Graphic data processing apparatus and method
Contents
1. combining unit for combining after the GPU and the CPU have processed the divided graphic data the processed graphic data to display the combined graphic data on a display unit such as a monitor The control unit may transfer the graphic data processed by the CPU to the data combining unit The graphic data processing apparatus may further com prise a user selection unit for allowing a user to manually select whether to process the graphic data only by the GPU or in parallel by the GPU and the CPU The control unit may control one of the cores of the dual core CPU to process system data and another core to be assigned to the GPU for processing the graphic data in accor dance with the processing amounts e g usage levels of the GPU and the CPU provided by the processing amount check unit The processing amounts may be use rates for processing the graphic data or system data According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of processing graphic data which com prises the steps of applying a command for processing graphic data checking processing amounts of a GPU and a CPU in response to the applied command comparing the checked processing amounts of the GPU and the CPU with reference processing amounts of the GPU and the CPU respectively and controlling the graphic data to be processed in parallel by the GPU and the CPU or only by the GPU according to the result of the comparison The controlling s2. pro vides a method of processing graphic data comprising applying a command for processing graphic data checking a usage level of a GPU and or a usage level of a CPU in response to the applied command comparing the checked usage level of the GPU with a usage level reference of the GPU and or the checked usage level of the CPU with a usage level reference of the CPU and controlling at least one of the GPU and the CPU to allow the graphic data to be processed in parallel by the GPU and the CPU or only by the GPU accord ing to the comparison results According to another embodiment the present invention provides a method of processing graphic data comprising applying a command for processing graphic data checking a usage level of a GPU and or a usage level of a CPU in response to the applied command comparing the checked usage level of the GPU with a usage level reference of the GPU and or the checked usage level of the CPU with a usage level reference of the CPU assigning one of cores of the CPU to process the graphic data based on the comparison results dividing the graphic data to allow the divided graphic data to be processed in parallel by the assigned core of the CPU and the GPU and combining the divided graphic data to allow the combined graphic data to be displayed on a display unit These and other objects of the present application will become more readily apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter However it
3. the usage level checking unit wherein the control unit allows processing of the graphic data only by the GPU if the control unit determines that the checked usage level of the GPU is not larger than the usage level reference of the GPU and or the checked usage level of the CPU is not smaller than the usage level reference of the CPU and wherein the control unit allows processing of the graphic data in parallel by the GPU and the assigned core of the CPU if the control units determines that the checked usage level of the GPU is larger than the usage level reference of the GPU and at the same time the checked usage level of the CPU is smaller than the usage level reference of the CPU a data dividing unit configured to receive the graphic data from the control unit and to divide the received graphic data when the control unit allows processing of the graphic data in parallel by the GPU and the assigned core of the CPU a data combining unit configured to combine after the GPU and the assigned core of the CPU have respectively processed the divided graphic data by the data dividing unit the processed graphic data to display the combined graphic data on a display unit and auser selection unit configured to allow a user to manually select whether to process the graphic data only by the GPU or in parallel by the GPU and the assigned core of the CPU wherein the manual selection of the user made through the user selection unit is overridde
4. 0 10 CPU if it is determined that the checked usage level of the GPU is larger than the usage level reference of the GPU and at the same time the checked usage level of the CPU is smaller than the usage level reference of the CPU assigning the one core of the CPU to process the graphic data based on the comparison result dividing the graphic data to allow the divided graphic data to be processed in parallel by the assigned core of the CPU and the GPU combining the divided graphic data to allow the combined graphic data to be displayed on a display unit receiving a user s manual selection on whether to process the graphic data only by the GPU or in parallel by the GPU and the CPU and controlling at least one of the GPU and the CPU based on the user s manual selection wherein the user s manual selection is overridden based on current battery information
