Build A PC
A custom PC configuration guide.
© 2000,2001,2002 by Jef Poskanzer.
Chipsets
The chipset interfaces the CPU to the motherboard.
It determines many of the basic capabilities of your system.
Currently, chipsets are being made by
Intel,
VIA,
AMD,
ALi,
SiS, and
ServerWorks.
NVidia.
Here's a table showing the features supported by the various current chipsets:
- Intel i875P
-
A new high-performance P4 chipset.
Has an 800MHz FSB and supposet dual-channel DDR400/PC3200 memory.
- Intel i870
-
An upcoming chipset for Xeon and IA64 servers.
Uses DDR memory.
Supposedly will support up to 16-way multiprocessing.
- Intel i845GL
-
A stripped-down version of the i845G.
It still has integrated graphics, but does not support an AGP slot.
Also, the FSB speed is back down to 400MHz instead of 533.
- Intel i845G
-
The i845E plus integrated graphics.
- Intel i845E
-
This version of the i845 supports DDR memory, the 533MHz FSB, and USB 2.0.
However it does not support PC2700 memory, which other 533MHz FSB chipsets
do support.
- Intel i845D
-
The i845 modified to support DDR memory.
- Intel i845
-
Intel's second chipset for the Pentium IV.
This one supports non-RAMBUS memory.
Not DDR, though, only PC133 so far.
- Intel i860
-
The chipset for the Pentium IV Xeon, using the mPGA-603 socket.
Again only RAMBUS memory.
- Intel i850E
-
An update to the i850 to support a 533MHz FSB.
- Intel i850
-
The first chipset for the Pentium IV.
It only supports RAMBUS memory, which sucks.
Here's a
good article from Thresh's Firing Squad
explaining why, and a
huge article from Tom's Hardware
going into even more detail.
It seems to have some problems supporting high-bandwidth PCI devices, too.
I have to recommend avoiding this chipset for now.
- i815 / i815e / i815ep
-
Intel's first chipset with native support for PC133 memory.
This represents an about-face for Intel, which previously had claimed
that RAMBUS was the future and they would never support PC133.
Still, it remains to be seen whether Intel put in the effort to
make the i815 perform as well as it should; say, as well as the
old 440BX overclocked to 133MHz, which typically benchmarks faster
than i820 and even i840 boards.
Also available: the i815e, with support for ATA/100, and four USB ports
instead of two; and the i815ep.
None of these chipsets supports ECC, and they are limited to 512MB max
total memory.
- i840
-
A high-end chipset.
Unfortunately it's designed to use the RAMBUS memory architecture,
which sucks.
However, this chipset has two parallel RAMBUS channels.
As you can see from the bandwidth table, this
means a theoretical memory bandwidth of 3.2 GB/s, which can't be beat.
Actual bandwidth may be less, though.
The i840 also implements 64-bit 66MHz PCI.
Not all i840-based boards have this, but some do.
You can get fast/wide PCI with the
ServerWorks chipsets, but if you must use
Intel then this is kinda sorta ok.
- i820
-
A mid-range chipset.
Also suffers from RAMBUS brain damage, and has no redeeming qualities.
Avoid the i820.
- i810 / i810e / i810e2
-
For small systems.
It includes video, which is good for co-located boxes or compute
servers that don't even need a monitor most of the time.
However it doesn't implement ECC memory - to me this is almost a show-stopper.
- 450NX
-
An old high-end chipset.
This was designed for the Xeon processors, and supported up to four of them.
It had a nice I/O architecture, supporting multiple separate PCI segments
including 64-bit PCI.
However it did not support 66MHz PCI.
- 440GX
-
An old mid-range chipset.
Not much to say about it, use the 440BX instead.
- 440BX
-
An old low-end chipset.
This is still an excellent performer, and should not be overlooked merely
because it's from a couple years ago.
That just means they've had time to work the bugs out.
People are still designing new motherboards using this chipset.
It's very overclockable, if you're into that.
There's a lot of info at bxboards.com.
