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Difference between North bridge and South bridge

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The logical architecture chipset consists of two chips namely North bridge and South bridge. 

1. North Bridge : North bridge is one of the two chips located in the direction towards North in the motherboard. The main function of North bridge is to manage the communications between the Central Processing Unit and parts of motherboard. North bridge is directly towards Front Side Bus (FSB). Other names for North bridge are host bridge and Memory Controller Hub (MCH). 

2. South Bridge : South bridge is the another chip of the logical chipset architecture. It is located to the South of Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus in the motherboard. The main function of South bridge is to control the IO functioning. The North bridge is the medium that connects South bridge and Central Processing Unit. IO Controller Hub is the other name given to South bridge for its functionality. 
Difference between North bridge and South bridge :

S.NO North Bridge South Bridge
1. North bridge is located towards the north of motherboard. South bridge is located towards South of PCI bus of the motherboard.
2. North bridge is directly connected to the CPU. South bridge is connected via North bridge to the CPU.
3. It manages the communications between the CPU and other parts of the motherboard. It manages the Input and Output functions.
4. The North bridge is placed near to processor for easy access. The South bridge is placed near PCI.
5. North bridge communicates faster. South bridge communicates slower.
6. Other names for North bridge include Memory Controller Hub, host bridge. IO Controller Hub is the other name for South bridge.
7. The North bridge is hub for memory control. The South bridge is a hub for input and output functioning.
8. The North bridge connects the buses that work faster like the AGP bus. The South bridge connects the buses that work slower like ISA.
9. North bridge looks bigger. South bridge looks smaller.
10. North bridge connects components like RAM, AGP. South bridge connects components like PCI, USB.

Last Updated : 22 Jul, 2022
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