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Northbridge (computing)
In computing, a northbridge (also host bridge,
or memory controller hub) is one of two chips
comprising the core logic chipset architecture on
motherboards for older personal computers. A
northbridge is connected directly to a CPU via the
front-side bus (FSB) to handle high-performance
tasks, and is usually used in conjunction with a
slower southbridge[1] to manage communication
between the CPU and other parts of the
motherboard.[2]

Since the 2010s, die shrink and improved transistor

density have allowed for increasing chipset
integration, and the functions performed by
northbridges are now often incorporated into other
components (like southbridges or CPUs
themselves).[3][4] As of 2019, Intel and AMD had
both released chipsets in which all northbridge
functions had been integrated into the CPU.[4]
Modern Intel Core processors have the northbridge A typical north/southbridge layout (2015)
integrated on the CPU die, where it is known as the
uncore or system agent.

On older Intel based PCs, the northbridge was also

named external memory controller hub (MCH)
or graphics and memory controller hub
(GMCH) if equipped with integrated graphics.
Increasingly these functions became integrated into
the CPU chip itself,[3] beginning with memory and
graphics controllers. For Intel Sandy Bridge and
AMD Accelerated Processing Unit processors
introduced in 2011, all of the functions of the
northbridge reside on the CPU.[5] The
corresponding southbridge was renamed by Intel as
the Platform Controller Hub and by AMD as the
Fusion controller hub. AMD FX CPUs continued to
require external northbridge and southbridge chips.

Historically, separation of functions between CPU,

northbridge, and southbridge chips was necessary
due to the difficulty of integrating all components
onto a single chip die.[6] However, as CPU speeds
increased over time, a bottleneck emerged due to
limitations caused by data transmission between
the CPU and its support chipset.[7] The trend for
integrated northbridges began near the end of the
A typical north/southbridge layout (2007)

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2000s — for example, the Nvidia GeForce 320M GPU in the 2010 MacBook Air was a
northbridge/southbridge/GPU combo chip.[8]

Overview
The northbridge typically handles communications among the CPU, in some cases RAM, and PCI
Express (or AGP) video cards, and the southbridge.[9][10] Some northbridges also contain
integrated video controllers, also known as a Graphics and Memory Controller Hub (GMCH)
in Intel systems. Because different processors and RAM require different signaling, a given
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 made available when
there is a shift to a new standard. For example, the northbridge from the 2002 Nvidia nForce2
chipset only worked 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.

PowerPC

Northbridge chips are most commonly found on X86-based PCs, but they can also be found on
other platforms, such as the PowerPC platform. A common example of a northbridge on a
PowerPC platform is in Apple's older PowerPC-based computers like the iMac G5, which utilized
an IBM CPC945 Northbridge chip. According to an Apple Developer note, The Power Mac G5's
northbridge chip connected to a "Mid Bridge", which then connected to a south bridge.[11]

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
comparable to due north on most general purpose geographical
maps. 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
A Kodiak chip: an implementation of
of other system devices as drawn.
IBM's CPC945 northbridge in an
iMac G5, a PowerPC-architecture
Overclocking system.

The northbridge plays an important part in how far a computer

can be overclocked, as its frequency is commonly used as a baseline for the CPU to establish its
own operating frequency. This chip typically gets hotter as processor speed becomes faster,
requiring more cooling. There is a limit to CPU overclocking, as digital circuits are limited by
physical factors such as rise, fall, delay and storage times of the transistors, current gain bandwidth
product, parasitic capacitance, and propagation delay, which increases with (among other factors)
operating temperature; consequently most overclocking applications have software-imposed limits

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on the multiplier and external clock setting. Additionally, heat

is a major limiting factor, as higher voltages are needed to
properly activate field effect transistors inside CPUs and this
higher voltage produces larger amounts of heat, requiring
greater thermal solutions on the die.

Evolution
The overall trend in processor design has been to integrate
more functions onto fewer components, which decreases
overall motherboard cost and improves performance. The
memory controller, which handles communication between the
Intel i815EP northbridge
CPU and RAM, was moved onto the processor die by AMD
beginning with their AMD K8 processors and by Intel with
their Nehalem processors. One of the advantages of having the
memory controller integrated on the CPU die is to reduce latency from
the CPU to memory.

