WEEKLY SUBJECT 08, chipsets and controllers, RESURRECTING__PAGE ONE

[jtdoom]

if anyone has the first web-page of the subject in his/her internet history, please do an effort and save the txt.

an example of the result one can get is found at the resurrecting of page TWO

I did not have page one and three in my internet explorer history.

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I will USE THE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER TO GET THIS PART ONE "resurrection" STARTED OFF, since it contained major parts of the topmost posts.

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-·-·-· From the General Hardware Forum ·-·-·-

Weekly Subject -08- Chipsets and Controllers

As always, greengoose1 kicks off this week's discussion...

BIOS was very interesting but I believe our resident experts
took it apart and put the subject back together again even
better than it was. Surprises are in store now.

We begin a new thread on Chipsets and Controllers. And as
usual I will ask the first question. What is their function
when placed on the Motherboard?

It took no time at all for the answers, tips and suggestions to come
pouring in.

DrMDJ enlightens us with the following plain-English, not to mention
fairly comprehensive overview of chipsets:

I assume this thread is restricted to discussing chipsets and
controllers on motherboards and not any auxiliary cards or
devices. Yes/No? I would suggest it is. Could get hairy enough
just sticking to these bounds.

Anyway, two cents on chipsets...

As others have established there a number of chips on the
motherboard responsible for handling the interface,
communication and transfer of data between the different
components, different hardware, different "places" (if you
will). Collectively these chips (or most of them) are called
the chipset (these chips are also sometimes referred to as the
"core logic" of a board). In days gone by various functions on
a motherboard were split over a bunch of individual (and
dedicated) chips. But in recent years many of the functions
have been combined/consolidated such that today they're but a
few chips that comprise the chipset. The chipset plays a vital
role on any motherboard, in the system. The CPU can be seen as
the President on the motherboard, but the parts of the chipset
are the field generals.

Specific chipsets are usually referred to by some common group
name, such as 440ZX, Apollo Pro 133, AMD-750, etc. Then within
this grouping each of the chips has its own identifying
number. Each of the major chipset makers (Intel, AMD, Via,
SIS, etc) offers several different chipsets. Each chipset has
its own specific features and characteristics, and is designed
for use with a particular set of CPUs and other components.
Now by and large the same manufacturer makes all the chips
comprising the chipset. But there are a couple of exceptions
to this where there are mixed vendor chipsets.

When you select a motherboard it will contain a specific
chipset, and that chipset will be a determining factor in
regard to other component/hardware selections you can make.
The chipset in use will determine/impact such things as what
CPU(s) (brand and speeds) can be used, what memory (type,
speed, total amount) that can be used, whether AGP support is
available (and if so what speeds: 2x, 4x), etc. So, for
example, one may really like a board based on the Via Apollo
KT133 chipset. But you'll have to find another board if you
really want to get an Intel Pentium 4 processor or use PC2100
DDR SDRAM memory. Now there is generally several chipsets that
will support a given type/family/range of CPUs, or memory,
etc. It isn't like you can, say, only get a Via KT133 chipset
if you want an AMD Athlon 900. The point is simply that the
chipset on the motherboard is tied to other component
decisions.

Chipsets are not all the same from another standpoint. The
"design" of chipsets varies. Between makers, within those
offered by a given maker. Chipset design, the way they work,
their architecture is constantly changing. There can be subtle
and not so subtle difference in the way different chipsets do
what they do, how the individual parts do what they do.
Specific designs/implementations can have good and bad points.
Some designs can be better than others, or better in certain
situations, applications, and configurations. So when look at
boards it is worth investigating the particular chipset used
to see what reviews and such are saying about its strong and
weak points.

As a matter of semantics, not every chip on a motherboard is
considered part of the "chipset". Only the chips with certain
specific purposes are. One thing chips in the chipset share in
common is that they have "intelligence". They are mini-brains,
so to speak. They perform or manage certain operations
independently, they remove the need for the CPU to worry about
or be involved in certain tasks, deal directly with certain
devices or hardware. They "serve" CPU. Instead of the CPU
doing many things they are offloaded to a component in the
chipset to take care of. If the CPU needs something it relies
on the chipset to get it or deliver it, and manage the process
along the way. The CPU doesn't manage the hardware, the
chipset does. This allows the CPU to focus (primarily) on one
thing: processing instructions. The chipset helps to provide
for a more productive system overall. For obvious reasons one
can see the importance of the chipset. The importance of its
design and stability. Its importance in overall system
performance. Its importance, period.

