BobbyThrowaway6969 t1_j6p131z wrote on January 31, 2023 at 9:53 PM

Reply to comment by Thrawn89 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

I left "1+1 math problems at the same time" pretty vague on purpose. Math in my analogy isn't referring to processor arithmetic, it refers to "stuff" a processor can do. They don't all have to be on the same task. Some can handle vertices while others handle pixels.

>they work on the exact same kind of problems the CPU does.

They can do arithmetic the same way, sure, but you wouldn't exactly expect to be able to communicate with a mouse & keyboard using one of the cores in a GPU.

The instruction set for a GPU (based around arithmetic) is definitely nothing like the instruction set of a CPU lol. That's what I meant by 2nd grader vs mathematician.

Thrawn89 t1_j6p8b42 wrote on January 31, 2023 at 10:40 PM

Each wave can only work on the same task. You can't process vertices and pixels in the same wave (classroom). Other cores (classrooms) can be working on other tasks though which is what I said above.