{"id":12062,"date":"2021-06-18T12:37:34","date_gmt":"2021-06-18T10:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/g100.us\/?p=12062"},"modified":"2022-03-19T15:55:35","modified_gmt":"2022-03-19T14:55:35","slug":"cuda-cores-vs-stream-processors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/g100.us\/cuda-cores-vs-stream-processors\/","title":{"rendered":"CUDA Cores vs. Stream Processors (And other GPU Cores Explored)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_39 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">TABLE OF CONTENTS<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-66843f0f04ec5\" class=\"cssicon\"><span style=\"display: flex;align-items: center;width: 35px;height: 30px;justify-content: center;direction:ltr;\"><svg style=\"fill: #7f11e0;color:#7f11e0\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #7f11e0;color:#7f11e0\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\" \/><\/svg><\/span><\/label><label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-66843f0f04ec5\" class=\"cssiconcheckbox\">1<\/label><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-66843f0f04ec5\" checked><nav><ul class=\"ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 \"><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/cuda-cores-vs-stream-processors\/#What_are_Cores_Anyway\" title=\"What are Cores Anyway?\">What are Cores Anyway?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/cuda-cores-vs-stream-processors\/#What_are_the_Differences_Between_CPU_Cores_and_GPU_Cores\" title=\"What are the Differences Between CPU Cores and GPU Cores?\">What are the Differences Between CPU Cores and GPU Cores?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/cuda-cores-vs-stream-processors\/#What_are_CUDA_Cores_and_what_are_they_used_for\" title=\"What are CUDA Cores and what are they used for?\">What are CUDA Cores and what are they used for?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/cuda-cores-vs-stream-processors\/#What_are_Stream_Processors_and_what_are_they_used_for\" title=\"What are Stream Processors and what are they used for?\">What are Stream Processors and what are they used for?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/cuda-cores-vs-stream-processors\/#CUDA_Cores_vs_Stream_Processors\" title=\"CUDA Cores vs Stream Processors\">CUDA Cores vs Stream Processors<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/cuda-cores-vs-stream-processors\/#How_to_Compare_GPUs\" title=\"How to Compare GPUs\">How to Compare GPUs<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/cuda-cores-vs-stream-processors\/#What_are_NVIDIA_Tensor_Cores\" title=\"What are NVIDIA Tensor Cores?\">What are NVIDIA Tensor Cores?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/cuda-cores-vs-stream-processors\/#What_are_NVIDIA_RT_Cores\" title=\"What are NVIDIA RT Cores?\">What are NVIDIA RT Cores?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/cuda-cores-vs-stream-processors\/#What_are_AMD_Ray_Accelerators\" title=\"What are AMD Ray Accelerators?\">What are AMD Ray Accelerators?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/cuda-cores-vs-stream-processors\/#In_Summary\" title=\"In Summary\">In Summary<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/cuda-cores-vs-stream-processors\/#FAQ\" title=\"FAQ\">FAQ<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>Ever went to go buy a fancy new graphics card and ran into technobabble like this?<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12065\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/CUDA-Cores-and-Stream-Processors-comparison.jpg\" alt=\"CUDA Cores and Stream Processors comparison\" width=\"763\" height=\"109\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/CUDA-Cores-and-Stream-Processors-comparison.jpg 763w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/CUDA-Cores-and-Stream-Processors-comparison-300x43.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 763px) 100vw, 763px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12065 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20763%20109%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"CUDA Cores and Stream Processors comparison\" width=\"763\" height=\"109\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20763%20109%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 763w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 763px) 100vw, 763px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/CUDA-Cores-and-Stream-Processors-comparison.jpg 763w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/CUDA-Cores-and-Stream-Processors-comparison-300x43.jpg 300w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/CUDA-Cores-and-Stream-Processors-comparison.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>Cuda Cores? Stream Processors? What even are they?<\/p>\n<p>If you've spent any amount of time looking at graphic card specifications, it's likely that you've come across the words &#8220;CUDA cores&#8221; or &#8220;Stream Processors&#8221; before.<\/p>\n<p>These two terms and technologies are closely related to each other, but they're not interchangeable, and knowing the difference between them can help you make an informed decision when buying a graphics card.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>In this article, I'm going to go into detail about the nuances of both\u2014and some other &#8220;cores&#8221; you might find.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_Cores_Anyway\"><\/span>What are Cores Anyway?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Cores can be thought of as the heart of any CPU or GPU.<\/p>\n<p>Like the human heart, a core can only do one thing at a time, but it can do it very quickly and efficiently.