5. 60 8 checked to allow graphic data to be processed only by the GPU or in parallel by the GPU and the CPU or parts thereof depending on the checked use rates Further if the GPU and the CPU are allowed to process graphic data in parallel the performance of two graphics cards is improved and thus the cost and volume reduction can be made While the present invention has been illustrated and described in connection with the accompanying drawings and the preferred embodiments the present invention is not lim ited thereto and is defined by the appended claims Therefore it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention defined by the appended claims What is claimed is 1 A graphic data processing apparatus comprising a CPU having at least two cores a GPU configured to process graphic data a usage level checking unit configured to check a usage level of the CPU and a usage level of the GPU a control unit configured to compare the checked usage level of the CPU with a usage level reference of the CPU and to compare the checked usage level of the GPU with a usage level reference of the GPU and to control one core of the CPU to process system data and another core of the CPU to be assigned to the GPU for processing the graphic data in accordance with the checked usage levels of the GPU and the CPU provided by
6. Sheet 3 of 6 US 8 217 951 B2 FIG 2 Apply command for processing graphic data f S70 Cheek usage level of GPU and or CPU S20 GPU s usage level gt reference and or CPU s usage level lt reference Yes Assing CPU s second core to GPU Divide graphic data Allow divided graphic data to be processed in parallel by GPU and second core Combine processed graphic data Display combined graphic 580 data on display unit Allow graphic data to be processed S32 only by GPU U S Patent Jul 10 2012 Sheet 4 of 6 US 8 217 951 B2 FIG 3A US 8 217 951 B2 Sheet 5 of 6 Jul 10 2012 U S Patent FIG 3B U S Patent Jul 10 2012 Sheet 6 of 6 US 8 217 951 B2 FIG 3C i 8 ook ID _ D je a h WP gu FY US 8 217 951 B2 1 GRAPHIC DATA PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD This nonprovisional application claims the priority benefit of Korean Application No 10 2007 0075273 filed on Jul 26 2007 the entirety of which are hereby incorporated by refer ence BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 Field of the Invention The present invention relates to graphic data processing and more particularly to an apparatus and method for pro cessing graphic data wherein the usage levels of a graphics processing unit GPU and a central processing unit CPU are checked to allow graphic data to be processed either only by the GPU or in parallel by both the GPU and the CPU 2 Description o
7. US008217951B2 a United States Patent 10 Patent No US 8 217 951 B2 Jung 45 Date of Patent Jul 10 2012 54 GRAPHIC DATA PROCESSING APPARATUS 2002 0026560 Al 2 2002 Jordan etal 711 120 AND METHOD 2006 0047751 Al 3 2006 Chenetal 709 205 2006 0061578 Al 3 2006 Washizu y 2006 0267993 Al 11 2006 Hunkins etal 345 502 75 Inventor Chang Kwon Jung Seoul si KR 2007 0018990 Al 1 2007 Shreiner 345 505 2007 0294512 Al 12 2007 Crutchfield et al 712 200 73 Assignee LG Electronics Inc Seoul KR 2008 0276261 Al 11 2008 Munshi et al 719 328 Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS patent is extended or adjusted under 35 CN 1330350 A 1 2002 U S C 154 b by 894 days CN 1431629 A 72003 CN 1753026 A 3 2006 21 Appl No 12 052 488 cited by examiner 22 Filed Mar 20 2008 Primary Examiner Xiao M Wu wnt Assistant Examiner Yingchun He 65 Prior Publication Data 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Birch Stewart Kolasch amp US 2009 0027403 Al Jan 29 2009 Birch LLP 30 Foreign Application Priority Data 57 ABSTRACT The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for Jul 26 2007 KR 10 2007 0075273 processing graphic data According to an embodiment the 51 Int Cl graphic data processing apparatus includes a CPU having at GO6F 15 80 2006 01 least one core a GPU configured to process graphi
8. and and provides the North Bridge 50 with a graphic data processing command corresponding to the operating process step S10 Then the comparison control unit 50a transfers the graphic data to the graphics card 30 If the graphic data are transferred to the graphics card 30 the usage level checking unit 40 checks processing amounts usage levels of the GPU 32 and the CPU 20 that are cur rently being driven and continuously sends the checked usage levels of the GPU 32 and the CPU 20 to the comparison control unit 50a step S20 For instance how much e g what percentage of the total processing capacity of the GPU 32 and the CPU 20 is currently being used can be determined by the usage checking unit 40 Accordingly the comparison control unit 50a compares the checked usage levels of the GPU 32 and the CPU 20 with a predetermined first usage level reference and a second usage level reference respectively step S30 In one embodiment at step S30 if it is determined that the GPU s current usage level is greater than the first usage level reference and that the CPU s current usage level is less than the second usage level reference then the method proceeds to step 40 or otherwise to step S32 In another embodiment at step S30 if it is deter mined either that the GPU s current usage level is greater than the first usage level reference or that the CPU s current usage level is less than the second usage level reference then the
