{"id":15435,"date":"2019-11-28T14:35:58","date_gmt":"2019-11-28T14:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/compute-unified-device-architecture\/"},"modified":"2019-11-28T14:36:50","modified_gmt":"2019-11-28T14:36:50","slug":"compute-unified-device-architecture","status":"publish","type":"definition","link":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda","title":{"rendered":"Compute Unified Device Architecture"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span id=\"what_does_compute_unified_device_architecture_mean\">What Does Compute Unified Device Architecture Mean?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Compute Unified Device Architecture is a parallel computing architecture useful for the support of applications that require significant amounts of parallel processing. It&#39;s often attributed to the Nvidia company and abbreviated CUDA.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"techopedia_explains_compute_unified_device_architecture\">Techopedia Explains Compute Unified Device Architecture<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In a Compute Unified Device Architecture model, the execution of compute kernels relies on parallel processing and a virtual instruction set delivered by a multi-core processor, often a GPU.<\/p>\n<p>The idea is that some tasks that are termed &quot;extremely parallel&quot; like rendering sophisticated 3D graphics require a multi-core approach. First, chip companies started creating quad-core models and other models that introduced simple parallel processing.<\/p>\n<p>But specifically in the development of GPUs, engineers came up with designs that have very powerful multi-core processing, because of the number of small cores built into one chip. That has led to CUDA and similar architectures that help to really support robust and vibrant parallel processing. Some of these use low-level libraries and limited instruction sets to make the multi-core design efficient.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Does Compute Unified Device Architecture Mean? Compute Unified Device Architecture is a parallel computing architecture useful for the support of applications that require significant amounts of parallel processing. It&#39;s often attributed to the Nvidia company and abbreviated CUDA. Techopedia Explains Compute Unified Device Architecture In a Compute Unified Device Architecture model, the execution of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7813,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"definitioncat":[217,248],"class_list":["post-15435","definition","type-definition","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","definitioncat-hardware","definitioncat-networking-hardware"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.2 (Yoast SEO v24.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What is Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA)? - Definition from Techopedia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This definition explains the meaning of Compute Unified Device Architecture and why it matters.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Compute Unified Device Architecture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This definition explains the meaning of Compute Unified Device Architecture and why it matters.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Techopedia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/techopedia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-11-28T14:36:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@techopedia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Margaret Rouse\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5dd538e31ee352d105b8af36c4268a5\"},\"headline\":\"Compute Unified Device Architecture\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-28T14:35:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-11-28T14:36:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda\"},\"wordCount\":179,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda#respond\"]}],\"articleSection\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda\",\"name\":\"What is Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA)? - Definition from Techopedia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-28T14:35:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-11-28T14:36:50+00:00\",\"description\":\"This definition explains the meaning of Compute Unified Device Architecture and why it matters.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hardware\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/hardware\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Term\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Compute Unified Device Architecture\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/\",\"name\":\"Techopedia\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Techopedia\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/techopedia-light-logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/techopedia-light-logo.svg\",\"caption\":\"Techopedia\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/techopedia\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/techopedia\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/techopedia\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/Techopedia\"],\"publishingPrinciples\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/about\/editorial-policy\",\"ownershipFundingInfo\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/about\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5dd538e31ee352d105b8af36c4268a5\",\"name\":\"Margaret Rouse\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/margaret-rouse-headshot.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/margaret-rouse-headshot.jpeg\",\"caption\":\"Margaret Rouse\"},\"description\":\"Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other\u2019s highly specialized languages.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/margaretrouse\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/@techdefinitions\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"Technology Expert\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/contributors\/margaret-rouse\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What is Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA)? - Definition from Techopedia","description":"This definition explains the meaning of Compute Unified Device Architecture and why it matters.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Compute Unified Device Architecture","og_description":"This definition explains the meaning of Compute Unified Device Architecture and why it matters.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda","og_site_name":"Techopedia","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/techopedia\/","article_modified_time":"2019-11-28T14:36:50+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@techopedia","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda"},"author":{"name":"Margaret Rouse","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5dd538e31ee352d105b8af36c4268a5"},"headline":"Compute Unified Device Architecture","datePublished":"2019-11-28T14:35:58+00:00","dateModified":"2019-11-28T14:36:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda"},"wordCount":179,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda#respond"]}],"articleSection":""},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda","url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda","name":"What is Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA)? - Definition from Techopedia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-11-28T14:35:58+00:00","dateModified":"2019-11-28T14:36:50+00:00","description":"This definition explains the meaning of Compute Unified Device Architecture and why it matters.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33964\/compute-unified-device-architecture-cuda#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hardware","item":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/hardware"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Term","item":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Compute Unified Device Architecture"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/","name":"Techopedia","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization","name":"Techopedia","url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/techopedia-light-logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/techopedia-light-logo.svg","caption":"Techopedia"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/techopedia\/","https:\/\/x.com\/techopedia","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/techopedia\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/Techopedia"],"publishingPrinciples":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/about\/editorial-policy","ownershipFundingInfo":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/about"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5dd538e31ee352d105b8af36c4268a5","name":"Margaret Rouse","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/margaret-rouse-headshot.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/margaret-rouse-headshot.jpeg","caption":"Margaret Rouse"},"description":"Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other\u2019s highly specialized languages.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/margaretrouse\/","https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/@techdefinitions"],"knowsAbout":["Technology Expert"],"url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/contributors\/margaret-rouse"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/definition\/15435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/definition"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/definition"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7813"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/definition\/15435\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"definitioncat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/definitioncat?post=15435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}