Difference between interated and discrete chipset

[CanCb]

Can someone please explain to me the difference between an integrated chipset and a discret chipset.

I understand integrated and discrete graphics cards, but I believe a chipset is more than just a graphics card. It includes a northbridge and a southbridge, right?

So what is a discrete chipset?

Thanks and happy holidays to all.

 

[enzo matrix]

There is no such thing as a discrete chipset. There is also no such thing as an integrated graphics card.

The chipset is on the motherboard. Most have an integrated graphics chip these days. You can have this or you can add in a descrete graphics card.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_processing_unit#Dedicated_graphics_cards

So really, there is nothing you don't understand.

 

[sminlal]

The chipset connects the CPU to external devices such as RAM, the PCIe bus and peripherals such as disks, network ports, etc. Discrete means that these functions are contained in physically separate components. Integrated means the functions are built right into the system.

It can be ambiguous because the distinction between "discrete vs. integrated" can refer to placement of the functionality in either removable cards (such as PCIe cards) vs. chips soldered onto the motherboard - but it can also refer to functionality on separate chips soldered onto the motherboard vs. built right into the CPU chip itself. However it's more common to call chips soldered onto the motherboard as "embedded" components rather than "integrated" ones. In computer system parlance it's more common to hear the term "integrated" to refer to functionality built right onto the CPU chip itself.

Moving the memory controller from the Northbridge into the CPU chip (as in the Core i7 CPUs) is an example of moving to an "integrated" memory controller vs. a "discrete" one.

 

[CanCb]

There is no such thing as a discrete chipset. There is also no such thing as an integrated graphics card.

The chipset is on the motherboard. Most have an integrated graphics chip these days. You can have this or you can add in a descrete graphics card.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_processing_unit#Dedicated_graphics_cards

So really, there is nothing you don't understand.

I was asking because if you go on the AMD Website and look up their chipsets, they seperate them into integrated (780, 785) and discrete chipsets (790). I am trying to understand the difference.

 

[sminlal]

I'm not an AMD guru, but it looks to me like they're using "integrated" to describe chipsets that include a graphics processor, and "discrete" to describe chipsets that require the use of a PCIe graphics card.

 

[enzo matrix]

I'm not an AMD guru, but it looks to me like they're using "integrated" to describe chipsets that include a graphics processor, and "discrete" to describe chipsets that require the use of a PCIe graphics card.

I agree.