GPU

GPU Core

One of the things that really confuse me is how apple advertises that their GPU has 48 cores. On the other hand, NVIDIA advertises that their GPU has hundreds or even thousands of cores. Yet, I’m also learning that there is a very small amount (in the tens) of SMs in a GPU. is an SM a GPU core? Can you explain the differences?

• Apple GPU Cores vs NVIDIA Cores:
  • Apple’s GPU cores: More akin to traditional CPU cores; optimized for efficiency in mobile devices.
  • NVIDIA’s GPU cores: Refers to CUDA cores, smaller and simpler than CPU cores, designed for parallel processing.
• Streaming Multiprocessors (SMs) in NVIDIA GPUs:
  • An SM is not exactly a GPU core but a unit containing several CUDA cores.
  • SMs are complex units that manage and execute tasks for a group of CUDA cores.

What makes up a GPU core?

From ChatGPT, so not sure how reliable

1. SIMD Units: Perform the same operation on multiple data elements in parallel.
2. Texture Units: Specialized for texture mapping in graphics rendering.
3. Shader Processors: Programmable units that handle vertex, geometry, and pixel shaders.
4. Local Memory: High-speed memory for temporary data storage.
5. Control Unit: Manages instruction fetching and execution.
6. Memory Interface: Handles communication with global GPU memory.
7. Stream Multiprocessors: Cluster of cores that share resources like cache and control units.

https://superuser.com/questions/1516217/gpu-cores-vs-cpu-cores

The focus of instructions vs data processing is what separates a CPU from a GPU.