What Do Stream Processors Mean on a Graphics Card?
Stream processing is a concept that allows graphics cards to have optimized dedicated CPU power to render graphics. This concept allows graphics cards to render objects much faster than if they would be sharing the computer's CPU with all the other applications that it has open.
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History
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The first experiments with stream processing were performed during the 1980s. It was not until the 21st century that stream processing became popular.
Function
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In an environment based on stream processing, a piece of data is sent over to one of the stream processors in the graphics card. This stream processor is now dedicated to working with this small chunk of data while the others stand by to receive their own instructions. When you stand back and see it all perform, it is like having a processor with many small cores, each dedicated to one small data set.
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Why They Were Invented
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Stream Processors were invented to replace the pixel pipelines in the older graphics cards. They basically function within a dedicated processor inside of a graphics card (the graphic processing unit, or GPU) to perform all the calculations necessary to display images on a computer screen.
Benefits
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Dedicated stream processing is the most advantageous application to have over an integrated GPU on a motherboard. Integrated GPUs are often much less powerful than dedicated ones that appear on graphics cards.
Misconceptions
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It is easy to make the mistake of thinking that stream processors are related to CPUs. Stream processors are, in fact, small parts of the community that makes up a GPU.
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