Infrastructure & Compute
TOPS
A measure of how many trillions of calculations a computer chip can perform per second.
Example
A chip is advertised with a maximum figure for trillions of calculations per second.
Why people use it
It provides one hardware measure for discussing potential AI computing speed.
What you'll hear
“What does that chip's TOPS figure actually count?”
What this means for you
Compare actual task speeds as well as advertised maximum figures.
Can you control it?
No
No direct control. This describes a wider issue, concept or result rather than something you can simply switch on or off in a tool.
Common questions
- Does TOPS tell how much memory a chip has?
- No. Memory capacity and the speed of moving information are separate limits on useful performance.
- Is a peak figure what I will see all day?
- No. Peak specifications describe favorable conditions, not every real workload.
- Can two vendors count operations differently?
- Yes. Differences in counting and numerical precision can make headline figures hard to compare.