Is it possible to build a computer with GPU only?

[L0rd_M@dness]

Doesn't GPU do almost the same thing as CPU, except more focused on the graphics?
So if I want a computer for gaming only, is it possible to build it without a CPU and only a GPU?

[icon]

Short answer: Yes, but pointless.

Long answer: Not really. You would have to completely redesign the way that the OS (hell, even the boot instructions) handles commands. You would have to redo the motherboard, add a lower level of architecture to your GPU, and then reprogram the whole damned thing.  Something to do with a more basic design of the fundamental registers in the CPU <citation needed> This would result in all of the system resources being used by the GPU, instead of the CPU handling the background while GPU does the in-your-face stuff.

End result: System On a Chip (SOC). Basically what the thinking is behind stuff like the Raspberry Pi (which is really freaking cool, btw).

So doable, but would have to redesign everything, and the end result would not be worth the effort.

In my humble opinion. 

[WirelessDesert]

Short answer: Yes, but pointless.

Long answer: Not really. You would have to completely redesign the way that the OS (hell, even the boot instructions) handles commands. You would have to redo the motherboard, add a lower level of architecture to your GPU, and then reprogram the whole damned thing.  Something to do with a more basic design of the fundamental registers in the CPU <citation needed> This would result in all of the system resources being used by the GPU, instead of the CPU handling the background while GPU does the in-your-face stuff.

End result: System On a Chip (SOC). Basically what the thinking is behind stuff like the Raspberry Pi (which is really freaking cool, btw).

So doable, but would have to redesign everything, and the end result would not be worth the effort.

In my humble opinion. 

Exactly.
Doing it would be so pointless.

As for OP's question. Since the GPU is designed to do fast drawings and such, making it into the processing board, and then playing games, would just cause it to overheat.
The GPU would have to control your mouse keyboard input, "talk"  to the monitor, etc. This means that it would be overloaded, and playing a game like halo demo would cause problems.

[techb]

Modularity. Let system heavy handly heavy stuff. Let the lighter stuff handle the lighter stuff. The CPU and GPU is set up the way it is for a reason. I have to say, greater minds than our own have thought and re-thought this same reasoning. Conclusions result in consumer electronics. Yes military and others may have higher/better stuff, running multiple GPUs instead of regular instructions on a CPU. But this is all consumer.


Grab yourself some FPGA's and test shit out for your self.

[p_2001]

A GPU handles calculations better. Yes it is possible to build a computer using only gpu.


also, the term I believe was GPGPU.

this is just a trend in technology. technology always moves this way, a solution, then a compact generalized solution and then again specialized solution.
Technology converges and diverges. I would say that in a few years we will get a computer purely on GPU, that will be the general solution case.

[0poitr]

Does a gpu have an mmu unit? Can it handle context switches and schedule things?
Assuming the gpu is a normal one available in the market I don't think it can perform all the actions a cpu does. And a cpu doesn't do only computation.

[p_2001]

Does a gpu have an mmu unit? Can it handle context switches and schedule things?
Assuming the gpu is a normal one available in the market I don't think it can perform all the actions a cpu does. And a cpu doesn't do only computation.

yes, actually. Gpu do have a mmu, as for the logical operations, it is possible to use gpu for them. go to wkipedia>>gpgpu

[Axon]

The simplest answer is. Possible but not practical, why? as other members said, you will have to assign other functions to the GPU processor. Therefore, hindering its performance.   

[Stackprotector]

Short conclusion, the whole power of a GPU is the ability to do calculations without much hassle. It does not have to worry about a zillion security features and everything that a powerfull CPU posseses.

[Darkvision]

Figured i would point out something here real fast, while a GPU only system is not very effective it is often far more cost effective to use multiple GPU's for things like code breaking than it is to try to do it with a multi processor board. Also the real issue as far as i know as to why thier is a CPU/GPU is less about say a GPU over heating and more so of the problem of pipeline capacity. Also the core technology behind a CPU and GPU are essentially the same, its the programming that differs.