Motherboards PC Chips

Intensive and wide implantation of computers in all fields of activity has led to necessity of lowering of their price. One of paths of reaching of this purpose is segmentation of the market of accessories, as is observed now. Really, there are different categories of processors, videoadapters and the hard disks calculated for usage in computers of different productivity, functionality and, that the most important, the different price. There is nothing surprising and that similar processes have concerned also such major accessories as motherboards which also are released taking into account requirements of different sectors of the market.

The sector of the market linked by products High End, usually associates with the large, well advertised corporations. Intels concern their number, ASUSTeK, Abit and permanently delete, for example. d. Their production is usually efficient, reliable, prestigious, well documented, but, as a rule, is rather expensive, that does not allow to use similar products in the cheap computers oriented to the mass user. Usually motherboards of this category are a basis of the systems characterised by high efficiency, ample opportunities, but rather raised price.

On the opposite end of a price spectrum products Low End are allocated. Their main difference — rather low prices. Usually it is production small and the moderate-sized firms, oriented to usage in rather inexpensive systems.

It is necessary to mark, that, despite the low prices of products, the hard competition reigning in this sector of the market of accessories, does not allow to release long time bad quality production. Similar corporations, as a rule, fast stop the activity. Market laws are relentless. They force corporations to be oriented to leading-edge technologies and permanently to bring in the products the various refinements raising quality of their production and expanding them functionality. Therefore it is frequent the products characterised by the reduced price, possess rather quite good productivity and good enough consumer properties. As an example of similar products it is possible to result PC Chips corporation motherboards , the substances presented more low are devoted consideration of the architecture and which testing.

From all variety of cards of this corporation two variants of the motherboards as which basis chip sets of known ALi corporations (Acer Laboratories Inc have served have been selected.) and Intel: M726MRT, M766LMRT.

It is necessary to remind, that practically all modern sets of system logic — chip sets two special chips often named as North Bridge (Northern bridge) and South Bridge (incorporate the Southern bridge). Thus for effective operation of the central processor unit, dynamic storage and the videoadapter chip North Bridge, and for communication facilities with peripheral devices which ROM, the keyboard and the mouse, the built in resources of sound functions, the modem, a local area network etc. concern hard and floppy disks, CD and DVD responds ., — South Bridge. Quite often this chip contains controls for computer functional modes, for example, modes energopotreblenija.

In case of motherboard M726MRT as chip North Bridge uses BXcel (ALi Aladdin Pro II), and South Bridge — M1543C. As a part of motherboard M766MRT the widespread and popular integrated set of system logic i810 from the leader of the computer industry of the corporation of Intel.

In sort of prevalence of the products created on the basis of given chip sets, it is expedient to remind their basic performances.

Chip set ALi Aladdin Pro II is announced as cheap alternative to a specialised set i440BX AGPset. Chips from package ALi Aladdin Pro II are released by a number of corporations under the licence of the implementator — ALi corporations with usage for such products of sonorous names, for example, such as BXcel.

Chip set ALi Aladdin Pro II supports frequency of the bus of the processor (FSB) 60/66/100 MHz, a memory 64-bit wire, parity check and ECC, Bus Mastering and UltraDMA/33, 2 ports IDE, 2 ports USB, SMBus, memory FPM/EDO/SDRAM — to 1 Gbyte SDRAM or to 2 Gbytes FPM/EDO DRAM, AGP 1.0 with modes AGP 1X/2X, PCI 2.1, to 5 PCI, ACPI etc .

The base package of chip set ALi Aladdin Pro II consists of two chips: Memory and PCI Controller — M1621 — North Bridge, PCI to ISA Bridge — M1533 or more perfect chip M1543 — South Bridge.

The chip set i810 (i810 Сhipset) is developed on a basis i440BX AGPset. It is intended for computers of initial level (Basic PC, Value PC). It is optimised for processors of Intel Celeron though can be used and with more powerful processors of type of Intel of Pentium II and intel Pentium III.

The chip set structure i810 is based on usage habovoj architectures (Accelerated Hub Architecture) which allows to optimise structure of the computer and considerably accelerates an informational exchange between computer components.

The high-powered videoadapter is integrated into a chip set i810 with usage of UMA architecture providing selection of a part of the working memory under a video memory, but usage and a separate display cache memory in size to 4 Mb is possible . The chip set i810 has built in 24-bit 230 MHz RAMDAC and resources AGP, IDE, USB, PCI (to 266 Mb per second), etc .

Chip set controllers i810, entering into its structure, support the 64-bit asynchronous bus of memory with frequency of 100 MHz (frequency of the bus of memory can not coincide with frequency of the bus of the processor), working memory size — to 512 Mb, to 2 DIMM; expedition resources 2D/3D, AC ' 97 for the program modem and a sound map, etc .

The base package of a chip set i810 consists of three chips: 82810 Graphics and Memory Controller Hub (GMCH) — North Bridge, 82801 Integrated I/O Controller Hub (ICH) — South Bridge, and also an additional chip 82802 Firmware Hub (FWH).

The architecture and functionality of the resulted motherboards basically are defined by type of applied chips North Bridge and South Bridge, a part used chip sets, and also quantity of DIMM slots defining number of units and sizes of dynamic storage. Besides, it is necessary to consider quantity of PCI slots, presence and types additional to the chips, functionality expanding a set, and also functionality of the special software etc .

The processor

• Processors Slot 1 Intels Celeron, Pentium II/III or Socket 370 Intels Celeron PPGA, frequency of the system bus 66, 100 MHz, overclocking — 66/75/100/112 MHz are supported     

Chip set

• BXcel + M1543

System memory

• Three 168-contact 3 In DIMM slot, supporting to 768 Mb SDRAM/EDO/FPM

AGP

• AGP slot supporting 1x/2x mode

Slots

• 1 AGP, 3 PCI, 1 ISA

The integrated IDE-controller

• 2 channels UltraDMA/33 Bus Master IDE with support to 4 ATAPI-arrangements

Built in Audio

• Chip HT8738AM/PCI providing a fourline sound, full duplex, 24 bits of a stereo, 44 kgts etc .

Input\output ports

• 2 ports USB
• 2 consecutive and 1 parallel port with EPP and ECP
• 1 PS/2-port for mouse hooking up
• Floppy  
• Linear input terminal/output an input terminal

Miscellaneous

• The optional 56 K Fax/Modem unit supporting V.90, V.34, V.32bis, V.32, V.22bis, V.22, Auto Fallback, MNP5, V.42
• Optional resources USB, IR, PS/2

Power supplies plugs — AT/ATX

The size

• Baby-AT A form factor, 22x24 sm