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I guess it isn't the GTX 1080Ti.

But which GPU(s) has the Boeing 737-NG for example? How does it differ from a GTX 1080Ti (cost: around €800), or Quadro P6000 (cost: around €7100)? How many GPU's are required? And what is the cost of one single GPU-Module for a 737?

Hugo Woesthuis
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    There's a reduced subset of OpenGL for safety-critical applications like aviation. The Mali-400 implements it, I believe, but I don't know what implementations are popular. – Dan Hulme Jun 05 '17 at 09:54
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    It isn't anything like your home computer graphics cards if that is what you are asking. It is manufacturer specific and may not even be a separate processor. – Ron Beyer Jun 05 '17 at 11:12
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    Real Aircraft displays do not use 'off-the-shelf' display adaptors. They will have some graphics processor (often developed by one of the major companies ATI/Nvidia) but this will often be an older/mature chipset. Each display also might have multiple graphic processors. The cost of an aircraft display is more closely related to the cost of developing/certifying the hardware/software than the physical cost of the components. You can't realistically compare an Aircraft display to your desktop PC. – scotty3785 Jun 05 '17 at 12:13
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    Aircraft displays aren't just dumb monitors, each is a computing device in their own right that processes the data from the aircraft's systems. Each display will continue to work if another fails. Modern standards such as ARINC661 moves some of the processing/behaviour to other computing units, but the display unit itself is still responsible for drawing the graphics. – scotty3785 Jun 05 '17 at 12:18
  • The component you are looking for is a "symbol generator" (sometimes SGU). That could be PowerPC chips (e.g. PPC 603e, RISC). – mins Jun 05 '17 at 12:29
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    I feel like there is enough information in these comments to be combined into an answer. – kevin Jun 05 '17 at 16:33
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    Can someone explain the downvote? – Hugo Woesthuis Jun 05 '17 at 18:57
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    I didn't downvote but there are a lot, probably an exhaustive amount, of questions on this exchange which have a certain presumption that in the belly of every aircraft lives a ruggedized version of some PC complete with graphics cards, some popular OS variant, etc... It's not that they're bad questions it's just that at the root is a truly misunderstood conception of how computing in aviation works. That's not necessarily anyone's fault, but it is a very common theme. Maybe analogously it's like me (an American) asking someone in England a cricket question but using baseball presumptions. – Frank Jun 09 '17 at 11:41

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Real Aircraft displays do not use 'off-the-shelf' display adaptors. They will have some graphics processor (often developed by one of the major companies ATI/Nvidia) but this will often be an older/mature chipset. Each display also might have multiple graphic processors. The cost of an aircraft display is more closely related to the cost of developing/certifying the hardware/software than the physical cost of the components. You can't realistically compare an Aircraft display to your desktop PC.

Aircraft displays aren't just dumb monitors, each is a computing device in their own right that processes the data from the aircraft's systems. Each display will continue to work if another fails. Modern standards such as ARINC661 moves some of the processing/behaviour to other computing units, but the display unit itself is still responsible for drawing the graphics.

scotty3785
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