coprocessed

Coprocessed refers to the use or execution of computations by a coprocessor, a secondary processor designed to assist the main CPU by handling specific tasks more efficiently or at greater speed. Coprocessors can be dedicated hardware units or specialized components integrated into a system on a chip. The term describes how certain workloads are offloaded from the central processor to a secondary unit.

Common types include floating-point units (FPUs) for arithmetic, graphics processing units (GPUs) for rendering and parallel computation, and digital signal processors (DSPs) for real-time audio and signal processing. In microarchitectures, a coprocessor may implement specialized instructions or offload entire tasks from the CPU to improve throughput or power efficiency. The concept underpins both historical and contemporary approaches to performance optimization.

Historically, many early personal computers included a separate floating-point coprocessor, such as the Intel 8087 used with the 8086/8088. As CPUs integrated FPUs and SIMD units, the need for separate coprocessor chips declined for those tasks, though specialized coprocessors and accelerators remained in graphics, audio, and embedded systems. In modern designs, GPUs and other accelerators function as coprocessors, handling parallelizable workloads and domain-specific tasks.

Programming and use typically involve offloading work via specialized APIs or instruction sets, with data transfer and synchronization overhead considered. Software may call into libraries that target the coprocessor, or rely on compilers to emit coprocessor instructions. The term coprocessed emphasizes the division of labor between processor units rather than software-only execution.

With ongoing development, coprocessed architectures include AI accelerators, neural processing units, and programmable logic like FPGAs integrated into system-on-a-chip designs, extending the concept beyond traditional math or graphics tasks.