Some northbridge chips have supported dual processors, for example

Intel's 5000X memory controller used in the original Mac Pro from
2006.

Another example of this kind of change is Nvidia's nForce3 for AMD A part of an IBM T42 laptop
K8 systems. It combines all of the features of a normal southbridge motherboard
with an Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) port and connects directly to
the CPU. On nForce4 boards it was marketed as a media
communications processor (MCP).

AMD Accelerated Processing Unit processors feature full integration of northbridge functions onto
the CPU chip, along with processor cores, memory controller, high speed PCI Express interface
(usually for graphics card), and integrated graphics processing unit (iGPU). This was an evolution
of the AMD K8, since the memory controller was integrated on the CPU die in the AMD64.

The northbridge was replaced by the system agent introduced by the Intel Sandy Bridge
microarchitecture in 2011, which essentially handles all previous Northbridge functions.[12] Intel's
Sandy Bridge processors feature full integration of northbridge functions onto the CPU chip, along
with processor cores, memory controller, high speed PCI Express interface and integrated graphics
processing unit (GPU). This was a further evolution of the Westmere architecture, which also
featured a CPU and GPU in the same package.[13]

Recent AMD processors starting with the Zen 2 have moved some I/O functions out of the CPU die
onto an I/O die on the same MCM package as the CPU. This die is not normally considered to be
part of the Northbridge, since it is in the same package as the CPU, but it serves some of the same
functions.[14]

See also
Electronics portal

Southbridge
Chipset

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Intel Management Engine (ME)

References
1. "Southbridge" (http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/Southbridge). TechTarget. Retrieved
January 4, 2016.
2. "Definition of:Northbridge" (https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/48076/northbridge). PC
Magazine. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
3. "Trustworthy x86 laptops? There is a way, says system-level security ace" (https://www.theregi
ster.co.uk/2015/12/31/rutkowska_talks_on_intel_x86_security_issues/). The Register.
Retrieved January 4, 2016.
4. "Northbridge" (https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/n/northbri.htm). Computer Hope. October
7, 2019.
5. "Intel i7 2600K (Sandy Bridge) Review" (http://www.overclockers.com/intel-i7-2600k-sandy-brid
ge-review). Overclockers.com. 2011-01-03. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
6. "Chipset: Northbridge and Southbridge" (http://www.rigacci.org/wiki/doku.php/doc/appunti/hard
ware/chipset). Rigacci.org. 2006-01-27. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
7. Kent, Allen (1999). Encyclopedia of computer science and technology (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=Q_tqLg5buqYC). New York, NY [u.a.]: Dekker. p. 500. ISBN 9780824722937.
Retrieved September 26, 2015.
8. The Macbook Air: A Sign of Things to Come – Digital Gravitas (http://digitalgravitas.wordpress.
com/2010/10/25/the-macbook-air-a-sign-of-things-to-come/)
9. Jones, George (2004-10-22). "Motherboards & Core-Logic Chipsets: The Deep Stuff | What the
North Bridge and South Bridge Do" (http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=339936).
InformIT.com. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
10. George Jones - Maximum PC 2005 Buyer's Guide - Prentice Hall PTR - ISBN 0-7686-6312-1
11. "Power Mac G5 Developer Note" (https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/H
ardware/Conceptual/PowerMac_G5_05Oct/Articles/PwrMacG5-0510_archi.html).
12. "The Ring Bus & System Agent - Intel's Sandy Bridge Architecture Exposed" (http://www.anand
tech.com/show/3922/intels-sandy-bridge-architecture-exposed/4). Anandtech.com. Retrieved
2015-05-07.
13. "Intel Core i5 2500K and Core i7 2600K (Sandy Bridge) - Introduction" (https://web.archive.org/
web/20160605101205/http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/intel_core_i5_2500k_an
d_core_i7_2600k_sandy_bridge.html). Legionhardware.com. Archived from the original (http://
www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/intel_core_i5_2500k_and_core_i7_2600k_sandy_bri
dge.html) on 2016-06-05. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
14. "Chiplets Are the Future, but They Won't Replace Moore's Law" (https://www.extremetech.com/
computing/280344-chiplets-are-the-future-but-they-wont-replace-moores-law).

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