CPU and GPU

~What does CPU stand for what is its function?

CPU stands for Central Processing Unit and basically its job is to process different commands and information given to it by currently running programs running on that particular computer or console.



~Indicate where the CPU is ina PC and games console.

The CPUs usual location in on the computer or consoles' motherboard, in mordern times usually being in between or just below a heat sink and/ or fan. The Xbox 360 for example has its CPU right below the consoles heat sink; reason for this location being the CPUs job of handling vast amounts of data at high frequencies is stressful and so the CPUs tends to heat up to very high temperatures, and so to prevent damage to the CPU as well as other hardware install, heat sinks and fans are placed to keep everyone cool and running smoothly.

     

~Explain how a CPU works.

In personal computer the CPU is attached to the motherboard in the form of a microchip (called a microprocessor) that generally have tow units on them: the ALU (that stands for arithmetic logic unit) and the Control Unit (that I blieve can be abbreviated to CU).

ALU - This deals with the systems logical and arithmetic calculations and processes.

CU - Whilst this deals decodes instructions given from multiple software and executes commands.

CPUs generally have what is called a cache which stores frequently used data as temporary memory that is used to speed up the process of reading said data next time it is accessed.



~Explain what determines the power of a CPU and how it will be used in a games platform.

Hertz are what determine the power (or speed) of a CPU, hertz represent the clock rate of a CPU and this basically measures the amount of instruction can be given to it and processed at any given time. Because the CPU deals with such incredible tasks, it be able to constantly process each task as quickly as possible before more continue to pile up (As computers are generally having multiple programs used at once and these programs have multiple processes each.) To gaming platforms it is important that a CPU can process and render images almost instantaneously to prevent games from lagging and even worse crashing.

Here's an example of lag, or rather framerate in the game Skyrim which for the most part destroys immersion in the game and disrupts gameplay.

~Compare the original Playstation CPU to the Playstation 3.

The original Playstation had a 32 bit 3MHz processor (MHz = Mega Hertz) whereas the The processor for the Playstation 3 (or PS3 for short) utilises a 3.2GHz processor (GHz = Giga Hertz, meaning the PS3's processor is inan entirely different league than its predecessors'.

   

~The latest CPUs are described as having multiple cores, explain what this means.

Having multiple cores or Multicore processors means to have single component with multiple CPUs, having more CPU allows a device much more processes than it would be able to one process alone, thus increasing its performance handling data.




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~What does GPU stand for and what does it mean?

Graphics processing unit is what GPU stands for. This means that the GPU is specialised in the manipulating and altering of memory rapidly, thus processing and building images at great speeds. The more powerful the GPU the higher quality of image renders whilst maintaining high framerate and smooth playback.



~Examples from a personal computer, game console and mobile device:

The example I'm going to use for a personal computer's GPU is my graphics cards.

This is the GPU for my NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 graphics card. Similar to a CPU, my GPU is located under the fan in my graphics card, due to this I can assume like a CPU the GPU also tends to heat up to high temperatures.

 Here is the motherboard for the Nintendo Wii U, along with a visible GPU.




And finally a mobile devices GPU.

This is the GPU located on an Iphone 4, compared to the other devices, this one is tiny.

~Explain the difference between GPU and CPU.

If one were to say the CPU acts as the brain of a computer system or console, then it would be safe to say that the GPU deals with the eyes complex processes, dealing with shapes or to be more exact trigonometry which means it is optimised to process triangles that are the foundation for polygons and rendered shapes whereas the CPU deals in general math and arithmetic functions.


~Explain the similarities between GPU and CPU.

The first similarity is that they are both processors and have to deal with an outstanding amount of data, rendering and instruction from other software. GPU and CPU both reside on the devices motherboard usually located within close proximity of a heat sink or fan as not to overheat and/ or damage other hardware and both chips use transistors although CPU runs much faster than a GPU.



~What API is used to communicate with GPU?

There are seeveral different API used in communication with the GPU, the major ones being that of DirectX and VideoToolBox. Microsoft making use of DirectX for its Windows on PCs and the Xbox 360, contrary to this Apple makes use of VideoToolBox for the Apple TV and Mac OS.