An accelerated processing unit (APU) is a processing system that includes additional processing capability designed to accelerate one or more types of computations outside of a CPU. This may include a graphics processing unit (GPU) used for general-purpose computing (GPGPU), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or similar specialized processing system. Variations on the usage of this term include a marketing-based variation in which the APU is described as a processing device which integrates a CPU and a GPU on the same die, thus improving data transfer rates between these components while reducing power consumption. APUs can also include video processing and other application-specific accelerators. Examples include AMD Fusion, IBM CELL, Intel HD Graphics, and NVIDIA's Project Denver.
The term accelerated processing unit or APU was first used in a public context with respect to accelerated computing in 2006,[1] and prior to that in various presentations and business plans written by Joe Landman of Scalable Informatics. Other uses include Xilinx using the term for an auxiliary processor unit.