9. c data a GO6F 15 16 2006 01 usage level checking unit configured to check a usage level of 52 US Clee erneer 345 505 345 502 the CPU and or a usage level of the GPU and a control unit 58 Field of Classification Search 345 502 505 Configured to compare the checked usage level of the CPU See application file for complete search history with a usage level reference of the CPU and or to compare the checked usage level of the GPU with a usage level reference 56 References Cited of the GPU to allow the graphic data to be processed in parallel by the CPU and the GPU or only by the GPU accord U S PATENT DOCUMENTS ing to the comparison results 5 774 668 A 6 1998 Choquieretal 709 223 6 618 042 B1 9 2003 Powell 345 204 4 Claims 6 Drawing Sheets Usage checking unit Graphics card Display unit 80 Data combining unit First core Second core North Bridge Comparisom control unit 50a User selection unit 60 Data dividing unit 70 U S Patent Jul 10 2012 Sheet 1 of 6 US 8 217 951 B2 FIG 1A Na oO N Second core Graphics card North Bridge Comparisom Display unit Memory Data dividing unit Data combining unit unit 80 70 60 U S Patent Jul 10 2012 Sheet 2 of 6 US 8 217 951 B2 FIG 1B O GPU only CPU all cores and GPU O CPU one core only and GPU U S Patent Jul 10 2012
10. data are transferred by the comparison con trol unit 50a the dividing unit 70 divides the graphic data into parts to be processed respectively by the second core 24 and the GPU 32 step S50 Here the graphic data are divided in order to partition each frame into two predetermined areas such that the graphic data contained in the partitioned areas can be processed by the second core 24 and the GPU 32 respectively For example FIGS 3A to 3C are views illustrating an example of a screen divided into two partitions for processing US 8 217 951 B2 7 graphic data Referring to FIG 3A to 3C the dividing unit 70 divides the graphic data such that the entire screen FIG 3A of the display unit 90 can be split into two areas in a horizontal direction FIG 3B or vertical direction FIG 3C The graphic data are divided in such a manner that graphic data in an area A of the split areas are processed by the second core 24 and graphic data in an area B of the split areas are processed by the GPU 32 This method is the same as the split frame rendering SFR among the methods of rendering a screen in the scalable link interface SLI of Gforce Returning to FIG 2 the graphic data divided by the divid ing unit 70 in step S50 are transferred to the second core 24 and the GPU 32 respectively through the comparison control unit 50a or the North Bridge 50 Then the second core 24 and the GPU 32 respectively process the transferred divided gra
11. enu on the display unit 90 which can be implemented by a user selection program installed in the user selection unit 60 so that the user can make a selection of desired processor Buttons keys etc can also be provided to such user s manual selection For instance as shown in FIG 1B a menu provides three different choices or modes 62 64 66 for a user wherein the first choice 62 is for allowing only the GPU to process the data the second choice 64 is for allowing both the CPU all cores such as first and second cores etc of the CPU and the GPU to process the data and the third choice 66 is for allowing certain cores of the CPU e g only one core such as the second core 24 of the CPU and the GPU to process the data Other examples are possible As an alternative it is automatically determined whether the graphic data are processed only by the GPU 32 or in parallel by the GPU 32 and the CPU 20 depending on the determined current usage levels of the GPU 32 and the CPU 20 Hereinafter amethod of processing graphic data according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS 2 and 3 This 25 35 40 45 55 6 method is implemented in the apparatus of FIG 1 but can be implemented in other suitable system First referring to FIG 2 the CPU 20 accesses the memory 10 to perform a specific operating process in accordance with an application program execution comm
12. f the Related Art Generally a graphics card which is also called a video card a video display card a video controller or the like serves to convert digital information generated by a personal com puter PC system into analog signals and to transmit the analog signals to a display unit Recently as functions ofa graphics card are extended from two dimensional 2D to three dimensional 3D graphic processing the importance of the graphics card in the PC system is further increased However the performance of the graphics card is deter mined in accordance with a graphics processing unit here inafter referred to as a GPU Therefore if an amount of data to be processed by the GPU is large and the GPU is overloaded the processing rate of the graphics card is reduced Accordingly even though a PC system is capable of pro viding excellent performance there is a problem in that if the processing is delayed due to the overloading of the GPU the performance of the PC system may be degraded SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is conceived to address the afore mentioned problems and limitations associated with the related art Accordingly an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for processing graphic data wherein use rates or usage of a GPU and a CPU are checked to allow the graphic data to be processed only by the GPU or in parallel by the GPU and the CPU According to an as
