There are many hardware components and we may not know what each of them is, what parts make up a device and what are the concepts that we may need to know. For example, what is the chipset. We have heard about the chipset many times or read about it in tutorials and specifications, but what is it? What function does it have or why is it one of the most important elements?
Although it is a complex and long concept to explain, in the next few paragraphs we will try to define the chipset in the simplest way possible so that you can understand what it is, what it is for or what its main mission is. Hardware manufacturers have been working on this chipset for years, although technology has now advanced and its meaning has changed, usually referring to the PCH as a “chipset”, as we will see in the next few paragraphs…
What is chipset
A computer or device is made up of a series of circuits and components that you already know, such as the graphics card, for example. And among them, the chipset. The chipset is the brain of a computer’s motherboard. The one that controls and is in charge of organizing all the data between the processor and the rest of the components that the computer has.
That is to say… your graphics card or your hard drive or your mouse emit a series of data. When you type you output data. When you move the mouse you emit data. What the chipset does is function as a control center, as traffic control on the motherboard… It manages the data traffic of the computer’s components in the most efficient way possible, thus achieving good performance.
Components and parts of a chipset
The chipset is made up of two chips or bridges, the north bridge and the south bridge. Or, in their original names, the North Bridge or South Bridge. They are two unique chips with specific goals and are known by these names due to their location on the motherboard: at the top or north side and at the bottom or south side. Although these have been the usual components, the chipset today has changed a lot and does not follow this structure… the north bridge has disappeared and its “ missions ” are carried out from the processor.
The NB was connected to the processor and the SB was connected to it and from there to the processor. And it is precisely to the South Bridge where the data or details of hard drives, audio, USB controllers… arrive. And everything is managed or organized from here.
Or it was managed, because the form has changed. Although the structure and parts have always been North Bridge or South Bridge, a more modern system has now been developed. Currently, you will have seen it in information from AMD or Intel, the South Bridge has been replaced by the PCH or, what is the same, the Platform Controller Hub. Intel introduced this term or this form in 2009 as a substitute for the classic chipset…
