A typical north/southbridge layout

The northbridge, also known as the Memory Controller Hub (MCH), is traditionally one of the two chips in the core logic chipset on a PC motherboard, the other being the Southbridge. Separating the chipset into Northbridge and Southbridge is common, although there are rare instances where these two chips have been combined onto one die when design complexity and fabrication processes permit it. Image File history File links Northsouthbridge. ... A chipset is a group of integrated circuits (chips) that are designed to work together, and are usually marketed as a single product. ... The ABIT KT7, an ATX format motherboard A motherboard is a printed circuit board used in a personal computer. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Integrated circuit showing memory blocks, logic and input/output pads around the periphery Microchips with a transparent window, showing the integrated circuit inside. ...

Overview

The northbridge typically handles communications between the CPU, RAM, AGP or PCI Express, and the southbridge. Some northbridges also contain integrated video controllers, which are also known as a Graphics and Memory Controller Hub (GMCH). Because different processors and RAM require different signalling, a northbridge will typically work with only one or two classes of CPUs and generally only one type of RAM. There are a few chipsets that support two types of RAM (generally these are available when there is a shift to a new standard). For example, the northbridge from the NVIDIA nForce2 chipset will only work with Duron, Athlon, and Athlon XP processors combined with DDR SDRAM, the Intel i875 chipset will only work with systems using Pentium 4 processors or Celeron processors that have a clock speed greater than 1.3 GHz and utilize DDR SDRAM, and the Intel i915g chipset only works with the Intel Pentium 4 and the Intel Celeron, but it can use DDR or DDR2 memory. Die of an Intel 80486DX2 microprocessor (actual size: 12×6. ... Look up RAM, Ram, ram in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... PCI Express (formerly known as 3GIO for 3rd Generation I/O, not to be mistaken with PCI-X) is an implementation of the PCI computer bus that uses existing PCI programming concepts and communications standards, but bases it on a much faster serial communications system. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Die of an Intel 80486DX2 microprocessor (actual size: 12×6. ... NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) (pronounced ) is an American corporation and is the worlds largest GPU company and a worldwide leader in GPU technologies for video cards, graphics cards, workstations, desktop computers, handhelds and more. ... The nForce2 Chipset was released by NVIDIA in July of 2002 as a refresh to the original nForce product offering. ... The AMD Duron was an x86-compatible computer processor manufactured by AMD. It was released on June 19, 2000 as a low-cost alternative to AMDs own Athlon processor and the Pentium III and Celeron processor lines from rival Intel. ... Athlon is the brand name applied to a series of different x86 processors designed and manufactured by AMD. The original Athlon, or Athlon Classic, was the first seventh-generation x86 processor and, in a first, retained the initial performance lead it had over Intels competing processors for a significant... Athlon is the brand name applied to a series of different x86 processors designed and manufactured by AMD. The original Athlon, or Athlon Classic was the first seventh-generation x86 processor and, in a first, retained the initial performance lead it had over Intels competing processors for a significant... DDR SDRAM or double-data-rate synchronous dynamic random access memory is a type of memory integrated circuit used in computers. ... Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC, SEHK: 4335), founded in 1968 as Integrated Electronics Corporation, is an American multinational corporation that is best known for designing and manufacturing microprocessors and specialized integrated circuits. ... New Intel Pentium 4 with Hyper Threading logo The Pentium 4 is a seventh-generation x86 architecture microprocessor produced by Intel and was the companys first all-new CPU design since the Pentium Pro of 1995. ... Celeron is a brand name given by Intel Corp. ... Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC, SEHK: 4335), founded in 1968 as Integrated Electronics Corporation, is an American multinational corporation that is best known for designing and manufacturing microprocessors and specialized integrated circuits. ... Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC, SEHK: 4335), founded in 1968 as Integrated Electronics Corporation, is an American multinational corporation that is best known for designing and manufacturing microprocessors and specialized integrated circuits. ... New Intel Pentium 4 with Hyper Threading logo The Pentium 4 is a seventh-generation x86 architecture microprocessor produced by Intel and was the companys first all-new CPU design since the Pentium Pro of 1995. ... Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC, SEHK: 4335), founded in 1968 as Integrated Electronics Corporation, is an American multinational corporation that is best known for designing and manufacturing microprocessors and specialized integrated circuits. ... Celeron is a brand name given by Intel Corp. ...

Etymology

The name is derived from drawing the architecture in the fashion of a map. The CPU would be at the top of the map at due north. The CPU would be connected to the chipset via a fast bridge (the northbridge) located north of other system devices as drawn. The northbridge would then be connected to the rest of the chipset via a slow bridge (the southbridge) located south of other system devices as drawn. A chipset is a group of integrated circuits (chips) that are designed to work together, and are usually marketed as a single product. ...

Intel i815EP Northbridge (heatsink removed)

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 603 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (745 × 741 pixel, file size: 936 KB, MIME type: image/png) Intel i815EP Northbridge on an ASUS CUSL2-C Motherboard. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 603 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (745 × 741 pixel, file size: 936 KB, MIME type: image/png) Intel i815EP Northbridge on an ASUS CUSL2-C Motherboard. ... Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC, SEHK: 4335), founded in 1968 as Integrated Electronics Corporation, is an American multinational corporation that is best known for designing and manufacturing microprocessors and specialized integrated circuits. ... A large copper heatsink. ...

