A Motherboard Secret Perhaps

[EdBakersfield]

I have been unable to learn how many oscillators are used (if any) in a modern motherboard.

 

[TJ Hooker]

Like an oscillator used to generate a clock? Well, there's the BCLK, from which memory and CPU clock frequencies are derived. I think PCIe bus clock is also derived from BLCK, although it uses a different clock source on some platforms so that would be a 2nd oscillator. I'm assuming the PWM controller for the VRMs contains an oscillator. Other buses (e.g. serial bus) might have their own clock sources. Maybe the audio codec as well.

Why do you ask?

 

[EdBakersfield]

I am curious as to how all processes and associated bus are synchronized into a usable input/output schematic. Apparently, there exists "noise" within circuits as well that is somehow mitigated. PCIe, PCH and memory controllers may have different rates of transfer but all interact with the CPU, that has its own frequency albeit faster than everything else. Oscillators, I assume, signal the beginning and end of a process.

 

[TJ Hooker]

Yes, data would be transferred at a rate determined by the clock for the particular interface. The way things are able to work without everything using the same clock is data buffers. So if the CPU needs data from RAM, data will start being read from memory at a rate determined by the memory clock and written to a buffer, from which the CPU can read at its own rate. Same goes with most other interfaces AFAIK. That's my understanding of it anyway.

Not sure what noise you're referring to. Any electronic system will have noise (from different sources), but I'm not sure how that relates to your other questions?