Podcast
Questions and Answers
What primarily differentiates a GPU from a CPU?
What primarily differentiates a GPU from a CPU?
What does GPGPU stand for?
What does GPGPU stand for?
Which of the following is NOT a use case of GPU computing?
Which of the following is NOT a use case of GPU computing?
In the context of a PC, what role does a GPU play?
In the context of a PC, what role does a GPU play?
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What was one of the primary reasons researchers began utilizing GPUs for computing tasks?
What was one of the primary reasons researchers began utilizing GPUs for computing tasks?
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What is one of the main advantages of using GPUs in computing?
What is one of the main advantages of using GPUs in computing?
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What is a required step for programmers to utilize GPU computational resources?
What is a required step for programmers to utilize GPU computational resources?
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What did NVIDIA develop to facilitate GPU-based computing?
What did NVIDIA develop to facilitate GPU-based computing?
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How were GPUs originally designed in relation to their primary use?
How were GPUs originally designed in relation to their primary use?
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Which of the following best describes the TESLA architecture's purpose in GPU computing?
Which of the following best describes the TESLA architecture's purpose in GPU computing?
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What is the smallest addressable screen element referred to as?
What is the smallest addressable screen element referred to as?
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Which of the following describes the process of generating a 2D image from a 3D model?
Which of the following describes the process of generating a 2D image from a 3D model?
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What does the term 'vertex' refer to in computer graphics?
What does the term 'vertex' refer to in computer graphics?
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Which of these is NOT a component of the graphics pipeline?
Which of these is NOT a component of the graphics pipeline?
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What is GPGPU primarily used for?
What is GPGPU primarily used for?
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From which era did the trend of Fixed-Function Graphics Pipelines emerge?
From which era did the trend of Fixed-Function Graphics Pipelines emerge?
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In computer graphics, what is texture mapping commonly used for?
In computer graphics, what is texture mapping commonly used for?
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Which rendering algorithm is often associated with hardware-based processing in graphics?
Which rendering algorithm is often associated with hardware-based processing in graphics?
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Study Notes
GPU Computing Overview
- GPU stands for Graphics Processing Unit
- GPUs are highly parallel specialized circuits for computer graphics
- Examples of GPU devices include: NVIDIA Geoforce GeForce GTX 680, AMD Radeon HD 6870
- GPUs are used in game consoles, workstations/servers, smartphones, PCs, and embedded systems
- GPUs have seen significant performance increases in GFLOPS (giga floating-point operations per second) since 2002
- Recent years show a growing performance gap between GPUs and CPUs
- The GPU architecture, as opposed to a CPU, is designed for high parallel computations
- GPUs perform complex rendering calculations.
- GPUs contain many cores unlike CPUs which have a smaller number of cores.
What is GPGPU?
- GPGPU stands for General-Purpose computing on a Graphics Processing Unit
- Utilizing GPU hardware for non-graphic computations
- Researchers originally noticed GPUs' raw performance for solving compute-intensive problems in science and engineering.
- GPUs were not originally designed to handle non-graphic computations; their original design matched graphics pipeline features.
- Programmers need to map problems onto GPU architecture in order to make use of the parallel nature of the device, running multiple instances of compute functions.
Graphics Pipeline
- The GPU uses a pipeline to process graphics data, progressing through stages.
- The pipeline includes stages such as Vertex Shader, Geometry Shader, Clipping, Screen Mapping, Triangle Setup, Triangle Traversal, Pixel Shader, and Merger stages.
- Three-dimensional (3D) objects and related data are initially processed then mapped to the screen.
Texture Mapping
- Texture mapping is used to apply textures to 3D models.
- Images are transformed onto the 3D surfaces using image data
- Coordinates map image data to surfaces, based on the texture image.
Anti-aliasing
- Anti-aliasing techniques smooth out jagged edges in images.
- An example is shown of reducing jaggedness.
Brief History of GPU Computing
- Early 80's to late 90's: fixed-function graphics pipelines
- Early 2000's: evolution of programmable real-time graphics
- 2006: unified graphics and computing processors
- Key examples: Fermi, Kepler, Tesla architectures. .
GPU Architecture
- GPUs have a different architecture, in comparison to CPUs, consisting of many processing threads.
- GPUs (such as Tesla) have an architecture consisting of multiple streaming multiprocessors (SMs)
- These multiprocessors are linked in clusters
- These clusters can access main memory.
- Data is processed on the cluster, across multiple cores.
CPU-GPU Boundary
- The CPU and GPU interact at the CPU-GPU boundary.
- The boundary handles command and data streaming to perform tasks.
- Commands, data, and results are exchanged between the CPU and GPU.
Diagram Descriptions
- Diagrams show the architecture of the GPU including memory partitions, processing units, and connection to the host computer.
- Various components within a GPU such as L1/L2/cache, vertex shader, texture cache, and frame buffer.
- The diagrams illustrate the flow of data from input to output, and relationships in the GPU.
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Description
Explore the fundamentals of GPU computing and the concept of General-Purpose computing on a Graphics Processing Unit (GPGPU). This quiz covers various applications, architecture differences, and performance trends of GPUs in modern computing. Test your knowledge on how GPUs are utilized beyond graphics processing.
