Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Other companies that have introduced high-speed chipset interconnects include the following:
•
VIA
—VIA created the V-Link architecture to connect its North and South Bridge chips at
speeds matching or exceeding Intel hub architecture. V-Link uses a dedicated 8-bit data bus in
three versions: 4x V-Link, 8x V-Link, and Ultra V-Link. 4x V-Link transfers data at 266MBps (4
× 66MHz), which is twice the speed of PCI and matches the speed of Intel's AHA and HI 1.5
hub architectures. 8x V-Link transfers data at 533MBps (4 × 133MHz), which is twice the
speed of Intel's AHA interface. Ultra V-Link transfers data at 1GBps.
•
SiS
—SiS's MuTIOL architecture (also called HyperStreaming) provided performance
comparable to VIA's 4x V-Link; the second-generation MuTIOL 1G used in more recent SiS's
chipsets provides performance comparable to VIA's Ultra V-Link and Intel's DMI
architectures. Chipsets that support MuTIOL use separate address, DMA, input data, and output
data buses for each I/O bus master. MuTIOL buffers and manages multiple upstream and
downstream data transfers over a bidirectional 16-bit data bus.
•
ATI
—ATI (now owned by AMD) used a high-speed interconnect called A-Link in its 9100-
series IGP integrated chipsets. A-Link runs at 266MBps, matching Intel's AHA interface as
well as first-generation V-Link and MuTIOL designs.
In the following sections, let's examine the popular chipsets used from the 486 to the present.
Intel's Early 386/486 Chipsets
Intel's first real PC motherboard chipset was the 82350 chipset for the 386DX and 486 processors.
This chipset was not successful, mainly because the EISA bus was not popular and many other
manufacturers were making standard 386 and 486 motherboard chipsets at the time. The market
changed quickly, and Intel dropped the EISA bus support and introduced follow-up 486 chipsets that
were much more successful.
Table 4.10
shows the Intel 486 chipsets.
Table 4.10. Intel 486 Motherboard Chipsets
