I think this is the new architecture I tried to show you. http://www.maximumpc.com/reprint/archives/archive24i.html http://www.maximumpc.com/reprint/archives/archive24j.html The article starts at http://www.maximumpc.com/reprint/archives/archive24.html Intel's Accelerated Hub Architecture manages data flow through two primary hubs. The Graphics and Memory Controller Hub pipes data across several channels between the CPU, the AGP card, and system memory. The I/O Controller Hub accelerates the connection between the IDE controllers, the USB ports, and the PCI bus. As opposed to the bandwidth limitation inherent in the old northbridge and southbridge architecture, the two hubs are connected via a dedicated, high-speed bus. Low-cost motherboards have been bottlenecked by integrated video chipsets sharing resources with system memory (called UMA, or Unified Memory Architecture), forcing the speed of the AGP bus down to a paltry 66MHz and delivering poor gaming performance. With the 810 chipset, code-named Whitney, Intel is offering a low cost chipset that addresses these problems. The 810's new hub architecture includes a dedicated "interlink" bus that communicates directly between the CPU, the system memory, the PCI bus, and the integrated AGP video chipset. With a width of 64 bits and a speed of 133MHz in 2x mode, the interlink bus boasts a beefy bandwidth of 1,064MB/sec-twice that of the PCI bus. The interlink bus connects the 810's two main hubs, the Graphics and Memory Controller Hub and the I/O Controller Hub, enabling a direct connection from graphics and memory to I/O devices such as IDE controllers, dual USB ports, and PCI add-in cards. And perhaps best of all, the 810's interlink bus will effectively do away with the ISA bus. Exits are located at the fore and aft of the cabin. Also see http://www.maximumpc.com/reprint/chips/index.html re all the chipsets. reprinted from Maximum PC, July 2000 Chipset Shop Talk: The Chips Intel 440BX The Intel BX chipset is getting a bit long in the tooth, but it remains the chipset of choice for enthusiasts. As the longstanding de-facto chipset for Pentium II/III and Celeron CPUs, the 440BX is exceedingly flexible, and a true tweaker's delight. New BX motherboards have been retrofitted to support the faster bus speeds and lower voltage requirements of Intel's 1GHz Coppermines, extending the life of this venerable chipset. Though it doesn't support ATA/66 or AGP 4x, and won't "officially" sustain the new 133MHz frontside bus found on some Coppermine CPUs from Intel, the BX chipset still makes a good showing. Officially supported bus speeds: 66Mhz, 100MHZ Total memory support: 1GB SDRAM Max. CPUs supported: 2 IDE support: ATA/33 AGP speeds: 1x, 2x Intel 810e Following the tragedy that was the 810 chipset and the calamity that was the 820 chipset, Intel scrambled for a chipset that could support Coppermine CPUs. Its initial answer? The catastrophe that is the 810e chipset. The 810e integrates Intel's i752 graphics capabilities directly into the northbridge; as a result, 810e motherboards have no need for AGP expansion slots. Thus, the 810e was hardly the best option for a brand spankin' new P-II or III. Though not a bad option for an entry-level Celeron system, the 810e has no place in a high-end machine. However, the 800-series (810, 820, and 840) did herald a new era of chipset functionality. Rather than connecting the north and southbridges by the PCI bus alone, Intel created north and south "hubs" linked with a dedicated high-speed bus, resulting in faster data transfers between the two. Officially supported bus speeds: 66MHz, 100MHz, 133MHz Total memory support: 512MB Max. CPUs supported: 1 IDE support: ATA/66 AGP speeds: 2x Intel 820 The eleventh-hour discovery of a flaw within the 820 chipset delayed its initial release. When it finally did appear, the 820's support for RDRAM-and the extra costs associated with it-resulted in lackluster sales. Intel responded by introducing the memory translator hub (MTH), which is designed to convert RDRAM signals to SDRAM and allow the use of standard-and inexpensive-SDRAM on 820 boards. But the MTH introduced additional overhead and bugs to the 820 equation, in the form of performance problems and incompatibilities with SDRAM. At press time, Intel was recalling all 820 motherboards with SDRAM support, and offering 820 RDRAM boards in exchange. Officially supported bus speeds: 66MHz, 100MHz, 133MHz Total memory support: 1GB RDRAM (or SDRAM with MTH) Max. CPUs supported: 2 IDE support: ATA/66 AGP speeds: 1x, 2x, 4x reprinted from Maximum PC, July 2000: Chips on the Rise Intel 815: Very little is known about this chipset, but it's rumored to combine the best features of the BX with those of the 820. Support for Coppermine, PC133 memory, AGP 4x, and the newly announced ATA/100 specification are all expected. Intel 820e: It's been predicted that with the 820e, Intel will address the original 820's problems with support for more than two RIMMs, and added support for ATA/100. AMD 760: With the 760, AMD should regain its title as performance leader in Athlon chipsets. The major changes here will be support for AGP 4x and for DDR-SDRAM, which can transfer data on the rising and falling edges of the clock, resulting in twice the bandwidth of PC133 memory. AMD 760MP: As if 760's DDR-SDRAM support wasn't cool enough... AMD's 770 chipset should offer the same features that the 760 has, with one major addition: dual-processor support. It's two, two, two procs at once-and there just can't be anything bad about that. VIA KZ133: VIA's KZ133 should address the problems that make its KX133 chipset incompatible with AMD's Thunderbird Athlon. Slated for release this summer, the KZ133 will ship solely in Socket A flavor, and will sustain AGP 4x, PC133 SDRAM, and improved support for ATA/66. VIA Apollo Pro 2000: VIA is expected to first bring PC2100 DDR memory support with its Apollo Pro 2000 later this year. With AGP 4x and, most likely, ATA/100 in the southbridge, the Apollo Pro 2000 will give Intel's 820e a run for its money. VIA K7-DDR: With its K7-DDR chipset closely following the Apollo Pro 2000, VIA is out to show that it's as big a supporter of AMD silicon as it is of Intel's. VIA will serve up seconds with its new Athlon chipset, but they won't be sloppy. The feature set is expected to be on par with the Apollo Pro 2000 with AGP 4x, ATA/100, and PC2100 DDR support.