CPU, GPU, NPU, Chip, SoC… What’s it all about ? 🧠

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Last week, Apple presented its new computer chips: M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max. Many of you wondered what a chip is, and how it differs from processors, for example. We give you the answer in this week’s #AskTheGriots.

Multiple brains 🧠

CPU (Central Processing Unit), commonly known as the processor, is the brain of your device, whether smartphone or computer. It’s responsible for handling all tasks, such as running applications. For example, Intel Core i7 processors.

GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), commonly known as the graphics card, is a second brain for the device. However, it focuses solely on processing visual elements, such as video games and movies. Nvidia cards, for example.

NPU (Neural Processing Unit), on the other hand, is more recent and much more common on smartphones. It represents the device’s artificial intelligence brain. It is designed to understand and process elements such as faces, voices and so on.

3 brains in one 🤯

The SoC (System on Chip), commonly referred to as the « chip », is like a super brain, combining the CPU, GPU, sometimes the NPU and other components. It’s found on smartphones (Snapdragon chips on Android or A17 on iPhones) and, more recently, on certain computers.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask us in comments. Your favorite griots will answer them 😁