A look inside modern GPUs – from architecture to trillions of calculations

The performance of modern GPUs is often described in abstract numbers—trillions of operations per second and ever-increasing performance. However, the architecture that makes this performance possible is less visible. A video by Branch Education highlights this very aspect, using NVIDIA's RTX 3090 GA102 chip as an example to explain how modern graphics processors work. It focuses on how a single component can perform dozens of trillions of calculations per second. The answer lies in the architecture: unlike CPUs, which primarily process tasks sequentially, GPUs are designed for parallel processing. Thousands of smaller computing units work simultaneously, executing identical instructions on different data—a principle known as Single Instruction, Multiple Data (SIMD). Combined with high-speed memory like GDDR6X, this structure enables the efficient processing of massive data sets, allowing GPUs to handle complex tasks from graphics and 3D rendering to demanding AI applications. The video demonstrates that the power of modern GPUs relies not on a single innovation, but on the interplay of many components within a highly integrated system, underscoring their central role in areas like high-performance computing and artificial intelligence