Difference between cpu and gpu

The CPU and GPU are the two main processors that exist in all PCs, the first one is in charge of all kinds of tasks while the second one is specialized in graphics, therefore, it is logical that there are great differences between them despite the fact that both they are made up of the same basic elements, transistors. In this article we review the general architecture of CPU and GPU to understand their great differences.

How is the CPU different from the GPU?

Both the GPU and the CPU are processors that are made up of a lot of transistors, in a simple way we can say that the transistors perform mathematical operations and read data in binary language, a language made up of zeros and ones that is the only one that are capable to understand computers. Beyond that, all are differences.

First of all, we focus on the CPU which is the general-purpose processor, this means it can do all kinds of calculations, the CPU is designed for serial data processing. The latter implies the presence of very large nuclei in a very small number, therefore, it is capable of executing a small number of programs at the same time. However, these programs are enormously complex and include large amounts of instructions.

On the other hand, we have the graphics processor or GPU that is much more specialized for tasks that require a high degree of parallelism. The GPU is made up of thousands of cores inside, cores that are much smaller and therefore can perform a much smaller number of operations. This makes a GPU optimized to process large amounts of data and perform the same specific operations over and over again. A GPU is capable of running thousands of programs at once, although these have to be much more specific than what a CPU can handle. Traditionally, the programs that a GPU executes consist of a single instruction and multiple data.

The GPU is in the graphics card and its capacity to work in parallel is so great that it can multiply by 100 or even much more the performance that a CPU can achieve in specialized operations on vectors and matrices, these are geometric operations.

We recommend reading the best processors on the market

Initially, GPUs were used only for graphics processing, but the great evolution they have undergone has made their capacities increase greatly, so today there are many fields where you can take advantage of their great capacity to work in parallel, for example. For example, in scientific research with model simulation, artificial intelligence, or cryptocurrency mining.

To understand the great difference that exists between a CPU and a GPU, there is nothing better than the following video of Hunters of Myths, firstly we will see a small robot drawing a face, secondly we see a large machine that represents the GPU and does something much more complex in less time.