Chipset Architecture g4k13

North/South Bridge Architecture i.The Chipset is a group of some specialized chips on the motherboard that connects the processor to the external devices. The chipset contains the processor bus interface (called frontside bus, or FSB), memory controllers, bus controllers, I/O controllers, and more. ii. The chipset controls the interface or connections between the processor and everything else. Hence, the chipset tells us which type of processor is connected; how fast it will run; how fast the buses will run; the speed, type, and amount of memory you can use; and more. iii. Most of Intel’s earlier chipsets are broken into a multitiered architecture incorporating what are referred to as North and South Bridge components. The Super I/O chip also comes with the chipset ,but is not really considered as a part of the chipset. 0 iv. The North Bridge:  It is one of the two chips in the core logic chipset on the motherboard .It is called as Controller Hub (MCH) in Intel’s Accelerated Hub Architecture (AHA).Some north bridges also have integrated video controller and hence it is called ad Graphics Mamory Controller Hub (GMCH).  The northbridge connects directly to the processor via the front side bus (FSB). A memory controller is located on the northbridge, which gives the U fast access to the memory. The northbridge also connects to the AGP or PCI Express bus and to the memory itself.  Since different processors and RAM requires different signaling , a specific northbridge will work with one or two types of U and only one type of RAM.  The Northbridge plays important role in deciding how far a computer can be overclocked.  It uses a heat sink and some kind of cooling . v. The South Bridge:  It is a chip that implements the “slower” capabilities of the motherboard in a Northbridge/Southbridge chipset computer architecture.  In Accelerated Hub Architecture (AHA) of Intel ,south bridge is called as I/O Controller Hub(ICH) as connects the Input and output device to the processor.South bridge is not directly conneted to the U,rather it is connected to the U through the Northbridge  The interface between the Northbridge and the Southbridge is the PCI bus.  The South Bridge connects to the 33MHz PCI bus and contains the interface or bridge to the 8MHz ISA bus (if present). It also typically contains dual ATA/IDE hard disk controller interfaces, one or more USB interfaces, and in later designs even the CMOS RAM and realtime clock functions.  The South Bridge connects to the 33MHz PCI bus and contains the interface or bridge to the 8MHz ISA bus (if present). It also typically contains dual ATA/IDE hard disk controller  The South Bridge also contains the Low-Pin-Count(LPC) bus that connets the Southbridge with the Super I/O chip. vi. The Super I/O chip:  It’s a separate chip attached to the Southbridge that is not really considered part of the chipset. The Super I/O chip contains commonly used peripheral items all combined into a single chip.  Originally , the Super I/O chips are connected to the Southbridge through the 8MHz ISA bus.Newer Super I/O chips are connected to the Southbridge through the Low-PointCount(LPC) bus ,which operates at 16.67 MBps.

 The Super I/O chips contains all the standard peripherals that are built in to a motherboard. For example, most Super I/O chips contain the serial ports, parallel port, floppy controller, and keyboard/mouse interface.  Optionally, they might contain the CMOS RAM/Clock, IDE controllers, and game port interface as well.  Note that most recent South Bridge chips now include Super I/O functions (such chips are known as Super-South Bridge chips), so that most recent motherboards no longer include a separate Super I/O chip.