Have you ever wondered how computer or smartphone generate images to make it appear in the screen? We might often get immersed in the movie or game for its video or graphics quality, having little time to think about the technology that permits the same. It is Graphics Processing Unit, or GPU, a tiny logic chip specialized in providing image for the devices to display. In every modern device, the function of a graphics processing unit is to play an essential part in generating computer graphics and images. Without it, high-performance games and enticing user interface elements wouldn’t have traversed across for the acceptance and appreciations of millions. GPU computing has been a co-processor for accelerating the general purpose of CPUs in scientific and engineering computing as it assists in offloading some of the compute-intensive and time consuming programmes that increases the efficiency of the applications.

Modern graphics processing units aid the help of transistors to work on the calculations regarding 3D computer graphics. Moreover, today’s graphics

processing unit works in order to give 2D acceleration and enhance the frame buffer capabilities. In the initial times, graphics processing unit is used to improve the memory-intensive centred on texture mapping and rendering polygons. Further advancements in the calculations and image formation part has made room for adding layers that enables rotation and translation of vertices that adjusts to different coordinate systems. Two of the major elements of a graphics processing unit are fragments and vertices which encompass streams and vertex. All devices have graphics hardware that deals with images and videos. Since GPU determines the video and graphics quality, it is necessary to check which one runs in the system. Some systems come with low-powered ‘onboard’ or integrated graphics, and others have powerful dedicated and discrete graphics cards. Systems with different OS have unique ways to read the GPU meter. Usually on Windows systems, ‘Performance’ option in the task manager window could serve the purpose. By providing details on the dedicated memory, GPU manufacturer’s model name too is displayed.

Anyone interested in upgrading their existing graphics process unit has to be aware of the working and the different kinds of GPUs exist. An integrated graphics, also known as onboard graphics card are the default ones carried with the standard motherboard. Integrated graphics cards can be updated and it is considered as the least powerful variety among others. The second one is PCI graphics cards that utilize the slots on the motherboard. The third variety are AGP graphics cards that comes with four speeds, the highest being 8x. Similar to the PCI cards, they are compatible than other cutting-edge cards. The last one being PCI- E cards which are the most advanced. A motherboard with more than one PCI-E slots can have that number of PCI-E graphics cards connected to it.

Laptops bear a different graphics hardware compared to traditional desktop PC. Notebooks and laptops do run with integrated graphics as well as discrete graphics. Integrated graphics card in laptops are graphics processing units build into the processor. This enables their function in enhancing their function in a bigger and powerful manner. AMD and Nvidia are the two largest discrete graphics processing unit designers in the market. Today, parallel GPUs have marked the initial computational inroads against the CPU, and managed to open a subfield of research by the title of GPU computing.