Technology
What is a GPU?
A GPU (graphics processing unit) is a chip designed to do many calculations at once, originally for rendering graphics. Its ability to handle thousands of operations in parallel also makes it the workhorse of modern AI and scientific computing.
See it, don’t just read it.
Watch a 2-minute lesson with voice + animation that explains a gpu.
Key things to understand
- 1It performs many calculations simultaneously (in parallel).
- 2It was built to render images and video games quickly.
- 3That same parallel power accelerates AI training and crypto.
- 4It complements the CPU, which handles general sequential tasks.
- 5Modern AI's rise is closely tied to powerful GPUs.
Frequently asked questions
- What's the difference between a CPU and a GPU?
- A CPU does a few complex tasks quickly in sequence; a GPU does thousands of simpler tasks at once, ideal for graphics and AI.
- Why is the GPU important for AI?
- Training AI involves huge numbers of similar calculations, which GPUs run in parallel far faster than a CPU could.
- What does GPU stand for?
- Graphics Processing Unit — named for its original job of rendering images, though it now powers much more.