<\/p>\n<p>The number of cores in a CPU, for example, determines its general <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/combine-processing-power-two-computers\/\">processing power<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A CPU with a single core is a bit like a person who can either breathe or talk, but not both at the same time.<\/p>\n<p>To continue that analogy, when a <em>single<\/em>-core CPU needs to breathe, it stops talking. And when it needs to talk, it stops breathing. This is in contrast to multi-core CPUs which can do all of that at once.<\/p>\n<p>Having several cores provides your computer with the ability to do a special type of multitasking called parallel processing, which allows your computer to more efficiently use your processor.<\/p>\n<p>A single-core CPU is fast, but it's limited. A multi-core CPU can be slower <em>per task<\/em>, but it can do many tasks at the same time.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12264\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-do-cores-work-Bandwidth-limiting-with-added-cores.jpg\" alt=\"How do cores work - Bandwidth limiting with added cores\" width=\"1536\" height=\"810\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-do-cores-work-Bandwidth-limiting-with-added-cores.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-do-cores-work-Bandwidth-limiting-with-added-cores-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-do-cores-work-Bandwidth-limiting-with-added-cores-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-do-cores-work-Bandwidth-limiting-with-added-cores-768x405.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12264 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201536%20810%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"How do cores work - Bandwidth limiting with added cores\" width=\"1536\" height=\"810\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201536%20810%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-do-cores-work-Bandwidth-limiting-with-added-cores.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-do-cores-work-Bandwidth-limiting-with-added-cores-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-do-cores-work-Bandwidth-limiting-with-added-cores-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-do-cores-work-Bandwidth-limiting-with-added-cores-768x405.jpg 768w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-do-cores-work-Bandwidth-limiting-with-added-cores.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>Now, instead of a CPU with a handful of cores, imagine a processor with <em>thousands<\/em> of cores all working in parallel for very specific tasks as opposed to the more generalized tasks that a typical CPU faces.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12261\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Differences-between-GPU-and-CPU-cores.jpg\" alt=\"Differences between GPU and CPU cores\" width=\"1536\" height=\"810\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Differences-between-GPU-and-CPU-cores.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Differences-between-GPU-and-CPU-cores-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Differences-between-GPU-and-CPU-cores-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Differences-between-GPU-and-CPU-cores-768x405.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12261 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201536%20810%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Differences between GPU and CPU cores\" width=\"1536\" height=\"810\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201536%20810%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Differences-between-GPU-and-CPU-cores.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Differences-between-GPU-and-CPU-cores-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Differences-between-GPU-and-CPU-cores-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Differences-between-GPU-and-CPU-cores-768x405.jpg 768w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Differences-between-GPU-and-CPU-cores.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>That is what <strong>GPUs<\/strong> have. And that is why GPUs are so much slower than CPUs for general-purpose <em>serial<\/em> computing, but so much faster for <em>parallel<\/em> computing.<\/p>\n<p>The cores on a GPU are usually referred to as &#8220;CUDA Cores&#8221; or &#8220;Stream Processors.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_the_Differences_Between_CPU_Cores_and_GPU_Cores\"><\/span>What are the Differences Between CPU Cores and GPU Cores?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There are many similarities between CPU cores and GPU cores, but they also have many differences.<\/p>\n<p>CPU cores are designed to run multiple instructions at once. They're designed for general-purpose calculations and have a wide variety of uses.<\/p>\n<p>GPU cores are designed for a single purpose: graphics processing. They're specialized and very efficient at their job.<\/p>\n<p>CPUs use a small handful of very powerful cores, while GPUs are built with a large number of comparably less powerful cores.<\/p>\n<p>A GPU is great at doing parallel tasks, like quickly working out what thousands of pixels need to look like in fractions of a second.<\/p>\n<p>The difference between CPUs and GPUs is that each is purpose-built to do different types of processing.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_CUDA_Cores_and_what_are_they_used_for\"><\/span>What are CUDA Cores and what are they used for?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/CUDA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CUDA<\/a>&#8221; is a proprietary technology developed by NVIDIA and stands for Compute Unified Device Architecture.<\/p>\n<p>CUDA Cores are used for a lot of things, but the main thing they're used for is to enable efficient parallel computing.