Front side bus

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A typical north/southbridge layout

In personal computers, the Front Side Bus (FSB) is the bus that carries data between the
CPU and the northbridge.
Depending on the processor used, some computers may also have a back side bus that
connects the CPU to the cache. This bus and the cache connected to it is faster than
accessing the system memory via the front side bus.
The bandwidth or maximum theoretical throughput of the front side bus is determined by
the product of the width of its data path, its clock frequency (cycles per second) and the

number of data transfers it performs per clock cycle. For example, a 32-bit (4-byte) wide
FSB operating at a frequency of 100 MHz that performs 4 transfers per cycle has a
bandwidth of 1600 megabytes per second (MB/s).
The number of transfers per clock cycle is dependent on the technology used. For
example, GTL+ performs 1 transfer/cycle, EV6 2 transfers/cycle, and AGTL+ 4
transfers/cycle. Intel calls the technique of four transfers per cycle Quad Pumping.
Many manufacturers today publish the speed of the FSB in megatransfers per second
(MT/s), not the FSB clock frequency in megahertz (MHz). This is because the actual
speed is determined by how many transfers can be performed each clock cycle as well as
by the clock frequency. For example, if a motherboard (or processor) has a FSB clocked
at 200 MHz and performs 4 transfers per clock cycle, the FSB is rated at 800 MT/s.

Contents
[hide]

1 History and current usage

2 Related component speeds
o 2.1 CPU
o 2.2 Memory
o 2.3 Peripheral buses
o 2.4 Overclocking
3 Pros and cons
o 3.1 Pros
o 3.2 Cons
4 See also

[edit] History and current usage

The front side bus is an alternative name for the data and address buses of the CPU as
defined by the manufacturer's datasheet. The term is mostly associated with the various
CPU buses used on PC-related motherboards (including servers etc), seldom with the
data and address buses used in embedded systems and similar small computers.
Front side buses serve as a connection between the CPU and the rest of the hardware via
a so-called chipset. This chipset is usually divided in a northbridge and a southbridge
part, and is the connection point for all other buses in the system. Buses like the PCI,
AGP, and memory buses all connect to the chipset in order for data to flow between the
connected devices. These secondary system buses usually run at speeds derived from the
front side bus clock, but are not necessarily synchronous to it.
In response to AMD's Torrenza initiative, Intel has opened its FSB CPU socket to third
party devices [1][2]. Prior to this announcement, made in Spring 2007 at Intel Developer

Forum in Beijing, Intel had very closely guarded who had access to the FSB, only
allowing Intel processors in the CPU socket. This is now changing, the first example
being FPGA co-processors, a result of collaboration between Intel-Xilinx-Nallatech [3]
and Intel-Altera-XtremeData [4] [5].

[edit] Related component speeds

[edit] CPU
The frequency at which a processor (CPU) operates is determined by applying a clock
multiplier to the front side bus (FSB) speed. For example, a processor running at 3200
MHz might be using a 400 MHz FSB. This means there is an internal clock multiplier
setting (also called bus/core ratio) of 8. That is, the CPU is set to run at 8 times the
frequency of the front side bus: 400 MHz 8 = 3200 MHz. By varying either the FSB or
the multiplier, different CPU speeds can be achieved.

[edit] Memory
See also: Memory divider
Setting a FSB speed is related directly to the speed grade of memory a system must use.
The memory bus connects the northbridge and RAM, just as the front side bus connects
the CPU and northbridge. Often, these two buses must operate at the same frequency.
Increasing the front-side bus to 450 MHz in most cases also means running the memory
at 450 MHz.
In newer systems, it is possible to see memory ratios of "4:5" and the like. The memory
will run 5/4 times as fast as the FSB in this situation, meaning a 400 MHz bus can run
with the memory at 500 MHz. This is often referred to as an 'asynchronous' system. It is
important to realize that due to differences in CPU and system architecture, overall
system performance can vary in unexpected ways with different FSB-to-memory ratios.
In image, audio, video, gaming and scientific applications that perform a small amount of
work on each element of a large data set, FSB speed becomes a major performance issue.
A slow FSB will cause the CPU to spend significant amounts of time waiting for data to
arrive from system memory. However, if the computations involving each element are
more complex the processor will spend longer performing these and the FSB will be able
to keep pace, because the rate at which memory is accessed is reduced.

