What is the difference between a GPU and a CPU?

Central processing unit (CPU) and a graphics processing unit (GPU) have very different roles. The CPU can have multiple processing cores and is commonly referred to as the brain of the computer. It is essential to all modern computing systems as it executes the commands and processes needed for your computer and operating system. The CPU is also important in determining how fast programs can run, from surfing the web to building spreadsheets. The GPU is a processor that is made up of many smaller and more specialized cores. By working together, the cores deliver massive performance when a processing task can be divided up and processed across many cores.

While CPUs and GPUs have a lot in common - Both are critical computing engines. Both are silicon-based microprocessors. And both handle data - they do have different architectures and are built for different purposes.

The CPU is suited to a wide variety of workloads, especially those for which latency or per-core performance are important. A powerful execution engine, the CPU focuses its smaller number of cores on individual tasks and on getting things done quickly. This makes it uniquely well equipped for jobs ranging from serial computing to running databases.

GPUs began as specialized ASICs developed to accelerate specific 3D rendering tasks. Over time, these fixed-function engines became more programmable and more flexible. While graphics and the increasingly lifelike visuals of today’s top games remain their principal function, GPUs have evolved to become more general-purpose parallel processors as well, handling a growing range of applications.