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_12260\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12260\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-with-border wp-image-12260 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/CUDA-Technology-and-Ecosystem.jpg\" alt=\"CUDA Technology and Ecosystem\" width=\"500\" height=\"493\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/CUDA-Technology-and-Ecosystem.jpg 500w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/CUDA-Technology-and-Ecosystem-300x296.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"><\/noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12260\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-with-border wp-image-12260 size-full lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20500%20493%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"CUDA Technology and Ecosystem\" width=\"500\" height=\"493\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20500%20493%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/CUDA-Technology-and-Ecosystem.jpg 500w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/CUDA-Technology-and-Ecosystem-300x296.jpg 300w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/CUDA-Technology-and-Ecosystem.jpg\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-12260\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image-Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/developer.nvidia.com\/cuda-toolkit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nvidia<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>A single CUDA core is similar to a CPU core, with the primary difference being that it is less capable but implemented in much greater numbers. Which again allows for great parallel computing.<\/p>\n<p>A <em>typical<\/em> CPU contains anywhere from 2 to 16 cores, but the number of CUDA cores in even the lowliest modern NVIDIA GPUs is in the hundreds.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, high-end cards now have thousands of them.<\/p>\n<p>But more than being just a set of cores, CUDA is an interface to access those cores and communicate with the rest of your system.<\/p>\n<p>The cores that execute those instructions are called CUDA cores.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_Stream_Processors_and_what_are_they_used_for\"><\/span>What are Stream Processors and what are they used for?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>NVIDIA has their CUDA cores, but AMD, their chief competitor, also has a rival technology called &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Stream_processing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stream Processors<\/a>&#8220;.<\/p>\n<p>Now, these two technologies and the respective companies' GPU architectures are different.<\/p>\n<p>However, at the end of the day, they are fundamentally the same thing when it comes to their core functions and what they are used for.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"CUDA_Cores_vs_Stream_Processors\"><\/span>CUDA Cores vs Stream Processors<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Generally, NVIDIA's CUDA Cores are known to be more stable and better optimized\u2014as NVIDIA's hardware usually is compared to AMD sadly.<\/p>\n<p>But there are no noticeable performance or graphics quality differences in real-world tests between the two architectures.<\/p>\n<p>Because Nvidia has been the #1 GPU manufacturer for a long time, there is just much wider support for CUDA cores compared to AMD's Stream Processors.<\/p>\n<p>After all, the CUDA Architecture is proprietary, and developing Software for it is a cumbersome process. It's understandable, that <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/render-engine-hardware-compatibility-cpu-gpu-hybrid\/\">Render Engine Developers<\/a>, Game Engine Developers, or Game Developers prefer developing and supporting GPU Hardware that is more widely used.<\/p>\n<p>But in its essence, both CUDA Cores and Stream Processors are similarly capable, if the software support is on the same level. So you don't need to worry about what is &#8220;better&#8221; when it comes to GPU cores as they're both pretty much the same.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Compare_GPUs\"><\/span>How to Compare GPUs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It's very hard to compare GPUs through their specifications alone.<\/p>\n<p>NVIDIA's and AMD's definitions of cores themselves are different and their core architectures are wildly different as well.<\/p>\n<p>You can't just go with an NVIDIA GPU because it has a thousand more CUDA cores than a comparable AMD card, and you can't just go with an AMD GPU for the same reasons.<\/p>\n<p>The best and only real way to compare the performance of GPUs is through real-world benchmarks results.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12263\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/GPU-Benchmarks-AMD-and-Nvidia-GPUs-listed-by-performance.jpg\" alt=\"GPU Benchmarks - AMD and Nvidia GPUs listed by performance\" width=\"1536\" height=\"810\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/GPU-Benchmarks-AMD-and-Nvidia-GPUs-listed-by-performance.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/GPU-Benchmarks-AMD-and-Nvidia-GPUs-listed-by-performance-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/GPU-Benchmarks-AMD-and-Nvidia-GPUs-listed-by-performance-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/GPU-Benchmarks-AMD-and-Nvidia-GPUs-listed-by-performance-768x405.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12263 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201536%20810%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"GPU Benchmarks - AMD and Nvidia GPUs listed by performance\" width=\"1536\" height=\"810\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201536%20810%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/GPU-Benchmarks-AMD-and-Nvidia-GPUs-listed-by-performance.