PCH Architecture
As CPU speeds increased a bottleneck eventually emerged between between the processor and the motherboard, due to limitations caused by data transmission between the CPU and southbridge. Accordingly starting with the Intel 5 Series, a new architecture was used where some functions of the north and south bridge chips were moved to the CPU, and others were consolidated into a Platform Controller Hub (PCH).
- Some northbridge functions, including the memory controller and Graphics (PCI-e) lanes, were integrated into the CPU while the PCH took over the remaining functions in addition to the traditional roles of the southbridge. The northbridge was therefore eliminated.
- Other northbridge functions and all southbridge functions were migrated to a new Platform Controller Hub. These included clocking (the system clock), Flexible Display Interface (FDI) and Direct Media Interface (DMI). The FDI is only used when the chipset requires supporting a processor with integrated graphics.
Read more about this topic: I/O Controller Hub
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