Tensor Cores

Tensor Cores are engineered to perform operations in mixed precision.

This means they can compute using a combination of both 16-bit (half precision) and 32-bit (single precision) floating-point formats.

By doing so, they can increase the throughput of mathematical operations, which is critical in AI model training and inference tasks, where the precision requirements can vary.

Dynamic Adaptation for Accuracy

One of the standout features of Tensor Cores is their ability to dynamically adapt their calculations to balance speed and accuracy.

This adaptability is crucial in maintaining the precision of computations in AI models, ensuring that the speedup in processing does not come at the cost of result accuracy.

Performance Acceleration

Tensor Cores significantly boost the performance of AI and HPC workloads.

They are particularly adept at accelerating matrix multiplications and convolutions, which are fundamental operations in deep learning.

This acceleration has led to substantial performance improvements, such as 6X faster training times for transformer networks, which are widely used in natural language processing tasks.

Broad Application Range

The latest generations of Tensor Cores have expanded their capabilities to a wider array of tasks.

While initially focused on deep learning, they now provide performance enhancements across a diverse set of applications in both AI and high performance computing domains.

Key to AI and HPC Workloads

Tensor Cores have become a vital component in the architecture of NVIDIA GPUs, providing acceleration that enables researchers, data scientists, and engineers to push the boundaries in their fields.

They allow for more complex models to be trained and deployed, and for scientific computations to be performed more quickly and efficiently.

In summary, NVIDIA Tensor Cores represent a leap forward in GPU architecture, providing the specialised hardware needed to meet the computational demands of modern AI and HPC workloads, ensuring that NVIDIA's GPUs remain at the forefront of these rapidly advancing fields.

Tensor Cores in a nutshell