We dive deep into why the costs vary so much

The GPU or Graphical Processing Unit is one of the most important components in any computer. It is the hardware component that is dedicated to processing the images produced by your computer. When you watch a video, play a game or edit photos, your GPU plays a major role in how beautiful the graphics are, or how smoothly they animate.

Thanks to advances in the way GPUs work, they’re also being used for non-graphics purposes. Because they’re made up of many simple processors, GPUs are good at performing certain types of tasks at incredibly high speeds. For example, many video editing and photo manipulation packages can use the GPU to accelerate encoding and conversion tasks.

However, not all GPUs are created equal. There is a class of professional, workstation-class GPU products that may seem rather odd at first glance. Their core specs and performance aren’t far off from GPUs marketed to gamers and regular consumers.