13. graphics mode for movies games etc Further while the GPU and or CPU is running the comparison control unit 50a can receive current battery information e g from OS and automatically switch to an appropriate mode e g one of the modes 62 64 66 depending on the battery information In this manner the system is able to check the current battery level and override the user selected mode 62 64 or 66 if needed For instance if the user selected the mode 66 and the current battery level is detected to be below 50 then the system may switch the mode to the mode 62 Other variations are possible For example two or more thresholds can be used to switch between the modes 62 64 and 66 Also anytime the mode switch is made due to the user s selection or system s selec tion the user may be notified of the mode switch and or the new mode of the system Such notification can be made visually and or audibly through the apparatus of FIG 1A The present invention described in the aforementioned embodiments is advantageous in that since use rates of the GPU and the CPU are checked to allow graphic data to be processed only by the GPU or in parallel by the GPU and the CPU or parts thereof the GPU is not overloaded According to a graphic data processing apparatus and method of the present invention as described above there still is an advantage in that use rates of the GPU and the CPU are 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
14. in detail with reference to the accompanying draw ings Referring to FIG 1A the graphic data processing appara tus according to an embodiment comprises a central process ing unit CPU 20 configured to access a memory 10 or other storage unit to execute a variety of application programs and to apply a command for processing graphic data relevant to the application programs The CPU 20 is preferably a dual core CPU including a first core 22 and a second core 24 but can of other type As an example one of the first and second cores 22 and 24 processes system data while the other of the first and second cores 22 and 24 processes graphic data under the control of a North Bridge 50 that will be described below Here the second core 24 may be assigned to process graphic data The graphic data processing apparatus further comprises a graphics card 30 for receiving the graphic data through the North Bridge 50 in accordance with the command applied by the CPU 20 and converting the graphic data into image signals to display the graphic data on a display unit 90 The graphics card 30 is provided with a graphics process ing unit GPU 32 for processing the received graphic data As an alternative the GPU 32 can be part of the North Bridge 50 on a single chip In addition the graphic data processing apparatus further comprises a usage checking unit 40 or processing amount checking unit for checking the resource use rates i e the usage level
15. method can proceed to step S40 If not the method proceeds to step 32 Here the predetermined usage level references may be set by a user or arbitrarily set to default values Further one or more reference values may be used to compare with each of the current usage levels of the GPU 32 and the CPU 20 For instance two values 50 and 75 can be used as refer ences Insuch an example ifthe GPU 32 s current usage level is at or above 75 then the method may proceed to step S40 If the GPU s current usage level is between 50 and 75 then the current mode of the system is maintained the mode is not switched to a different mode If the GPU s current usage level is below 50 then the method may proceed to step 32 If it is determined in step S30 that the usage level of the GPU 32 is larger than the first reference and in another example or the usage level of the CPU 20 is also smaller than the second reference the comparison control unit 50a assigns the second core 24 to perform a function of the GPU step S40 At this time since the comparison control unit 50a assigns the second core 24 to perform a function of the GPU the first core 22 of the CPU 20 processes system data and the second core 24 and the GPU 32 process the graphic data in parallel Then since the second core 24 is assigned to process the graphic data the comparison control unit 50a transfers the graphic data to the dividing unit 70 If the graphic
16. n by the control unit based on current battery information associated with the appa ratus 2 The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the control unit transfers the graphic data processed by the assigned core of the CPU to the data combining unit 3 The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the usage levels are use rates for processing the graphic data or system data US 8 217 951 B2 9 4 A method of processing graphic data comprising applying a command for processing graphic data checking a usage level of a GPU and a usage level of a CPU in response to the applied command the CPU having at least two cores comparing the checked usage level of the GPU with a usage level reference of the GPU and the checked usage level of the CPU with a usage level reference of the CPU to develop a comparison result controlling at least one of the GPU and one core of the CPU to allow the graphic data to be processed in parallel by the GPU and the one core of the CPU or only by the GPU according to the comparison results wherein the controlling step allows the graphic data to be processed only by the GPU if it is determined that the checked usage level of the GPU is not larger than the usage level reference of the GPU and or the checked usage level of the CPU is not smaller than the usage level reference of the CPU wherein the controlling step allows the graphic data to be processed in parallel by the GPU and the one core of the 2