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/GPU-Benchmarks-AMD-and-Nvidia-GPUs-listed-by-performance-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/GPU-Benchmarks-AMD-and-Nvidia-GPUs-listed-by-performance-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/GPU-Benchmarks-AMD-and-Nvidia-GPUs-listed-by-performance-768x405.jpg 768w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/GPU-Benchmarks-AMD-and-Nvidia-GPUs-listed-by-performance.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>We put together two comparison tables for <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/nvidia-graphics-cards-order-performance\/\">Nvidia's GPUs<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/amd-graphic-cards-order-of-performance\/\">AMD's GPUs<\/a> to make this process easier for you.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_NVIDIA_Tensor_Cores\"><\/span>What are NVIDIA Tensor Cores?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>First introduced in NVIDIA's Volta architecture, Tensor Cores are a type of core designed to make artificial intelligence and deep learning more accessible and more powerful.<\/p>\n<p>Since the inception of CUDA GPUs, the architecture has been designed with one important goal in mind: to make the creation of parallel, highly efficient programs easier. And for the last decade, it's done a great job of that.<\/p>\n<p>But, thanks to the success and innovations brought on by deep learning, an AI-based technology that uses neural networks to learn to perform tasks without being explicitly programmed, NVIDIA needed to make some major changes to better support these cutting-edge technologies.<\/p>\n<p>NVIDIA's new architecture, Ampere, has brought even more major changes with its 3rd generation Tensor Cores that will make it much easier and faster to train deep learning models.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_12064\" style=\"width: 1280px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12064\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12064 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Nvidia-Architecture-GPU-Core-PCB.jpg\" alt=\"Nvidia Architecture GPU Core PCB\" width=\"1280\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Nvidia-Architecture-GPU-Core-PCB.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Nvidia-Architecture-GPU-Core-PCB-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Nvidia-Architecture-GPU-Core-PCB-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Nvidia-Architecture-GPU-Core-PCB-768x384.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\"><\/noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12064\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12064 size-full lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201280%20640%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Nvidia Architecture GPU Core PCB\" width=\"1280\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201280%20640%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Nvidia-Architecture-GPU-Core-PCB.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Nvidia-Architecture-GPU-Core-PCB-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Nvidia-Architecture-GPU-Core-PCB-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Nvidia-Architecture-GPU-Core-PCB-768x384.jpg 768w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Nvidia-Architecture-GPU-Core-PCB.jpg\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-12064\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">GA100 GPU, Image-Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nvidia.com\/en-us\/data-center\/a100\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nvidia<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>These cores are designed with deep learning in mind, and they are much more efficient than the old Tensor Cores that are found in the Volta and Turing architectures before Ampere.<\/p>\n<p>The Tensor Cores are designed to handle matrix multiplication and convolution operations, which are the bread and butter of deep learning algorithms.<\/p>\n<p>NVIDIA's 3rd generation Tensor Cores can perform an astonishing 20x faster than the older cores.<\/p>\n<p>That is a lot of speed, and it's hoped that it will be able to help improve the performance of deep learning algorithms by a lot.<\/p>\n<p>One of the technologies that actually uses deep neural network learning is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nvidia.com\/en-us\/geforce\/technologies\/dlss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NVIDIA's own DLSS technology<\/a>\u2014and it's something that the average Joe or Jill can actually use <em>now<\/em>!<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12262\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-vs-AMD-FSR.jpg\" alt=\"DLSS vs AMD FSR\" width=\"1536\" height=\"810\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-vs-AMD-FSR.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-vs-AMD-FSR-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-vs-AMD-FSR-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-vs-AMD-FSR-768x405.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12262 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201536%20810%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"DLSS vs AMD FSR\" width=\"1536\" height=\"810\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201536%20810%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-vs-AMD-FSR.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-vs-AMD-FSR-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-vs-AMD-FSR-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-vs-AMD-FSR-768x405.jpg 768w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-vs-AMD-FSR.