[edit] Peripheral buses

Similar to the memory bus, the PCI and AGP buses can also be run asynchronously from
the front side bus. In older systems, these buses operated at a set fraction of the front side
bus frequency. This fraction was set by the BIOS. In newer systems the PCI, AGP, and

PCI Express peripheral buses often receive their own clock signals, which eliminates
their dependence on the front side bus for timing.

[edit] Overclocking
Main article: Overclocking
Overclocking is the practice of making computer components operate beyond their stock
performance levels.
Many motherboards allow the user to manually set the clock multiplier and FSB settings
by changing jumpers or BIOS settings. Many CPU manufacturers now "lock" a preset
multiplier setting into the chip. It is possible to unlock some locked CPUs; for instance,
some Athlons can be unlocked by connecting electrical contacts across points on the
CPU's surface. For all processors, increasing the FSB speed can be done to boost
processing speed.
This practice pushes components beyond their specifications and may cause erratic
behaviour, overheating or premature failure. Even if the computer appears to run
normally, problems may appear under heavy load. For example, during Windows Setup,
you may receive a file copy error or experience other problems [6]. Most PCs purchased
from retailers or manufacturers, such as Hewlett-Packard or Dell, do not allow the user to
change the multiplier or Front Side Bus settings due to the probability of erratic behavior
or failure. Motherboards purchased separately to build a custom machine are more likely
to allow the user to edit the multiplier and FSB settings in the PC's BIOS.

[edit] Pros and cons

[edit] Pros
Although the front side bus architecture is an aging technology, it does have the
advantage of high flexibility and low cost. There is no theoretical limit to the number of
CPUs that can be placed on a FSB, though performance will not scale linearly across
additional CPUs (due to the architecture's bandwidth bottleneck).

[edit] Cons
The front side bus as it is traditionally known may be disappearing. Originally, this bus
was a central connecting point for all system devices and the CPU. In recent years this
has been breaking down with increasing use of individual point-to-point buses. The front
side bus has recently been criticized by AMD as being an old and slow technology that
bottlenecks today's computer systems. While a faster CPU can execute individual
instructions faster, this is wasted if it can't fetch instructions and data as fast as it can
execute them; when this happens, the CPU must wait for one or more clock cycles until
the memory returns its value. Furthermore, a fast CPU can be delayed when it must

access other devices attached to the FSB. Thus, a slow FSB can become a bottleneck that
slows down a fast CPU.

[edit] See also

Northbridge (computing)
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A typical north/southbridge layout

The northbridge, also known as the memory controller hub (MCH) in Intel systems
(AMD, VIA, SiS and others usually use 'northbridge'), 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 the 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.

Contents
[hide]

1 Overview

2 Etymology
3 Importance
4 Recent developments
5 Northbridge and overclocking

6 References

[edit] Overview
The northbridge typically handles communications among the CPU, RAM, AGP or PCI
Express, and the southbridge.[1][2] Some northbridges also contain integrated video
controllers, which are also known as a Graphics and Memory Controller Hub (GMCH) in
Intel systems. 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 Socket A 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
Celeron, but it can use DDR or DDR2 memory.

[edit] 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.

Intel i815EP northbridge

[edit] 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 most
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 gives up
to 64 GB of addressing (see PAE), though motherboards that can support that much RAM
are rare because of other factors (operating system limitations and expense of RAM).
A northbridge typically will only work with one or two different southbridges. 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.
The northbridge hosts its own memory lookup table (I/O memory management unit), a
mapping of the addresses and layout in main memory. The northbridge handles data
transactions for the front side bus [[FSB), the memory bus and the AGP port.
The northbridge will have a different model number, even though they are often paired
with the same southbridge to come under the collective name of the chipset.
The Intel Hub Architecture (IHA) has replaced the northbridge/southbridge chipset. The
IHA chipset also has two parts: the Graphics and AGP Memory Controller Hub (GMCH)
and the I/O Controller Hub (ICH). The IHA architecture is used in Intel's 800 series
chipsets, which is the first x86 chipset architecture to move away from the
northbridge/southbridge design.

[edit] Recent developments

The memory controller, which handles communication between the CPU and RAM, has
been moved onto the processor die in AMD64 processors. Intel has integrated the
memory controller onto the processor die with their 2008 Nehalem microarchitecturebased processors.
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 an MCP (Media
Communications Processor).

[edit] 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, this chip is becoming increasingly hotter as computers become faster
and thus also requires an increased level of cooling.

[edit] References