- VIA P4X266
-
The first non-Intel chipset for the Pentium IV.
Supports non-RAMBUS DDR memory.
No other word yet.
- VIA ProSavage PM266
-
The VIA Pro133a with DDR memory and integrated high-performance video.
- VIA ProSavage PM133
-
This is just the VIA Pro133a with integrated high-performance video.
- VIA Apollo Pro266
-
An update of the Pro133a to handle DDR memory.
- VIA Apollo Pro133a
-
This chipset from VIA was the first mass-market one to really implement
PC133 memory.
Most 440BX boards can handle 133MHz memory via overclocking, and the i820/i840
can handle it badly via a translator dohickey, but the Pro133A does
it natively.
- VIA Apollo KT266a
-
A modified version of the KT266, with much better memory performance.
- VIA Apollo KT266
-
VIA's DDR Athlon chipset.
- VIA ProSavage KM133
-
Another VIA Athlon chipset. Like the Pentium ProSavage chipsets, this
one has integrated high-performance video.
- VIA Apollo KT133a
-
Another VIA Athlon chipset - an update of the KT133.
Handles the newer 266MHz (133MHz DDR) FSB used by "C"-type Athlons.
Doesn't support ECC
- VIA Apollo KT133
-
VIA's Athlon chipset, like their Pro133A one for Pentiums, handles
PC133 memory natively.
Doesn't support ECC
- VIA Apollo KX133
-
VIA's old Athlon chipset, for Slot-A boards.
Now obsolete.
- VIA Apollo MVP3 / MVP4
-
VIA's old socket-7 chipsets.
Now obsolete.
- AMD 760MP
-
AMD's reference Athlon chipset with DDR memory and dual-CPU capability.
Looks like this may also implement 64-bit PCI, which would be great.
- AMD 761
-
AMD's reference Athlon chipset with DDR memory.
Note that while AMD calls this the 760, everyone else calls it the 761.
- AMD 750
-
AMD's reference chipset for the Athlon (K7) chip.
It benchmarked significantly slower than the VIA KX133/KT133, and few
boards used it.
- ALi Aladdin P4
-
An upcoming Pentium-IV chipset with DDR memory support.
- ALi Aladdin TNT2
-
A Pentium chipset with integrated high-performance video.
- ALi MAGiK 1
-
An Athlon chipset with DDR memory support.
Doesn't support ECC.
- ALi Aladdin 5 / Aladdin 7
-
ALi's old socket-7 chipsets.
- SiS 650
-
P4 chipset. Supports PC2700 (DDR333) memory.
Integrated video?
- SiS 645
-
P4 chipset. Supports PC2700 (DDR333) memory.
- SiS 745
-
Like the 735.
- SiS 735
-
Like the 730 but adds DDR support.
Doesn't support ECC.
- SiS 730
-
An Athlon chipset, otherwise similar to the SiS 630.
Doesn't support ECC.
- SiS 635
-
Like the 630 but adds DDR support.
Doesn't support ECC.
- SiS 630
-
A reasonable offering from Silicon Integrated Systems.
This combines north and south bridges into a single highly integrated chip.
Features ATA/100, DVD decoding, onboard audio and video.
Doesn't support ECC.
- ServerSet III LE / WS / HE
-
These similar chipsets are all very high-end.
They support PC133 memory, and 64bit/66MHz PCI.
I think the main difference between the three is the memory architecture:
the WS does two-way memory interleaving, and the HE does four-way!
If you can find a motherboard that implements it (I haven't),
that's a theoretical memory bandwidth of over 4 GB/s!
- nForce 420D
-
A new Athlon chipset from a new manufacturer.
Has integrated video based on the GeForce2 MX.
Also has a 128-bit memory bus, but this is only active if your memory
modules are installed in identical pairs.
[Intro]
[CPUs]
[Sockets]
[Bandwidth]
[Motherboards]
[Motherboard Forms]
[Memory]
[PCI Types]
[Disks]
[Other Components]
[Examples]
[Assembly]
[Links]
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