17. o a preferred embodiment if the comparison control unit 50a determined that the provided usage level of the GPU 32 is smaller than or not larger than the first reference and the provided usage level of the CPU 20 is larger than or not smaller than the second reference the comparison control US 8 217 951 B2 5 unit 50a controls the GPU 32 so that the graphic data are processed only by the GPU 32 On the contrary if it is deter mined that the provided usage level of the GPU 32 is larger than the first reference amount and the provided processing amount of the CPU 20 is smaller than the second reference the comparison control unit 50a controls so that the graphic data are processed in parallel by both the second core 24 and the GPU 32 That is the comparison control unit 50a assigns the second core 24 of the CPU 20 to perform a function of the GPU and thus the graphic data are processed in parallel by the second core 24 and the GPU 32 The comparison control unit 50a can be part of the North Bridge 50 or can reside in other compo nents of the system In addition when the second core 24 and the GPU 32 are to process the graphic data in parallel under the control of the comparison control unit 50a the comparison control unit 50a or the North Bridge 50 transfers the graphic data to be processed to a data dividing unit 70 hereinafter referred to as a dividing unit which in turn can divide the graphic data and forward the di
18. pect of the present invention there is provided a graphic data processing apparatus which com prises a dual core CPU a GPU for processing graphic data a processing amount check unit for checking processing amounts of the CPU and the GPU and a control unit for comparing the checked processing amounts of the CPU and the GPU with reference processing amounts of the CPU and the GPU respectively to allow the graphic data to be pro cessed in parallel by the CPU and the GPU or only by the GPU according to the result of the comparison The control unit may control processing the graphic data only by the GPU if it is determined from the comparison that the processing amount of the GPU is smaller or not larger than the reference processing amount of the GPU and or the processing amount of the CPU is larger or not smaller than the reference processing amount of the CPU The control unit may control processing the graphic data in parallel by the GPU and the CPU if it is determined from the comparison that the processing amount of the GPU is larger than the reference processing amount of the GPU and or the 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 processing amount of the CPU is also smaller than the refer ence processing amount of the CPU The graphic data processing apparatus may further com prise a data dividing unit for receiving the graphic data from the control unit and dividing the received graphic data and a data
19. phic data in parallel step S60 The graphic data processed by the second core 24 are transferred to the combining unit 80 through the comparison control unit 50a or the North Bridge 50 and the graphic data processed by the GPU 32 are transferred to the combining unit 80 through the GPU 32 At this time the second core 24 and the GPU 32 output the graphic data in synchronization with each other The combining unit 80 that has received the outputted graphic data combines the graphic data such that the com bined graphic data can be displayed as a full screen on the display unit 90 step S70 If the graphics card has a band width of a 16x speed slot the combining unit 80 receives graphic data through a bandwidth of an 8x speed slot and then combines the received graphic data The combined graphic data are displayed on the display unit 90 through the graphics card 30 step S80 On the other hand if it is determined in step S30 that the current usage level of the GPU 32 is not larger than the first usage level reference and or the current usage level of the CPU 20 is not smaller than the second usage level reference the comparison control unit 50a controls so that the graphic data are processed only by the GPU 32 step 32 According to an embodiment in the example of FIG 1A the user can select an appropriate mode according the amount of processing needs Various modes can be available to the user For instance the mode 64 may be a
20. re is an advantage in that use rates of the GPU and the CPU are checked to allow graphic data to be processed only by the GPU or in parallel by the GPU and the CPU according to the checked use rates According to an embodiment the present invention pro vides a graphic data processing apparatus comprising a CPU having at least one core a GPU configured to process graphic data a usage level checking unit configured to check a usage US 8 217 951 B2 3 level of the CPU and or a usage level of the GPU and a control unit configured to compare the checked usage level of the CPU with a usage level reference of the CPU and or to compare the checked usage level of the GPU with a usage level reference of the GPU to allow the graphic data to be processed in parallel by the CPU and the GPU or only by the GPU according to the comparison results According to an embodiment the present invention pro vides a data processing apparatus comprising a dual core CPU a GPU configured to process graphic data a usage level checking unit configured to check a usage level of the CPU and a usage level of the GPU and a control unit configured to control one core of the dual core CPU to process system data and another core of the dual core CPU to be assigned to the GPU for processing the graphic data in accordance with the checked usage levels of the GPU and the CPU provided by the usage level checking unit According to an embodiment the present invention