Importance

The northbridge on a particular system's motherboard is the most prominent factor in dictating the number, speed, and type of CPU(s) and the amount, speed, and type of RAM that can be used. Other factors such as voltage regulation and available number of connectors also play a role. Virtually all consumer-level chipsets support only one processor series, with the maximum amount of RAM varying by processor type and motherboard design. Pentium-era machines often had a limitation of 128 MB, while Pentium 4 machines have a limit of 4 GB. Since the Pentium Pro, the Intel architecture can accommodate physical addresses larger than 32 bits, typically 36 bits, which give up to 64 GB of addressing, though motherboards that can support that much RAM are rare because of other factors (operating system limitations and expense of RAM). Random access memory (usually known by its acronym, RAM) is a type of data storage used in computers. ... Pentium Pro 256 KB Pentium Pro 512 KB Pentium Pro 1 MB Pentium Pro underside (256/512) Pentium II Overdrive The Pentium Pro is a sixth-generation x86 architecture microprocessor (P6 core) by Intel originally intended to replace the original Pentium in a full range of applications, but later reduced...

A northbridge typically will only work with one or two different southbridge ASICs; in this respect, it affects some of the other features that a given system can have by limiting which technologies are available on its southbridge partner. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Recent developments

The memory controller, which handles communication between the CPU and RAM, has been moved onto the processor die in AMD64 processors. Other CPU designers have considered this change for their own product lines, such as Intel and IBM. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... AMD64 Logo AMD64 (also x86-64 or x64) is a 64-bit microprocessor architecture and corresponding instruction set designed by Advanced Micro Devices. ... Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC, SEHK: 4335), founded in 1968 as Integrated Electronics Corporation, is an American multinational corporation that is best known for designing and manufacturing microprocessors and specialized integrated circuits. ... International Business Machines Corporation (known as IBM or Big Blue; NYSE: IBM) is a multinational computer technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, USA. The company is one of the few information technology companies with a continuous history dating back to the 19th century. ...

An example of this change is NVIDIA's nForce3 chipset for AMD64 systems that is a single chip. It combines all of the features of a normal southbridge with an AGP port and connects directly to the CPU. On nForce4 boards they consider this to be a MCP (Media Communications Processor). NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) (pronounced ) is an American corporation and is the worlds largest GPU company and a worldwide leader in GPU technologies for video cards, graphics cards, workstations, desktop computers, handhelds and more. ... nVidia nForce3 logo The correct title of this article is nForce3. ... AMD64 Logo AMD64 (also x86-64 or x64) is a 64-bit microprocessor architecture and corresponding instruction set designed by Advanced Micro Devices. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The nForce4 is a computer chipset released by NVIDIA in October, 2004. ... A Media Communications Processor (MCP) is a type of processor designed specifically for the creation and distribution of digital media. ...

For the future a SOC/single chip solution is always more popular due to the lower component count at the assembly stage. However, larger chips may reduce the versatility of the solution and have higher complexity and pin count. This caveat is currently less important because many of the recent high speed buses (PCIe, SATA) are serial in nature and highly programmable. This is likely to bring a return of a standard implementation connected via a standard bus (probably PCIe) which could be merged into the Super I/O controller. On the other hand, the Super I/O can be left as is and the pins not used for the AGP controller may be available for a different integration consisting of Graphic processor, PCI express, SATA, USB, IDE, SDIO card reader, PC Card/CardBus, PCI controller. System-on-a-chip (SoC or SOC) is an idea of integrating all components of a computer system into a single chip. ... Super I/O is the name given to a class of I/O controller integrated circuits that began to be used on personal computer motherboards in the late 1980s. ... Super I/O is the name given to a class of I/O controller integrated circuits that began to be used on personal computer motherboards in the late 1980s. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. ... PCI Express (formerly known as 3GIO for 3rd Generation I/O, not to be mistaken with PCI-X) is an implementation of the PCI computer bus that uses existing PCI programming concepts and communications standards, but bases it on a much faster serial communications system. ... A SATA power connector. ... Note: USB may also mean upper sideband in radio. ... Binomial name Leuciscus idus Linnaeus, 1758 The Ide or Orfe, Leuciscus idus, is a freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae found across northern Europe and Asia. ... 16Mb SD Card Secure Digital (also known as SD) is a flash memory memory card format. ... The PCMCIA is the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, an industry trade association that creates standards for notebook computer peripheral devices. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Northbridge and overclocking

The Northbridge plays an important part in how far a computer can be overclocked, as its frequency is used as a baseline for the CPU to establish its own operating frequency. In today's machines, the chip is becoming increasingly hotter as computers become faster. It is not unusual for the northbridge to now use some type of heatsink or active cooling. AMD Athlon XP Overclocking BIOS Setup on ABIT NF7-S. FSB frequency has increased from 133 MHz to 148 MHz, and clock multiplier factor has changed from 13. ... A large copper heatsink. ... Many components in a computer system unit produce large amout of heat during operation, including, but not limited to: the CPU, chipset, graphics card, and hard drives. ...