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Bert Macky
Bert Macky

Reputation: 41

Do GPU's have physically reconfigured parts like FPGAs?

Trying to learn more about GPU's but there's a shortage of info out there I've noticed. (Or I'm terrible at finding it!)

Anyways, my question is whether GPUs have physically reconfigurable parts the way FPGA's do. That is, do they have physical gates and so one that are actually/physically created and changed, etc.

Thanks!

Upvotes: 1

Views: 101

Answers (1)

Martin Thompson
Martin Thompson

Reputation: 16792

No, GPUs are just a different kind of processor (or rather a large number of processors) running software with some communication between them to ensure they keep sufficiently in step to produce correct results.

Aside:

FPGAs don't really have "physically" reconfigurable parts - just electronic switches and a collection of bits inside which act as look-up-tables to implement small logic functions. In addition, there are some blocks of memory and arithmetic blocks. And a shed-load of wires! Someone once said that when you buy an FPGA you are buying lot of routing and the logic is thrown in for free.

These LUTs, memorys, DSPs and switches are then linked up to create an arbitrarily (within the limits of what's in the device of course) complex functionality, which can be thought of "as-if-it-were" some gates.

Upvotes: 2

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