GPU vs CPU Rendering

Cluster focuses on debates about using GPU versus CPU for UI, text, and browser rendering, including performance, hardware acceleration, energy efficiency, and modern frameworks like WebRender and Chromium.

➡️ Stable 0.5x Hardware
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#8881
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Keywords

RAM DWM QT CPU GL RCT2 EDIT EXA UI GPU gpu rendering 2d cpu graphics accelerated renderer pixels opengl display

Sample Comments

monax Sep 13, 2025 View on HN

It's CPU rendering, GPU is on the roadmap

chrisjj Jun 6, 2024 View on HN

All of it that shows rendering beyond what GPUs "only know".

trishume Dec 4, 2016 View on HN

Depends how complex your video game is.It has a GPU back end so it can be pretty fast, but it is still focused on very high quality antialiased rendering so it isn't crazy fast. Apps like Chrome and Sublime don't repaint the entire screen every frame or when scrolling, only the parts that change, so they can afford high quality.

4gotunameagain Feb 28, 2024 View on HN

yes but is the rendering performed in GPU, or in software is the question

adamnemecek Oct 10, 2023 View on HN

This seems to be mostly for rendering not GPGPU.

kowdermeister Sep 6, 2018 View on HN

Nearly all text rendering libraries I've checked uses the GPU.

inred9 Mar 5, 2019 View on HN

gpu does a favor to this kind of rendering?

ben-schaaf Apr 4, 2022 View on HN

Browsers largely make use of the GPU for UI rendering. Direct2D, Cocoa, QT and GTK(4) are all hardware accelerated as well. So not really sure what you mean?

kaba0 Apr 21, 2021 View on HN

CPU rendering should not be a thing in 2021

esprehn Feb 4, 2024 View on HN

Chromium (and Firefox) do GPU accelerated raster as well as composition. That page you linked is about a very specific case of wanting to get the pixels back to reuse in a different context. In that situation doing the work on the GPU and then copying back to the CPU may be slower than keeping it on the CPU the whole time.