Single instruction, multiple data: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:43, 4 August 2025

Revision as of 15:09, 14 August 2025

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Another key distinction in SIMT is the presence of control flow mechanisms like warps ([[Nvidia]] terminology) or wavefronts (Advanced Micro Devices ([[AMD]]) terminology). [[ILLIAC IV]] simply called them "Control Signals". These signals ensure that each Processing Element in the entire parallel array is synchronized in its simultaneous execution of the (one, current) broadcast instruction.

Each hardware element (PU, or PE in [[ILLIAC IV]] terminology) working on individual data item sometimes also referred to as a [[SIMD lane]] or channel,. although theThe ILLIAC IV PE was a scalar 64-bit unit that could do 2x32-bit [[Predication_(computer_architecture)|predication]] . Modern [[graphics processing unit]]s (GPUs) are invariably wide [[SIMD within a register]] (SWAR) and typically have more that 16 data lanes or channels of such Processing Elements.{{cn|date=July 2024}} Some newer GPUs integrate mixed-precision {{cn|date=July 2025}} SWAR pipelines, which performs concurrent sub-word [[8-bit computing|8-bit]], [[16-bit computing|16-bit]], and [[32-bit computing|32-bit]] operations. This is critical for applications like AI inference, where mixed precision boosts throughput.

==History==