GPU

6 synonyms for GPU, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — A chip designed to perform very large numbers of simple calculations at the same time, originally to draw images on a screen and now also used for tasks such as video editing, scientific computing and training machine-learning models.

Synonyms

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

graphics processing unit graphics chip graphics processor graphics card video card display adapter

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun

A chip designed to perform very large numbers of simple calculations at the same time, originally to draw images on a screen and now also used for tasks such as video editing, scientific computing and training machine-learning models.

“Rendering the scene took twenty minutes on the CPU and under a minute on the GPU.”

graphics processing unit graphics chip graphics processor

2. noun

The expansion card that carries such a chip, together with its own memory and cooling, and slots into a desktop computer.

“He couldn't close the case because the new GPU was too long.”

graphics card video card display adapter

How to use GPU

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

dedicated GPU integrated GPU GPU memory GPU acceleration GPU cluster

Standard technical vocabulary; also common among gamers, where graphics card is used interchangeably for the physical card.

Etymology

An initialism of graphics processing unit.

Full origin of GPU →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a GPU and a CPU?

A CPU has a few powerful cores that handle varied, unpredictable work one step after another, which suits operating systems and general software. A GPU has thousands of far simpler cores that all run the same operation across many pieces of data at once. Neither is an upgraded version of the other.

What is the difference between integrated and discrete graphics?

Integrated graphics is a GPU built into the same package as the CPU and sharing the computer's main memory. A discrete GPU is a separate chip on its own card with its own dedicated memory, so it generally handles heavier graphics work.

Why are GPUs used for artificial intelligence?

Training and running neural networks mostly comes down to multiplying very large grids of numbers, which is exactly the kind of repetitive parallel arithmetic a GPU is built for. That is why the same hardware sold for games became central to machine learning.

Nearby words

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