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>It is a technology that leverages deep learning and artificial intelligence to enhance the graphics and performance of games (currently) without compromising visual quality.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_12063\" style=\"width: 1152px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12063\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12063 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison.jpg\" alt=\"DLSS OFF vs ON comparison\" width=\"1152\" height=\"548\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison-300x143.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison-1024x487.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison-768x365.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1152px) 100vw, 1152px\"><\/noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12063\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12063 size-full lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201152%20548%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"DLSS OFF vs ON comparison\" width=\"1152\" height=\"548\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201152%20548%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1152w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1152px) 100vw, 1152px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison-300x143.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison-1024x487.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison-768x365.jpg 768w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison.jpg\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-12063\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image Credit: Wolfenstein: Youngblood - <a href=\"https:\/\/developer.nvidia.com\" target=\"_blank\">NVIDIA<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>DLSS stands for Deep Learning Super-Sampling.<\/p>\n<p>When DLSS is enabled in supported games, it uses a deep neural network to analyze and improve upon the standard image-enhancement techniques employed by traditional anti-aliasing.<\/p>\n<p>The enhanced images produced by DLSS are usually comparable to 4K images but rendered at significantly lower resolutions. Giving major performance improvements.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_12066\" style=\"width: 1152px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12066\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12066 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison-in-Nvidia-Games.jpg\" alt=\"DLSS OFF vs ON comparison in Nvidia Games\" width=\"1152\" height=\"549\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison-in-Nvidia-Games.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison-in-Nvidia-Games-300x143.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison-in-Nvidia-Games-1024x488.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison-in-Nvidia-Games-768x366.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1152px) 100vw, 1152px\"><\/noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12066\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12066 size-full lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201152%20549%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"DLSS OFF vs ON comparison in Nvidia Games\" width=\"1152\" height=\"549\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201152%20549%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1152w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1152px) 100vw, 1152px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison-in-Nvidia-Games.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison-in-Nvidia-Games-300x143.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison-in-Nvidia-Games-1024x488.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison-in-Nvidia-Games-768x366.jpg 768w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/DLSS-OFF-vs-ON-comparison-in-Nvidia-Games.jpg\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-12066\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image Credit: MechWarrior 5 - NVIDIA<\/p><\/div>\n<p>DLSS works on graphics cards starting from the Turing-architecture GPUs, but it entered into prime time with the Ampere generation.<\/p>\n<p>Because DLSS is a new technology, it is not available in all games, and it's not guaranteed to work in every situation.<\/p>\n<p>But NVIDIA is continuously working with developers to improve its performance.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_NVIDIA_RT_Cores\"><\/span>What are NVIDIA RT Cores?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>NVIDIA has also introduced another new type of core: the RT Cores\u2014Ray Tracing Cores.<\/p>\n<p>These cores are designed to handle real-time video and audio processing at the same time as deep learning.<\/p>\n<p>These cores help with ray tracing, a <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/how-to-render-faster\/\">rendering technique<\/a> that aims to mimic the way light reflects and refracts as it passes through different materials.<\/p>\n<p>Ray tracing has been used in <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/redshift-benchmark-results\/\">professional 3D rendering<\/a> for years, but it has only recently become practical for real-time rendering. NVIDIA\u2019s RT cores are an important part of this development.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_12265\" style=\"width: 1260px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12265\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12265 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-RT-Cores-help-with-ray-tracing.jpg\" alt=\"How RT Cores help with ray tracing\" width=\"1260\" height=\"709\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-RT-Cores-help-with-ray-tracing.