x86 is also holding back CPU's. People/companies demand backwards-compatibility. If it wasn't needed we would see more CPU's like the Cell which is similar to a modern GPU with a core controlling lots of smaller proccessing units.
CPU vs GPU - why arent CPU's as powerful?
- Thread starter 19ninety
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from my understanding the main 2 differences between a gpu and cpu are:
the cpu can access large amounts of data from the ram and can coherently manage it between a single line of calculations so that each calculation can be made aware of the results of other ones easily, whereas the gpu can do a ******** of calculations, but the cannot be interdependant.
The other difference is the instruction sets. The cpu has a vastly more expansive set of different instructions and calculations it can perform, whereas the gpu is much more limited to simpler things.
the cpu can access large amounts of data from the ram and can coherently manage it between a single line of calculations so that each calculation can be made aware of the results of other ones easily, whereas the gpu can do a ******** of calculations, but the cannot be interdependant.
The other difference is the instruction sets. The cpu has a vastly more expansive set of different instructions and calculations it can perform, whereas the gpu is much more limited to simpler things.
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