Why are GPUs so big, while CPUs are so small?
In: Engineering
Basically, the GPU comes attached with its own motherboard that holds all of the other components needed for the GPU to do its job. GPUs come with their own VRAM, while the RAM for the CPU comes in their own sticks that need to be connected to the motherboard. GPUs come with their own cooling solution (fan and a heat sink) where the CPU needs you to stick one on. GPUs come with all the chips and circuits needed to interface through the PCIE slot; that slot and the components needed on the CPU side are all integrated into the motherboard. Really, you’re not comparing the GPU *chip* to the CPU *chip*, you’re comparing the entire GPU board to the CPU chip.
You can see [from this partly disassembled GPU](https://madpcb.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Graphics-Card-PCB-Assembly.jpg) that the chip itself is more or less the same size as a CPU, even a little smaller. You can also see the “Memory” label pointing to the VRAM.
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