ELI5- Why are Graphics cards getting so big & power hungry when other electronics are getting smaller and use less power?

Question

In the past we put graphics cards in a PC now we put a PC in a space heater

In: 14

Answer 1

Graphics cards are staying about the same size, it’s the cooling hardware that is so big and bulky. Non-bulky versions of graphics cards are put in things like gaming laptops and just like CPUs they are roughly the size of a large thumbnail. However the laptop versions still need to be cooled rapidly which is why gaming laptops usually have two large fans. Same cooling but just configured differently.

Graphics cards use a lot of energy to compute things so fast when they’re under load because transistors take energy to turn on and off. The more they’re doing so the more they heat up. This requires a lot of cooling. CPUs and GPUs are designed to run best at a higher temperature than room temperature but once they reach 90-100 degrees Celsius they can start to damage themselves if they are not cooled properly.