What is the difference between the CPU and the GPU?

You may be puzzled when you hear the term CPU and GPU and do not know the difference between them? do not worry! In this post we will learn about both terms. The CPU and graphics processing unit (GPU) are very similar. They are both hundreds of millions of transistors and can process thousands of operations per second, but the question is, are they different or similar?

We can understand this by understanding each of them. First let's take a look at the CPU then we'll go for the GPU.

What is the CPU?

The CPU is part of a computer that performs all tasks and calculations related to each component of the hardware that is connected to your computer, to properly operate your device. That's why it's called a "CPU" because it manages every function, accounts for all hardware and software components owned by your computer. This is what qualifies them to be called computer brain.

The first company to produce the first CPU Intel, named 4004, which was the first CPU bit 4. Then, they designed on the structure of x86.


The CPU is also known as a "processor" or "chip," a powerful computer component that can do everything. The standard CPU has between 1 and 4 processing centers anywhere from 1 to 5 GHz. Almost every modern CPU consists of multiple cores to perform multiple tasks simultaneously and the overall performance is measured in GHz. Suppose the CPU has a basic speed of 2.4 GHz, which means that the processor is capable of processing 2.4 billion processes per second. The famous CPU manufacturers are AMD and Intel.

What is a GPU?

GPU (GPU) is a type of specialized CPU that is developed to meet a very specific need. Everything you can see on the display is due to the GPU, it is designed to do activities like VR, HD graphics, games, these things require a lot of power and this is where the GPU is designed for. The GPU performs a small portion of CPU operations and should be mentioned here at a very high speed. With a large number of core cores available, thousands of cores make calculations for thousands of pixels at the optimal time to display complex graphics.

The first company to develop the GPU was NVIDIA in early 1999, the unit was launched under the name GeForce 256. Graphics functions in computers containing these GPUs were handled by a VGA controller. The VGA function is to render the image data in the correct order of the display.


There are two types of GPU available. The first one is embedded inside the motherboard and can not be easily replaced or replaced. Another one has a dedicated slot on the motherboard, which is what we find in the desktop computers. GPU's interest initially was to deliver two-dimensional graphics but with the growth of desire in 3D, the GPU became more specialized and effective, although the GPU units are slower than the CPU, but are more available in numbers making them ideal in mathematical calculations and hyperthreading ) Enables the GPU to render complex 3D graphics needed for modern games.