Difference between Streaming Multiprocessor and Compute Engine?

Virtual GPU Forums General Discussion
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Hello, I’m new to GPUs.

I’m reading about MIGs here: NVIDIA Multi-Instance GPU User Guide :: NVIDIA Data Center GPU Driver Documentation

The terminology section defines a Streaming Multiprocessor (SM) as something that: “executes compute instructions on the GPU.”

A GPU engine is defined as: “…A GPU engine is what executes work on the GPU. …”

So both SMs and GPU engines execute work. But what’s the difference between them?

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SMs are the GPU’s core units running compute instructions. GPU engines include SMs plus other parts like copy or video engines handling various tasks.