3D modelling
  • financial modelling
  • Data mining
  • Machine learning
  • Complex calculations
  • Calculations on multiple data sets at the same time