As chipsets have evolved, changed, so have the particular
functions (jobs) they perform and the components that do these
jobs. In general though in today's systems the parts of the
chipset are responsible for handling the flow and control of
data transfers among and between the various components and
hardware. The chipset is the link between the CPU and the rest
of the system. And it is what links the various other parts of
a system to each other. It's the chipset that manages and
controls such things as:

- transfers or communication between the CPU and RAM
- transfers and communication between devices and RAM
- transfers and communication with and among the various buses
(AGP (technically AGP is not a bus, but), PCI ISA) and
hardware connecting to them
- transfers and communication with the various ports (USB,
serial, parallel)
- transfers and communication with the mouse and keyboard
- interrupt control
- DMA transfers
These descriptions are, in some cases, somewhat broad and not
all inclusive, but... The chipset is also a major player in
things like Power Management and Plug and Play operation. So,
to repeat what was said above, the chipset in a PC is very
important.

Let me interject one quick note here...

As I said before, chipset design and implementation is a
changing thing. But there are two terms/names that relate to
chipsets in use today, that are commonly mentioned, that I
have heard asked about in these threads. Namely: Northbridge
and Southbridge. Many boards make use of a North-Southbridge
chipset implementation (and have for a while). There are
variations and departures from this design, but it is still a
common one. For those interested in trivial facts... The
reason that "bridge" is used in their names is because they
provide a communication bridge, connection, between various
board hardware. And the fact that they are named North and
South is mostly a matter of board geography. The Northbridge
is located north (above) the Southbridge on the board. There
are design reasons for this actually, but we needn't worry
about that. Back to more important matters... In terms of
function, the Northbridge's major functions (in short) are to
manage data flow on the frontside bus between the CPU and RAM,
manage data flow to and from the PCI and AGP buses (and the
devices on them), and (of course) communicate with the
Soutbridge. As one can guess the Northbridge handles a lot of
data and deals in the higher speed data transfers. So it works
pretty hard. For this reason the Northbridge is a "hotter"
running part of the chipset. And that's why it usually has
fins or even a fan to cool it. The Southbridge handles the
(perhaps seemingly) more mundane and (relatively) slower speed
interfaces. It handles things like the ISA bus, the ports, the
IDE controllers, the mouse and the keyboard. So in a (not so)
nutshell, that's what the North and Southbridge are and do.

So the "chipset" is one mighty important thing. Now one does
not need to know all the ins and outs, all the names and
numbers, all the details of chipset design and implementation.
But its good to have a basic understanding of the chipset's
role. And when building a system, looking at motherboards, the
chipset must be considered. It's a key factor in the overall
selection process. It will be a key factor in determining the
performance of the system. It will influence (possible) future
changes and upgrades. One needs to know/consider what chipsets
support what, provide what functionality, and are compatible
with what. And one should know what is said, good and bad,
about different designs and implementations.

I'm outta here for now. I'll leave controllers for other
posts...

bistro decides to take on controllers with a comparative economy of
words...

Controllers: (In a nutshell--I'm not a good typist like
DrMDJ).

Up to around the mid-90's motherboards had to have controller
cards to control the drives, both IDE and SCSI. Communicate
between the processor and the drives for the most part. Pros:
If the controller failed, you would just replace the card.
Cons: made it a little crowded inside and they were ISA bus--a
little slow.

Then controller chips began to be integrated onto the
motherboard (mobo). Pros: more convenient; more expansion
slots available for use. Cons: if the controller burns out,
you have to replace the entire motherboard (not really likely
to happen though). The controller chips "look like" the core
chipset of the mobo and are often included when speaking of
the mobo chipset, but really should be considered separately.
Also, while all mobos now have integrated IDE controllers, not
all have integrated SCSI--still need a controller card for
those unless the built-in is specified. (That may be obvious
to some, but thought I'd throw it in for good measure... )
============

editorial comment, by the Virtual Doctor
----------------------------------------
This week
we take a look at the ever-popular Weekly Topic in the General
Hardware forum.