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-RT-Cores-help-with-ray-tracing-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-RT-Cores-help-with-ray-tracing-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-RT-Cores-help-with-ray-tracing-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-RT-Cores-help-with-ray-tracing-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-RT-Cores-help-with-ray-tracing-825x464.jpg 825w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-RT-Cores-help-with-ray-tracing-594x335.jpg 594w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-RT-Cores-help-with-ray-tracing-420x236.jpg 420w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px\"><\/noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12265\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12265 size-full lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201260%20709%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"How RT Cores help with ray tracing\" width=\"1260\" height=\"709\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201260%20709%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1260w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-RT-Cores-help-with-ray-tracing.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-RT-Cores-help-with-ray-tracing-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-RT-Cores-help-with-ray-tracing-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-RT-Cores-help-with-ray-tracing-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-RT-Cores-help-with-ray-tracing-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-RT-Cores-help-with-ray-tracing-825x464.jpg 825w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-RT-Cores-help-with-ray-tracing-594x335.jpg 594w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-RT-Cores-help-with-ray-tracing-420x236.jpg 420w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/How-RT-Cores-help-with-ray-tracing.jpg\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-12265\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Raytracing on RTX GPUs, Image-Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nvidia.com\/es-la\/data-center\/ampere-architecture\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nvidia<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>NVIDIA's RT cores are designed to accelerate ray tracing calculations and have been specially designed for these tasks.<\/p>\n<p>They can be used to speed up the rendering of games and other 3D graphics by many orders of magnitudes.<\/p>\n<p>The 2nd generation of RT Cores introduced with the Ampere architecture is also much more efficient and powerful than the older cores.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_12259\" style=\"width: 1536px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12259\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12259 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Comparion-between-1st-and-2nd-generation-RT-cores-on-Nvidia-GPUs.jpg\" alt=\"Comparison between 1st and 2nd generation RT cores on Nvidia GPUs\" width=\"1536\" height=\"861\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Comparion-between-1st-and-2nd-generation-RT-cores-on-Nvidia-GPUs.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Comparion-between-1st-and-2nd-generation-RT-cores-on-Nvidia-GPUs-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Comparion-between-1st-and-2nd-generation-RT-cores-on-Nvidia-GPUs-1024x574.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Comparion-between-1st-and-2nd-generation-RT-cores-on-Nvidia-GPUs-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Comparion-between-1st-and-2nd-generation-RT-cores-on-Nvidia-GPUs-420x236.jpg 420w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\"><\/noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12259\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12259 size-full lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201536%20861%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Comparison between 1st and 2nd generation RT cores on Nvidia GPUs\" width=\"1536\" height=\"861\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201536%20861%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Comparion-between-1st-and-2nd-generation-RT-cores-on-Nvidia-GPUs.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Comparion-between-1st-and-2nd-generation-RT-cores-on-Nvidia-GPUs-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Comparion-between-1st-and-2nd-generation-RT-cores-on-Nvidia-GPUs-1024x574.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Comparion-between-1st-and-2nd-generation-RT-cores-on-Nvidia-GPUs-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Comparion-between-1st-and-2nd-generation-RT-cores-on-Nvidia-GPUs-420x236.jpg 420w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/06\/Comparion-between-1st-and-2nd-generation-RT-cores-on-Nvidia-GPUs.jpg\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-12259\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Generational performance uplift - <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nvidia.com\/content\/PDF\/nvidia-ampere-ga-102-gpu-architecture-whitepaper-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nvidia<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>NVIDIA's new architecture is a huge step forward in the world of deep learning and artificial intelligence-enhanced media.<\/p>\n<p>The new Tensor Cores and RT Cores make it possible to create some truly amazing applications. Who knows what the future holds for these new technologies?<\/p>\n<p>Fully path-traced real-time renders might not be too far off in the future if we keep innovating at this rate.