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RhynoD t1_j6nkzsz wrote

Reply to comment by BigDisk in ELI5: Why do computers need GPUs (integrated or external)? What information is the CPU sending to the GPU that it can't just send to a display? by WeirdGamerAidan

  1. It may be thousands of cores in the GPU, but probably not.

  2. The GPU is almost its own complete computer system that comes with everything else needed to run, where the CPU is only the CPU and maybe an OK heat sink and fan. The GPU unit comes with its own cooling solution, its own RAM, essentially its own motherboard to control the chips and interface with the actual motherboard, etc.

So to take the analogy way too far: the CPU is just the PhD mathematician but you still have to pay for pay for his office and air conditioning and all the paper he needs to do the work and the whole campus full of TAs and whatnot.

The GPU is like paying for the entire elementary school complete with teachers, cafeteria, and supplies, and you drop that entire school onto your campus next to the PhD's office.

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rob_allshouse t1_j6o83cf wrote

These are incorrect.

The GPU and CPU are similar. A “graphics card” has all of these things. A GPU in an SoC would have similar limitations to a CPU.

But consumers don’t buy GPUs, companies like MSI do and integrate them into a graphics card. They do buy CPUs.

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LiamTheHuman t1_j6o9di5 wrote

GPU is often used to refer to the graphics card as a whole

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