21. s of the CPU 20 and the GPU 32 The usage levels of the CPU 20 and the GPU 32 represent how much or what percentage of the CPU 20 and GPU 32 has been used or involved in processing data and may also be referred to herein as processing amounts of the CPU 20 and the GPU 32 Here it is preferred that a real time assessment of the usage levels of the CPU 20 and GPU 32 is made by the usage checking unit 40 and such assessment may be performed at regular intervals continuously or at a desired time As an example the usage checking unit 40 can be a task manager of Windows provided by Microsoft Corporation and a driver corresponding to the graphics card 30 The usage of the CPU 20 and or GPU 32 may be measured or determined by mea suring an idle tread value of the CPU 20 and or GPU 32 fora predetermined period of time or by detecting the CPU GPU usage from the registry information of the computer system The graphic data processing apparatus further comprises the North Bridge 50 which includes a comparison control unit 50a for comparing if the usage levels of the GPU 32 and the CPU 20 checked by the usage checking unit 40 are provided the provided usage levels of the GPU 32 and the CPU 20 with a predetermined usage level reference of the GPU 32 here inafter also referred to as a first reference and a predeter mined usage level reference of the CPU 20 hereinafter also referred to as a second reference respectively According t
22. should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention are given by way of illustration only since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed descrip tion BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following descriptions of preferred embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which FIG 1A is a view showing an example of the configuration of a graphic data processing apparatus according to a pre ferred embodiment of the present invention FIG 1B is an example of a menu displayable for a user s selection of a use of a GPU and or a CPU according to an embodiment of the present invention FIG 2 is a flowchart illustrating a graphic data processing method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention and 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 FIGS 3A to 3C are views showing an example in which a screen is split to divide graphic data to be processed into certain areas according to an embodiment of the present invention DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter a graphic data processing apparatus according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described
23. tep may comprise the step of allowing the graphic data to be processed only by the GPU if it is deter mined in the comparison that the processing amount of the GPU is smaller than the reference processing amount of the GPU and or the processing amount of the CPU is larger than the reference processing amount of the CPU The controlling step may comprise the step of allowing the graphic data to be processed in parallel by the GPU and the CPU if it is determined in the comparison that the processing amount of the GPU is larger than the reference processing amount of the GPU and or the processing amount of the CPU is smaller than the reference processing amount of the CPU The controlling step may comprise the steps of assigning one of cores of the CPU to process the graphic data dividing the graphic data to allow the divided graphic data to be pro cessed in parallel by the assigned core and the GPU and combining the divided graphic data to allow the combined graphic data to be displayed as a frame on a monitor The dividing step may comprise the step of dividing graphic data according to split areas on an entire screen of the monitor The combining step may comprise the step of allowing the graphic data processed by the assigned core to be transferred through the control unit and the graphic data processed by the GPU to be transferred through the GPU respectively in syn chronization with each other According to the present invention the
24. vided graphic data respectively to the sec ond core 24 and the GPU 32 for processing In addition the North Bridge 50 or the comparison control unit 50a trans fers the graphic data processed by the second core 24 and or the graphic data processed by the GPU 32 to a data combining unit 80 hereinafter referred to as a combining unit so that they may be combined as desired For example once the graphic data to be processed are received through the North Bridge 50 the dividing unit 70 divides the received graphic data For instance the graphic data are divided to partition each frame into two predeter mined areas such that the graphic data contained in the par titioned areas can be processed in parallel respectively by the second core 24 and the GPU 32 If the graphic data processed respectively by the second core 24 and the GPU 32 are transferred the combining unit 80 combines the transferred graphic data The North Bridge 50 the combining unit 80 and the divid ing unit 70 can be integrated into one component Further all the components of the graphic data processing apparatus are operatively coupled and configured In addition the graphic data processing apparatus further comprises a user selection unit 60 for allowing a user to manually select whether to process the graphic data only by the GPU 32 or in parallel by both the second core 24 and the GPU 32 For example the user selection unit 60 provides a graphical display m
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