CHIPSET in computer
A chipset in computer is defined as a set of electronic components embedded on an integrated circuit in the computer system. The role of the chipset is to manage and control the flow of data between processor, memory, and peripherals. The chipset is located on the motherboard and is often is referred to as a core component of the Motherboard. It determines the performance of the system by controlling communication between the processor and external devices. Due to this, mostly the chipset design is limited to operating on a specific group of microprocessors
INTEL 915 CHIPSET
Intel 915 chipset was introduced in the year 2004. It belongs to the Grantsdale Family and hence code is named as Grantsdale. There are five members in the Intel 915 chipset product Family. They are 915PL,915P,915G,915GV, and 915GVL. These chipsets were the first who make use of the LGA775 socket processor interface. All the chipsets were manufactured using Intel’s 90-nanometre technology (ie.,90 nm Pentium 4 Prescott core). The chipsets were optimized in order to use it with intel’s upcoming Hyperthreading technology. They supported bus speeds of 800MHz. One of the significant revolutions was the development of PCI Express. There are two different types of PCI express slots supported by 915 chipsets
| S.NO | FEATURES | DESCRIPTION |
| 1. | PCI express | It provides high-speed bidirectional connections between add-on cards and chipset supports two PCI express slots a) PCI Express X16- It has 16 lanes which provide performance up to 1600 MBPS in each direction b) PCI Express X16- It has one lane which provides performance up to 100 MBPS in each direction |
| 2. | Memory Type | It supports DDR2 memory of 400 MHz and 533 MHz. It also makes use of DDR Memory |
| 3. | Audio | 915 chipset is the first to support Intel’s High Audio (HDA) technology. It enables premium digital sound and delivers advanced features |
| 4. | Storage Interface Ports | It supports second-generation SATA RAID. Improved storage performance through high speed, efficient storage interfaces support faster transfer rate to improved access |
| 5. | I/O Controller hub | It supports ICH6 family I/O controller hub. |
| 6. | Inter Matrix Technology | It supports Intex Matrix storage technology |
(i) PCI Express X16-
It has 16 lanes which provide performance of up to 1600 MBPS in each direction
(ii) PCI Express X16.
It has one lane which provides performance of up to 100 MBPS in each direction
Besides this, it also supports PCI version 2.3 bus master expansion slots. It supports dual-channel DDR-2 type of memory. Later on, advanced memory standard advanced DDR-2 was introduced which supported an enhanced speed of 533 MHz
915 G offers two options
It has an Intel-integrated graphics media accelerator 900 (900 GMA). GMA 900 supports the partial feature of direct X9 (ie., it doesn’t have pixel shaders in hardware and vertex shaders in software) which is compatible with NVIDIA and ATI
It supports the PCI express slot (PCI-X 16), while all the other chipsets do not support all the chipsets supported I/O controller hub ICH6 family.
INTEL 945 CHIPSET
Intel 945 Chipset was introduced in the year 2005 with Lakeport as its codename. There are three models in Intel 945 chipset
a) 945G
b) 0945 P
c) 945 PL
They have been mainly designed to support Intel’s dual-core Pentium D processors. 945 G and 945 P can handle front-side bus speeds up to 1066 MHz and Dual-channel DDR2 memory up to 667 MHZ. They support external Graphic interface PCI X16, which delivers enhanced bandwidth and also supports the latest graphics cards. Besides this, 945 G includes GMA 950 integrated graphics, which is an advanced version of GMA 900
| S NO. | Features | 945 G | 945 P | 945 PL |
| 1. | CPU | LGA 775 | LGA 775 | LGA 775 |
| 2. | CPU Front Side Bus (FSB) | 1066 MHz | 1066 MHz | 800 MHz |
| 3. | Memory Type | Dual-channel DDR 2 400/553/667 | Dual-channel DDR 2 400/553/667 | Dual-channel DDR 2 400/553/ |
| 4. | Maximum Memory Capacity | 4 GB | 4 GB | 4 GB |
| 5. | Integrated Graphics | GMA 950 | NO | NO |
| 6. | External Graphics | PCI express X16 | PCI express X16 | PCI express X16 |
| 7. | I/O Controller hub | ICH7 Family | ICH7 Family | ICH7 Family |
| 8. | Intel Matrix Storage technology | YES | NO | NO |
| 9. | Storage interface ports | Serial ATA, SATA RAID 5, Matrix RAID | Serial ATA, SATA RAID 5, Matrix RAID | Serial ATA, SATA RAID 5, Matrix RAID |
In addition to providing improved Graphics. GMA 950 supports media expansion cards enabling the user to yield benefits of various video output options from a single card. AlI the 945 family chipset supported the I/O controller Hub of the ICH7 family
INTEL 965 CHIPSET
The chipset was introduced in the year 2006 It belongs to the Broadwater family and hence codes named Grantsdale. It was mainly designed to feature intel core 2 processors such as dual-core and quad-core. The Intel 965 chipset series comprises four different models as discussed below.
| S.NO | Features | Q965 | P965 | G965 |
| 1. | CPU | LGA 775 core 2 DUO | LGA 775 core 2 DUO | LGA 775 core 2 DUO |
| 2. | CPU Front Side Bus (FSB) | 1066/800/553 MHz | 1066/800/553 MHz | 1066/800/553 MHz |
| 3. | Memory Type | Dual-Channel DDR2667/533 | Dual-Channel DDR2667/533 | Dual-Channel DDR2667/533 |
| 4. | Intel Flex Memory Technology | YES | YES | YES |
| 5. | External Graphics | PCI Express X16 | PCI Express X16 | PCI Express X16 |
| 6. | Audio Support | High definition Audio | High definition Audio | High definition Audio |
| 7. | Integrated Graphics | GMA 3000 | NO | GMA X 3000 |
| 8. | Maximum Memory Capacity | 8 GB | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| 9. | I/O Controller hub | ICH78 Family | ICH78 Family | ICH78 Family |
| 10. | Memory Speed | 667/533 MHz | 800/667/533 MHz | 800/667/533 MHz |
(i) P965
p965 chipset is mainly designed to emphasize the needs of home users. It has improvised features like memory performance, and power efficiency. data protection and system responsiveness.
(ii)G965
G965 chipset was introduced specially for the digital home which makes use of Intel’s VIIV platform. It supports the most advanced integrated graphics module GMA 3000 series
(iii) Q965
0965 chipset was specially designed for business users. It works under pro platform. It incorporates an integrated graphics module GMA 3000 and supports the usage of discreet add-on video cards.
(iv) Q963
chipset is a lower-end chipset in the 96 X family. It includes most of the features of (0965 but does not support the installation of the video cards.
