`
`Chipset
`
`Chipset Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
`
`From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
`
`In a computer system, a chipset is a set of electronic components in an integrated
`circuit that manages the data flow between the processor, memory and peripherals. It
`is usually found on the motherboard. Chipsets are usually designed to work with a
`specific family of microprocessors. Because it controls communications between the
`processor and external devices, the chipset plays a crucial role in determining system
`performance.
`
`Contents
`
`1 Computers
`2 Move toward processor integration in PCs
`3 See also
`4 Notes
`
`Computers
`
`Intel ICH7 Southbridge on
`Intel D945GCPE Desktop
`Board
`
`In computing, the term chipset commonly refers to a set of specialized chips on a
`computer's motherboard or an expansion card. In personal computers, the first chipset
`for the IBM PC AT of 1984 was the NEAT chipset developed by Chips and
`Technologies for the Intel 80286 CPU.
`
`In home computers, game consoles and arcadegame hardware of the 1980s and
`1990s, the term chipset was used for the custom audio and graphics chips. Examples
`include the Commodore Amiga's Original Chip Set or SEGA's System 16 chipset.
`
`Based on Intel Pentiumclass microprocessors, the term chipset often refers to a
`specific pair of chips on the motherboard: the northbridge and the southbridge. The
`northbridge links the CPU to very highspeed devices, especially RAM and graphics
`controllers, and the southbridge connects to lowerspeed peripheral buses (such as
`PCI or ISA). In many modern chipsets, the southbridge contains some onchip
`integrated peripherals, such as Ethernet, USB, and audio devices.
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`
`Diagram of Commodore
`Amiga's Original Chip Set
`
`A part of an IBM T42 laptop
`motherboard. CPU: Central processing
`unit. NB: Northbridge. GPU: Graphics
`processing unit. SB: Southbridge.
`
`Motherboards and their chipsets often come
`from different manufacturers. As of 2015,
`manufacturers of chipsets for x86
`motherboards include AMD, Broadcom, Intel, NVIDIA, SiS and VIA Technologies.
`Apple computers and Unix workstations have traditionally used customdesigned
`chipsets. Some server manufacturers also develop custom chipsets for their products.
`
`In the 1980s Chips and Technologies pioneered the manufacturing of chipsets for PC
`compatible computers. Computer systems produced since then often share commonly
`used chipsets, even across widely disparate computing specialties. For example, the
`NCR 53C9x, a lowcost chipset implementing a SCSI interface to storage devices,
`could be found in Unix machines such as the MIPS Magnum, embedded devices, and
`personal computers.
`Move toward processor integration in PCs
`
`Traditionally in x86 computers, the processor's primary connection to the rest of the
`machine is through the motherboard chipset's northbridge. The northbridge is directly
`responsible for communications with highspeed devices (system memory and
`primary expansion buses, such as PCIe, AGP and PCI cards, being common
`examples) and conversely any system communication back to the processor. This
`connection between the processor and northbridge is traditionally known as the front
`side bus (FSB). Requests to resources not directly controlled by the northbridge are
`offloaded to the southbridge, with the northbridge being an intermediary between the
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`processor and the southbridge. The southbridge traditionally handles "everything
`else", generally lowerspeed peripherals and board functions (the largest being hard
`disk and storage connectivity) such as USB, parallel and serial communications. The
`connection between the northbridge and southbridge does not have a common name,
`but is usually a highspeed interconnect proprietary to the chipset vendor.
`
`Before 2003, any interaction between a CPU and main memory or an expansion
`device such as a graphics card(s) — whether AGP, PCI or integrated into the
`motherboard — was directly controlled by the northbridge IC on behalf of the
`processor. This made processor performance highly dependent on the system chipset,
`especially the northbridge's memory performance and ability to shuttle this
`information back to the processor. In 2003, however, AMD's introduction of the
`Athlon 64bit series of processors[1] changed this. The Athlon64 marked the
`introduction of an integrated memory controller being incorporated into the processor
`itself thus allowing the processor to directly access and handle memory, negating the
`need for a traditional northbridge to do so. Intel followed suit in 2008 with the release
`of its Core i series CPUs and the X58 platform. In newer processors integration has
`further increased, primarily inclusion of the system's primary PCIe controller and
`integrated graphics directly on the CPU itself. As fewer functions are left unhandled
`by the processor, chipset vendors have condensed the remaining northbridge and
`southbridge functions into a single chip. Intel's version of this is the "Platform
`Controller Hub" (PCH), effectively an enhanced southbridge for the remaining
`peripherals as traditional northbridge duties, such as memory controller, expansion
`bus (PCIe) interface (though the chipset often contains secondary PCIe connections),
`and even onboard video controller, are integrated into the CPU itself. However, the
`Platform Controller Hub was integrated into the processor for certain models of Intel's
`Skylake processors.
`See also
`
`Verylargescale integration or VLSI
`List of Intel chipsets
`Comparison of AMD chipsets
`Comparison of ATI chipsets
`Comparison of Nvidia chipsets
`VIA chipsets
`Silicon Integrated Systems
`Acer Laboratories Incorporated
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`Southbridge
`Northbridge
`Notes
`
`1. "AMD Ushers in Era of Cinematic Computing with the AMD Athlon 64 FX Processor"
`(http://www.amd.com/usen/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543_10218~74465,0
`0.html). 20030923. Retrieved 20060704.
`
`Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
`title=Chipset&oldid=677649458"
`
`Categories: IBM PC compatibles
`
`Integrated circuits Motherboard
`
`This page was last modified on 24 August 2015, at 17:22.
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