Shader unit, Stream processor, or CUDA Core?

[Red Hawk]

I just wanted to get this cleared up. The term Nvidia uses to call the shaders in its GPUS is "CUDA Core". This can be seen on their official GTX 680 specifications page, and is clearly an Nvidia only term since CUDA is also the name of their proprietary GPGPU software.

AMD, on the other hand, uses the term "Stream Processor". This can also be seen on the official 7970 GHz Edition specifications page. Now, I've seen some people refer to the shader units on Nvidia graphics chips as "stream processors", but this is erroneous. Just like "CUDA Core" "Stream Processor" is an AMD-invented term. It also derives from their proprietary GPGPU software, which used to be called ATI Stream but is now just called AMD App Acceleration. It's a little easier to mix up "Stream Processor" with Nvidia since "Stream" is not an AMD invented acronym (and since ATI Stream was considerably less successful than CUDA...).

So, with that cleared up, am I correct in saying that the general term for the main units in a GPU is "shaders" or "shader units"?

 

[Ibra]

Q: What does unified shader core mean?
A: Historically, GPUs have had dedicated units for different types of operations in the rendering pipeline, such as vertex processing and pixel shading. With the unified architecture of the GeForce 8 Series, NVIDIA designed a single floating point shader core with multiple independent processors. Each of these independent processors is capable of handling any type of shading operation, including pixel shading, vertex shading, geometry shading, and physics shading. GeForce 8800 GPUs can dynamically allocate processing power depending on the workload of the application, providing unprecedented performance and efficiency.

So, no more pixel/shader units. Now unified shader.

GeForce 8's unified shader architecture consists of a number of stream processors (SPs).

Don't know when Nvidia started call them Cuda cores.

 

[SPBHM]

So, no more pixel/shader units. Now unified shader.

Don't know when Nvidia started call them Cuda cores.

I think it was around the GTX 280 and their first DX10.1 cards (like the GT 240) so, 2008-2009, but on older 280 stuff I can find them calling it "processing cores" (http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_gtx_280_us.html), when the GT 240 was released it was all about cuda cores

anyway, I don't mind using other terms than what they want you to use, shader units sounds more neutral

 

[BD231]

Shaders

 

[SirPauly]

The name may be semantic but the corresponding number is what may be concentrated upon.

There was a time when both used Sp's or stream processors based on stream processing.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Its a heavily abused terms. Steam processors, Cuda cores, EUs. etc.

Also the manipulation of the actual numbers, since PR seems to think higher must be better. So because one company says they got...1000 of whatever. Doesnt mean there is actually 1000. You wouldnt call..say an i5 3570K for 16, 20 or 24 units either.