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Chapter 1: Introduction
1-9
1-2 Chipset Overview
The Intel® 82945GC contains two components: GMCH (North Bridge) and ICH7R
(South Bridge). The GMCH is used for the host bridge, and the ICH7R, for the I/O
subsystems.
Graphics Memory Controller Hub (GMCH)
The GMCH manages the data ow between its four interfaces: the processor
interface (FSB), the system memory interface (DRAM controller), the integrated
graphics interface, the External Graphics interface, and the I/O Controller through
DMI interface. It provides bus arbitration between the four interfaces when each
initiates transactions. The GMCH supports a 32-byte Cache Line, decoding up to 4
GB (2GB for the 945GC) of the CPU's usable memory address space. The GMCH
also supports one or two channels of SDRAM and the PCI Express-based graphics
attached devices.
The Intel® 945GC platform supports the seventh generation I/O Controller Hub (In-
tel® ICH7R) to provide a multitude of I/O related features. The Direct Media Interface
(DMI) provides the chip-to-chip connection between the GMCH and the ICH7R.
Intel® I/O Controller Hub 7R (ICH7R)
The I/O Controller (ICH7R) provides the data buffering and interface arbitration
required for the system to operate efciently. It also provides the bandwidth needed
for the system to maintain its peak performance. The ICH7R supports PCI slots, Se-
rial ATA ports, USB 2.0 ports and dual channel IDE devices. In addition, the ICH7R
offers the Intel Matrix Storage Technology which provides various RAID options for
data protection and rapid data access. It also supports the next generation of client
management through the use of PROActive technology in conjunction with Intel's
next generation Gigabit Ethernet controllers.