chipsets?

[shmeggegie]

this is a stupid question. I know this. However, that doesn't change the fact that I need to know its answer.

is a chipset just what the mainboard manufacturer chooses to put on its mainboard? basically, what I'm asking is... if I want an athlonxp with the via kt266a chipset, I just buy an athlonxp from amd and a viakt266a based mainboard, right? so the chipset is actually on the motherboard and the processor just fits in the chipset, so to speak.

 

[somerandomguy]

The chipset is (usually, see below) a pair of chips attached to the motherboard. The first chip, the Northbridge, is an interface between the CPU and the memory and AGP. The other chip, the Southbridge, is an interface between the CPU and all of the other components in the computer.
The chipset is attached to the motherboard and can't be removed (without destroying it) so if you want the KT266a chipset then you buy a motherboard that has it. The processor plugs into a socket on the motherboard.

The exceptions with chipsets are as follows:
Some chipsets have both the Northbridge and Southbridge on the same chip.
AMD's upcoming Hammer processors will have the memory controller built into it, and the AGP controller will be built into the Southbridge on the motherboard.
There are others, but nothing you’ll need to know about.

"Ignorance is bliss, but I tend to get screwed over."

 

[Black_Cat]

What's a shmeggegie? My father used to call me that when I was a kid. It sounds Yiddish or something.

What?

 

[shmeggegie]

I'm sorry to break it to you, but (to my knowledge) shmeggegie is Yiddish for "a stupid person."