A
shader unit is configured to provide an increased and dynamically changeable amount of ALU
processing bandwidth. The
shader unit includes a plurality of ALUs for
processing pixel data according to a
shader program. Each of the ALUs is configurable to be enabled and disabled. When disabled, the ALU is powered off, thereby reducing the
power consumption of the shader unit. In one embodiment, the plurality of ALUs are logically configured into groups called ALU-pipes, each of which can be enabled and disabled. When an ALU-
pipe is disabled, each ALU associated with the disabled ALU-
pipe is disabled. The shader unit includes a sequencer that executes the shader program, determines the number of ALUs to be enabled, receives an input
data stream of pixel data, assigns groups of pixel data to each enabled ALU, sends the assigned pixel data to their respective ALUs, and sends ALU instructions to the ALUs to process the received pixel data according to the shader program.