what's a chipset?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
S

shmeggegie

Distinguished
Feb 9, 2002
122
0
18,680
this is a stupid question. I know this is a stupid question. However, that doesn't change the fact that I need to know its answer. I apologize in advance if anyone thinks I'm a moron for now knowing this:

what exactly is a chipset? I thought that if you wanted a (for example) via kt266a chipset (which I do) you should get a motherboard that supports it and then get the chipset from via, which would include the athlon chip in it. NOW, however, I'm thinking that the motherboard has the chipset built into it, and all I need to do is get the athlonxp chip from amd. Do I finally have it right? Am I just totally inept? help, please, and thanks.
 
alright...well, you're not a moron because you are at least asking....and not telling people that you KNOW.... :smile:
so, here is the answer...
the chipset is made by a chip manufacturing company...EG: VIA.
they make the via kt266a chipset...amone many others.
they sell those chips to motherboard manufacturers, and they put those chips on a motherboard.
the chipset is what controls most things on the motherboard...kind of ties everything together...
a processor is what AMD and INTEL make....(but intel also makes some chipsets, and so does AMD, but most people buy the processors...)
so you buy a motherboard, which has the chipset built into it. there is a socket on the motherboard, where the processor plugs in.
the processor is seperate from the motherboard, until you plug it in its socket, and put the heatsink on it.
the chipset is built in, and not upgradeable...while the processor is upgradeable.

i hope that helps...
:smile:

-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-
 
"A PC consists of different functional parts installed on its motherboard: ISA (Industry Standard Architecture), EISA (Enhanced Industry Standard Architecture) VESA (Video Enhanced Standards Association) and PCI (Peripheral Component Interface) slots, memory, cache memory, keyboard plug etc... Not all of these are present on every motherboard. The chipset enables a set of instructions so the CPU can work (communicate) with other parts of the motherboard. Nowadays most of the discrete chips; PIC (Programmable Interrupt Controller), DMA (Direct Memory Access), MMU (Memory Management Unit), cache, etc... are packed together on one, two or three chips; the chipset. Since chipsets of a different brand are not the same, for every chipset there is a BIOS version. Now we have fewer and fewer chipsets which do the job. Some chipsets have more features, some less. OPTi is such a commonly used chipset. In some well integrated motherboards, the only components present are the CPU, the two BIOS chips (BIOS and Keyboard BIOS), one chipset IC, cache memory (DRAMs, Dynamic Random Access Memory), memory (SIMMs, Single Inline Memory Module, most of the time) and a clock chip."

This is an older definition of chipset. The reference to many chips could be exemplified by the Northbridge and Southbridge on some motherboards.

😎 <b><font color=blue>The Cisco Kid</font color=blue></b> 😎
 
<b><A HREF="http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.yb?term=PCchipset" target="_new"><font color=green>PC Chipset</A></b></font color=green>

:smile: Good or Bad have no meaning at all, depends on what your point of view is.
 
throw in an ibm 75gxp....
and dont use any thermal interface material...
or....forget to take the plastic strip off of a thermal pad...


-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-
 
should I take this to mean that I shouldn't use a via chipset? I mean, as near as I'm able to tell, the soyo kt266a mainboard is a featured board at a lot of retail sites (I know that's not necessarily a good thing.) and the articles here make it seem like its a good board. If there's another suggestion, please let me know. If you were serious about pcChips (I have no idea. I've never built a computer before, but I'd like it to be a good one.) then let me know as well. I really don't know enough hardware, yet. I'm just getting into it now.
 
oh crash is just being E-vol. when he was younger the CEO of via was in america attending a meeting. crash happened to be walking his dog. on their way from the meeting to the airport the CEO's car hit and ran over his dog. (poor pooch, may he rest in peace). since that day, crash has vowed to seek havoc and revenge on via.

just about all the kt266a chipset based boards are winners. the soyo did get good reviews, myself have a gigabyte ga-7vtx-p. i haven't had a problem with stability or speed since installing it.

Dorks = people that use their system specs for sigs.
 
oh..i dont have personal experience with any real recent via chips...
anything within a year or so...havent used personally...
i actually was rushing when i posted the last thing, and it shoul be in the xp333 WILL boot thread...WOOPS!


-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom