ThatGenericName2 t1_j6lmf86 wrote on January 31, 2023 at 4:47 AM

Reply to comment by WeirdGamerAidan in ELI5: Why do computers need GPUs (integrated or external)? What information is the CPU sending to the GPU that it can't just send to a display? by WeirdGamerAidan

It doesn't, the person that replied to you is incorrect.

Some CPUs have a low power GPU integrated into it, hence Integrated GPU, and not all CPUs have them.

These Integrated GPUs are very weak and are meant for the bare minimum of graphics processing, enough to draw the interface of a word document or other programs and that's about it. Attempting to do anything complicated such as 3D rendering, even really simple ones will start to strain it.

Despite this these Integrated GPUs are still much better at graphics processing than software renderers that actually use the CPU.

salvodan t1_j6m0a82 wrote on January 31, 2023 at 7:19 AM

And before integrated GPUs or even discrete low-powered GPUs the User Interface was rendered using the CPU itself (software rendering). This was a long time ago, back in the old days of text interface in CGA and simple 2D sprites. (1980s)

Bensemus t1_j6nrvtz wrote on January 31, 2023 at 5:16 PM

This is more true of Intel iGPUs. AMD APUs were actually designed for light gaming as their integrated GPUs actually had some power.