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_AMD_Ray_Accelerators\"><\/span>What are AMD Ray Accelerators?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>AMD Ray Accelerators are AMD's answer to NVIDIA's RT Cores.<\/p>\n<p>AMD joined the ray-tracing competition with their RX 6000 series and with that, they have also introduced a few important features to the RDNA 2 architectural design that helps to compete with NVIDIA's RT Cores.<\/p>\n<p>These &#8220;Ray Accelerators&#8221; are supposed to increase the efficiency of the standard GPU compute units in the computational workloads related to ray tracing.<\/p>\n<p>The mechanism behind the functioning of Ray Accelerators is still relatively vague however and it's still in its infancy as AMD was somewhat slow to adapt to the real-time ray tracing revolution.<\/p>\n<p>As of right now, AMD's Ray Accelerators don't exactly match up to NVIDIA's relatively more mature RT Cores on performance.<\/p>\n<p>And AMD also doesn't have a viable competitor to NVIDIA's DLSS technology. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amd.com\/en\/technologies\/radeon-software-fidelityfx-super-resolution\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">However, a solution similar to it <em>is <\/em>actively being worked on.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>So there's a definite chance that the tables might turn with AMD's upcoming RDNA 3 architecture.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"In_Summary\"><\/span>In Summary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Hopefully, that cleared things up for you.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re still feeling lost, however, here are the main points you should take away from this.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stream Processors and CUDA Cores are branded names for the same thing: a parallel processor and the set of rules for its operation.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In practice, the two are fundamentally different because AMD and NVIDIA each use their own unique architecture.<\/p>\n<p>But there is no great real-world performance difference between the two.<\/p>\n<p>Trying to directly compare Stream Processors and CUDA Cores to each other is like trying to measure your car's mileage by looking at the size of your fuel tank.<\/p>\n<p>It makes much more sense to just take the car for a drive.<\/p>\n<p>Looking at hard data will always be far more valuable than making comparisons between CUDA Cores and Stream Processors or any other specification on its own.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>How many cores do I need in a GPU?<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>More the merrier. You can't have enough cores on a GPU. But higher core counts come with higher costs, so you have to balance that out.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Do more cores equal better performance?<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Yes. Pretty much. It's certainly not the only thing that determines the performance of a GPU, but it does play a big part in it, so you can <em>generally <\/em>assume that higher core counts (whether it be CUDA, Stream Processors, or otherwise) will amount to better performance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>How do cores affect 3D modeling performance?<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Modeling specifically? Not that much actually. Modeling is usually a CPU-bound activity. If you're running into slowdowns when it comes to modeling, it's usually because you're either running out of RAM or your CPU is having a hard time keeping up with all those polygons.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/best-computer-3d-modeling-rendering\/\">I'd recommend taking a look at our article about creating a computer for 3D modeling to learn more.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Are CUDA Cores better than Stream Processors?<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>They're both very similar in their function and performance.<\/li>\n<li>The only upper hand that CUDA might have over Stream Processors is that it's generally known to have better software support.<\/li>\n<li>But overall, there's no great difference between the two.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Do AMD cards have CUDA Cores?<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>No. CUDA Cores are a proprietary technology developed by NVIDIA that's only available in NVIDIA GPUs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>We hope that explains exactly what all those cores on GPUs are! Have any other questions about them? Let us know in the <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"#comments\"><strong><em>comments<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em> or our <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/forum\/\"><strong><em>forum<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ever went to go buy a fancy new graphics card and ran into technobabble like this? Cuda Cores? Stream Processors? What even are they? If you've spent any amount of time looking at graphic card specifications, it's likely that you've come across the words &#8220;CUDA cores&#8221; or &#8220;Stream Processors&#8221; before. These two terms and technologies...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2343,"featured_media":12071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[74],"tags":[118],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12062"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2343"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12062"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15996,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12062\/revisions\/15996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}