What Is GPU:
A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobile phones, personal computers, workstations, and game consoles. Modern GPUs are very efficient at manipulating computer graphics and image processing. Their highly parallel structure makes them more efficient than general-purpose central processing units (CPUs) for algorithms that process large blocks of data in parallel. In a personal computer, a GPU can be present on a video card or embedded on the motherboard. In certain CPUs, they are embedded on the CPU die. In the 1970s, the term "GPU" originally stood for graphics processor unit and described a programmable processing unit independently working from the CPU and responsible for graphics manipulation and output. Later, in 1994, Sony used the term (now standing for graphics processing unit) in reference to the PlayStation console's Toshiba-designed Sony GPU in 1994. The term was popularized by Nvidia in 1999, who marketed the GeForce 256 as "the world's first GPU". It was presented as a "single-chip processor with integrated transform, lighting, triangle setup/clipping, and rendering engines". Rival ATI Technologies coined the term "visual processing unit" or VPU with the release of the Radeon 9700 in 2002.
Like a motherboard, a graphics card is a printed circuit board that houses a processor and VRAM. It also has an input/output system (BIOS) chip that stores the card's settings and performs diagnostics on the memory, input and output at startup.
A graphics card's processor, called a graphics processing unit (GPU), is similar to a computer's CPU. A GPU, however, is designed specifically for performing the complex mathematical and geometric calculations that are necessary for graphics rendering. Some of the fastest GPUs have more transistors than the average CPU.
A GPU produces a lot of heat, so it is usually located under a heat sink or a fan. Integrated chips differ slightly, in that they don't have their own VRAM, and have to pull from the same RAM stockpile as the CPU. This distinction may cause your system to run short on memory while gaming with an integrated GPU.
In addition to its processing power, a GPU uses special programming to help it analyze and use data. AMD and nVidia produce the vast majority of GPUs on the market, and both companies have developed their own enhancements for GPU performance. Today's video processors can provide:
Full scene anti-aliasing (FSAA), which smooths the edges of 3-D objects
Anisotropic filtering (AF), which makes images look crisper
Real-time physics and particle effects
Multiscreen displays
High frame rate video output
Ultra high-definition video with many millions of pixels
GPU-accelerated calculations
Each company has also developed specific techniques to help the GPU apply colors, shading, textures and patterns.
As the GPU creates images, it needs somewhere to hold information and completed pictures. It uses the card's RAM for this purpose, storing data about each pixel, its color and its location on the screen. Part of the VRAM can also act as a frame buffer, meaning that it holds completed images until it is time to display them. Typically, video RAM operates at very high speeds and is dual ported, meaning that the system can read from it and write to it at the same time.
Modern video cards plug into a PCIe x16 expansion slot. Small form-factor computers with integrated graphics, such as laptops and mini desktops, may not come with such a slot. Graphics cards can still be connected, however, using a costly workaround device called an external GPU.
Some overheads since units like the Scan Converter are involved where they aren't really needed (nor are triangle manipulations even a concern—except to invoke the pixel shader).
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