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To: FJB who wrote (31121)	2/22/1999 1:24:00 AM
From: Scumbria	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 33344

Bob, Graphics processors can use a lot of transistors (for parallel mathematics), but are inherently simpler designs than microprocessors. Microprocessor complexity is greatly aggravated by the need to execute branch instructions. Every time a branch is mispredicted, the processor has to recover extremely quickly. Graphics processors do not have this problem. The can use very deep pipelines, which are much easier to design and debug. Another factor which makes graphics design simpler is the software. Microprocessors are directly impacted by badly written user code, but the graphics processor has a layer of protection between it and the user- the driver. You can ship a graphics processor with a lot of bugs that are corrected by the driver. Scumbria