Mobo, Chipset, CPU confusion

[scrapser]

Can someone give me a quick tutorial on the difference between Mobo's and chipsets? I understand what the CPU is and the role it plays but I don't quite follow the mobo/chipset components. I ask because I'm interested in building my own PC next time around. I currently have a Gateway PII-450. I'm interested in a high-end AMD T-Bird CPU, an AMD 760 mobo, and PC2100 DDR ram for my system. I get confused with all the discussion about "chipsets."
Thanks.

-scrapser

 

[dmcmahon]

Chipsets are integrated logic components that do most of the real work of a PC motherboard. They are usually paired, with a "northbridge" that manages communication with the CPU's front-side bus, memory, and the PCI, and a "southbridge" that has features like the IDE controllers, USB controllers, etc. The features of the chipsets will to a very great extent dictate the features that a motherboard will have. For example, Intel's 815 chipset, popular for Pentium IIIs, has a limit of 512M of SDRAM, so all 815-based boards will have this limit. Another example, AMD's 761 northbridge supports PC2100 SDRAM (and only that), so all boards based on this chip will require PC2100 SDRAM. Chipsets are always designed for a specific processor type, so for example you can't use Intel's 815 chipset with an Athlon CPU. The variances tend to be in things like number of PCI slots (5 or 6), the type of AGP slot, extras like on-board LAN, Audio, FireWire, or Raid IDE controllers, and of course quality. If you want to run PC2100, the best chipset is AMD's 761, it has blown away the competitors from ALI and VIA in reviews. That's the northbridge, it will be teamed on most boards with some other chip as the southbridge and you should check these out carefully for any issues. Hope this helps...