Concept and brief overview of chipsets.

Concept and brief overview of chipsets.

Concept and brief overview of chipsets

Let's start review of chipsetswith the definition of this concept. So, a chipset is a set of microcircuits that, in the process of interaction, make the operation of an electronic device possible. The chipset device is located on the motherboard and is the link that connects the operation of the processor, memory, input and output devices using microcircuits.

Types of chipsets

Types of chipsetscan be distinguished by the following definition: they represent a set of microcircuits that communicate with other devices of a particular device. Depending on the specific device or electronic device, the types of chipsets are differentiated. If we consider more narrowly — only the chipsets used in the computer — then the method of their interaction and connection of devices is the main factor on the basis of which types of chipsets are distinguished.

Overview of chipsets (some varieties)

The Hudson-M1 chipset is designed to work with Ontario and Zacate processors – together they form the Brazos mobile platform. The chipset supports up to six SATA ports with a throughput of 6 Gbps, up to fourteen USB 2.0 ports, 7.1-channel sound, four PCI Express x1 version 2.0 lanes and four PCI Express «first generation» lanes. The Unified Media Interface is supported. The first information about support for the USB 3.0 interface was not confirmed – work with these ports is not listed in the Hudson-M1 functions, and can only be implemented through the use of third-party chips.

Let's continue the chipset reviewusing the Hudson-M2 as an example, designed to work with Llano processors and is a key component of the Sabine platform. This model is positioned as a mid-range mobile chipset. It already has support for the Ethernet network protocol with a network connection speed of up to 1 Gbit/s, apparently supports the FireWire interface, supports RAID 0/1, is equipped with an integrated SD memory card controller and is capable of working with the DisplayPort port. There is no support for the USB 3.0 interface.

Chipset deviceHudson-M3 implies support for the USB 3.0 interface, in addition, it supports work with four USB 3.0 ports at once. The Hudson-M3 chipset has been completely converted to use the HDMI interface instead of the VGA DAC, including for low-end notebooks. All three presented chipsets are equipped with an integrated clock generator and fan controllers.

Chipset Reviewfor Intel processors: X58 Express (Tylersburg) is historically the first chipset for new-generation processors based on the Nehalem microarchitecture — introduced in November 2008 simultaneously with the Core i7 9xx series processors for the LGA1366 socket. It still remains the most powerful and technically advanced chipset of the entire «fiftieth series». At the same time, X58 is the only logic set of this series family that can be rightfully called a «set»: it consists of the «north bridge» (the actual system controller) 82X58 (IOH) and the «south bridge» (input-output controller) ICH10/10R. All other chipsets included in this line consist of a single microcircuit, functionally related, rather, to the «south bridge», since the RAM and graphics controllers have moved inside the processors themselves.
Chipset deviceX58 offers a new high-speed QPI interface, which has become a replacement for the classic FSB system bus and resembles the HyperTransport bus in AMD processors. This interface works with Core i7 processors codenamed Bloomfield (9xx), which differ from Lynnfield (8xx), among other things, in a three-channel RAM controller. The QPI bus bandwidth for «simple» Core i7 is 9.6 GB/s (frequency of 2.4 GHz, 4.8 GT/s (gigatransfers, i.e. billions of transfers per second), and for the «extreme» Extreme Edition — 12.8 GB/s (frequency of 3.2 GHz, 6.4 GT/s) simultaneously in each direction.
The P55 Express chipset (codenamed Ibex Peak) is a set of chips of the «fiftieth series», belonging to the middle class. This is the first single-chip system logic of the series, released in September 2009 for quad-core Core i5 7xx series and Core i7 8xx series (Lynnfield), designed for installation in the LGA1156 socket. Please note that these types of chipsets were originally intended for processors without integrated graphics core – there is no FDI (Flexible Display Interface) bus, which is responsible for communication between integrated graphics and the chipset. This explains the fact that although Core i3/i5 chips with integrated video can be installed on boards with P55, the integrated core will not be detected by the system, and there is no alternative to discrete graphics in this case.