It is often the case that when one first acquires a PC, that person is
generally happy that it just plain runs. However, after a while, some
curiosity over its internals begins to stir. This may be because of
an unexpected repair or the need for an upgrade. Whatever the reason,
this curiosity often leads to a better understanding and appreciation
of a PC and its parts.

In this day and age tweaking, troubleshooting and upgrading PCs
requires basic understanding of a motherboard's chipset and the
various controllers that make the whole thing run smoothly (or at
least we hope.)

Why is a chipset so important? All chipsets, in very simplistic
terms, handle the proper functioning of your PC and its components.
Video, sound, connectors, RAM even the CPU rely on a motherboard's
chipset to work in concert with each other.

Aren't all chipsets the same? Well, yes and no. Chipsets generally
handle the very important functions mentioned above, but the devil is
in the details. Chipsets vary in their support of processors, *BUS
speeds and interfaces such as *SCSI, the last of which actually blurs
the distinction between the supposed "core" chipset functions and
those of controllers.

No one should expect a chipset to support just any combination of
components. In the discussion that is spotlighted below, you'll see
the staggering number of considerations that have to be taken into
account when selecting the proper chipset for your next project.

But you don't need to be constructing a new PC to appreciate a healthy
curiosity about chipsets. You know that RAM and processor upgrade
you're thinking about with? Make sure your chipset supports them!

Regards,
The Virtual Dr. Crew

*Jargon Watch

BUS http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/b/bus.html

SCSI http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/SCSI.html

part one of this attempt

[jtdoom]

this was done from memory
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ROBLES POSTED
robles pointed us to a few good sites on them
he began;
They have been called super I/O controllers.
They handle IRQ's and communications on the motherboard.
Here are some links to get things starded.
On chip sets - index

Chipset Guide
Chipset's: Via & AMD, chipset reviews & information

Tom's hardware Chipset Guide

OS2 hardware info/pci_chips
(which is mostly about older kit, and the kit would support NON-OS2 operating systems as well)

the PCguide on System Chipset and Controllers
where you will quickly lose your way if you do not look at the leftside o/t pane.
plenty info there, tho.

(I had saved those links)
and I added one

INTEL chipsets
========================

someone posted a long history line of chipsets going back to 1996?
(it looked like it came from one of the links I followed earlier)
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then I wrote some personal history
trying to illustrate the importance of the chipset, and why I thought one should go for "proven" or "mature" technology.

when I bought a 286, I had been pondering my first purchase for years.
I had seen an XT once, and a TSR80, and by the time I bought a 286 I had read things about things.
But I didnt't know diddly, and had no idea that the machine I bought was "mature".
The first 386 was to be had by then...

before I got rid of the 286, I had upgraded memory to a whopping TWO MB and gotten VGA in shades of grey...

the 486 I ordered was HIGH end Local Bus
the controller was HIGH end, and so was the graphics system.
The motherboard had borderline technology, and it had trouble with the DX50 chip
couple months later it got replaced with another mobo and a DX2-66 (under warranty.
That machine Rocked and was very stable..

about a year later, the vendor agreed to take it back since he wanted one like it for a client, and I wanted one with "wake on ring" suspend capabilities (which the "old" did not have).

the new board I got blew the socks off the old. all else was still same, yet speed greatly improved. The technology had matured...

I had learned a lesson, and the first pentium I benchmarked was actually SLOWER than the 486DX2-60 with the high end stuff.
Controller was now ON-BOARD, so if one did not get a good mobo, one got stuck with a poor chipset/controller.

Later on I picked proven technology around the 440BX chipset

I also mentioned I recently built a DURON on ECS K7V (sumting) motherboard.
the seller had tested the board with a high end ATHLON and told me it was not stable in STRESSTESTS he did. He asked what we'd do, and if we'd ever put an athon in (nope)
Well, it proved a very stable combination.

the importance of this tale was that one should look for comparative reviews, and for STABILITY issues the reviewers LABs mention.
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NOTE.
I remember the gist of what I wrote later, but that won't do...
- - - - - -
we had a few posts about controllers, ATA 66 and 100, and SCSI, and RAID got mentioned.
There are pros and cons.

someone mentioned the new Nvidia chipset.



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please, help us make a miracle happen,
please look in your internet HISTORY...
and perhaps mail us the txts you can paste right out of it

I won't mind cleaning them up
neither would GG1, I reckon.

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[This message has been edited by jtdoom (edited 07-16-2001).]