IDE PATA, SATA, SCSI Hard Disk Drives (HDD), SSD, CD/DVD and Blu-ray drives - Page 1

Windows XP/Vista and Software Tips and Tricks - Page 1

Jumper Locations

Clear CMOS Pwd

JCMOS1: Clear CMOS Header:

By placing the jumper on pin2-3, it allows user to restore the BIOS safe setting and the CMOS data, please carefully follow the procedures to avoid damaging the motherboard.

Motherboard Clear CMOS Procedures:

1. Remove AC power line.
2. Set the jumper to “Pin 2-3 close”.
3. Wait for ten seconds.
4. Set the jumper to “Pin 1-2 close”.
5. Power on the AC.
6. Reset your desired password or clear the CMOS data.

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Northbridge/Southbridge chipset architecture designs

In North/Southbridge(controller HUB)chipset architecture designs,
The Northbridge is the chip or chips that connect a CPU to memory, the PCI bus, Level 2 cache and AGP activities. The Northbridge chips communicate with the CPU through the FSB.The NorthBridge is nearer to the CPU(Processor).

The Northbridge is also called as GMCH [Graphic Memory controller Hub]

The Southbridge is the chip that controls all of the computers I/O functions, such as USB, audio, serial, the system BIOS, the ISA bus, the interrupt controller and the IDE channels. In other words, all of the functions of a processor except memory, PCI and AGP.

The Southbridge is also called as IOCH [Input Output controller Hub]

The Northbridge chip is one of two chips that control the functions of the chipset. The other is the Southbridge. The Northbridge can consist of more than one discrete chip while the Southbridge is typically only one discrete chip.

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PC's Second Most Important Silicon: The Chipset

Chipset:

If the CPU is the brain of a personal computer, the motherboard is its nervous system -- the foundation or platform that supports and provides the data-transfer connections between the processor, memory, AGP and PCI expansion cards, disk drives, and external peripherals. And next to the CPU, the most important part of a motherboard is its core logic chipset.

One manufacturer, Nvidia Corp., prefers the term "platform processor" to "chipset." It's marketing jargon that makes sense, in that a chipset determines a motherboard's and hence computer's capabilities -- everything from what kinds of peripherals you can plug into it to what kinds of CPU and memory it can use. Nowadays, thanks to TV commercials, even casual home-PC buyers are likely to ask which processor a system has. This article will explain why truly smart shoppers learn which chipset it has, too.

North and South:

A chipset's functions are divided into two groups, which are usually handled by two chips -- the Northbridge and Southbridge, which you can think of as "inner" and "outer" or adjacent to the CPU and peripherals, respectively. Names vary -- Intel calls these components hubs; SiS calls them controllers -- but the purpose is the same: the Northbridge and Southbridge provide data bridges between specific sets of bus peripherals.

Intel's block diagram of its recently introduced 845PE Pentium 4 chipset, reproduced below, illustrates the architecture of most standard chipset designs -- the Northbridge handling the more data-intensive pathways such as the memory and AGP (Advanced Graphics Port or screen display) buses, while the Southbridge takes care of secondary connections such as those to ATA/IDE disk drives and USB peripherals. There is a strict division of duties between the Northbridge and Southbridge, as well as a high-speed interface between the two.

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