Heterogeneous computing is the idea that to attain the highest efficiency applications should use both of the major processors in the PC: the CPU and GPU. CPUs tend to be best at serial operations with lots of branches and random memory access. GPUs, on the other hand, excel at parallel operations with lots of floating point calculations. The best result is achieved by using a CPU for serial applications and a GPU for parallel applications. Heterogeneous computing is about using the right processor for the right operation.
From (written by NVidia): http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&...
What is heterogeneous computing?
Heterogeneous computing is the idea that to attain the highest efficiency applications should use both of the major processors in the PC: the CPU and GPU. CPUs tend to be best at serial operations with lots of branches and random memory access. GPUs, on the other hand, excel at parallel operations with lots of floating point calculations. The best result is achieved by using a CPU for serial applications and a GPU for parallel applications. Heterogeneous computing is about using the right processor for the right operation.