- Jul 27, 2002
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What is an interconnect?
Every component inside/outside of your PC needs to communicate with other components in order for them to work. You may notice some external hard drives come equipped with more than one way to connect to your PC. Likewise, when you purchase your video card you want to make sure what kinds of 'connection' that your motherboard supports and decide on which to use.
An interconnect is, in a way, how different parts of computers communicate to each another. PCI Express connects your video cards, SATA connects your hard disks, USB 2.0 connects your memory sticks. While there are countless interconnects, the basic goal is the same - send data over as fast and efficient as possible.
Then why not make a universal interconnect so that we can avoid confusion?
Hopefully some day it will happen - when the world becomes the perfection. But until then, the constantly evolving nature of technology means that people are bound to find/invent a better way to make your computer parts communicate.
How are interconnects measured?
Thankfully, we're living in a digital world and that means everything is bits and Bytes. You may have heard of it elsewhere that every form of digital data comes down to 0 (zero) and 1 (one). That is correct. The smallest unit in the digital world is a bit, and it can either be 0 or 1. Amazing, isn't it? The picture you've just taken with your digital camera (say it's you and your significant other) is nothing more than a compilation of 0's and 1's to your computer!
So?
So an interconnect is measured by how fast it can transfer 0's and 1's, that is, how many bits and Bytes it can transfer in a second. This is called 'Bandwidth'. See? We're getting somewhere. 100MB/s, 1Gb/s, etc. A Byte is generally a group of 8 bits (Don't ask me why), and the two are usually differentiated by upper case 'B' (for Bytes) and lower case 'b' (for bits).
Beats me. Some are usually measured in bits and others are in Bytes. If you know the reason, please let me know. I will make sure to give credit.
Meanwhile, just for you, I have compiled some of the common interconnects in modern motherboards so that one could see the relative standings of various interconnects. You will know which measure to use (bits or Bytes) when you see them. Please note: Absolute speed isn't everything. Many interconnects have been invented with specific devices in mind. Some of them are even proprietary. There are cases where you can compare one with another, and there are cases where you cannot. Besides, most, if not all, of these values are either 'theoretical max', 'average' or even 'approximation'.
This list is a work-in-progress and by no means will be error-free. I will add more listings over time, and comments or suggestions are welcome, of course. Standard disclaimer applies: I cannot guarantee the accuracy or practicality of this information. Use this at your own risk.
Every component inside/outside of your PC needs to communicate with other components in order for them to work. You may notice some external hard drives come equipped with more than one way to connect to your PC. Likewise, when you purchase your video card you want to make sure what kinds of 'connection' that your motherboard supports and decide on which to use.
An interconnect is, in a way, how different parts of computers communicate to each another. PCI Express connects your video cards, SATA connects your hard disks, USB 2.0 connects your memory sticks. While there are countless interconnects, the basic goal is the same - send data over as fast and efficient as possible.
Then why not make a universal interconnect so that we can avoid confusion?
Hopefully some day it will happen - when the world becomes the perfection. But until then, the constantly evolving nature of technology means that people are bound to find/invent a better way to make your computer parts communicate.
How are interconnects measured?
Thankfully, we're living in a digital world and that means everything is bits and Bytes. You may have heard of it elsewhere that every form of digital data comes down to 0 (zero) and 1 (one). That is correct. The smallest unit in the digital world is a bit, and it can either be 0 or 1. Amazing, isn't it? The picture you've just taken with your digital camera (say it's you and your significant other) is nothing more than a compilation of 0's and 1's to your computer!
So?
So an interconnect is measured by how fast it can transfer 0's and 1's, that is, how many bits and Bytes it can transfer in a second. This is called 'Bandwidth'. See? We're getting somewhere. 100MB/s, 1Gb/s, etc. A Byte is generally a group of 8 bits (Don't ask me why), and the two are usually differentiated by upper case 'B' (for Bytes) and lower case 'b' (for bits).
- 1 Byte = 8 bits
1 Kb = 1,000 bits | 1 Mb = 1,000,000 bits | 1 Gb = 1,000,000,000 bits or 1,000 Mbits
1 KB = 1,000 Bytes | 1 MB =1,000,000 Bytes | 1 GB = 1,000,000,000 Bytes or 1,000 MBytes
...
1 Kb/s = 1,000 bits per second
1 KB/s = 1,000 Bytes per second
...
Beats me. Some are usually measured in bits and others are in Bytes. If you know the reason, please let me know. I will make sure to give credit.
Meanwhile, just for you, I have compiled some of the common interconnects in modern motherboards so that one could see the relative standings of various interconnects. You will know which measure to use (bits or Bytes) when you see them. Please note: Absolute speed isn't everything. Many interconnects have been invented with specific devices in mind. Some of them are even proprietary. There are cases where you can compare one with another, and there are cases where you cannot. Besides, most, if not all, of these values are either 'theoretical max', 'average' or even 'approximation'.
This list is a work-in-progress and by no means will be error-free. I will add more listings over time, and comments or suggestions are welcome, of course. Standard disclaimer applies: I cannot guarantee the accuracy or practicality of this information. Use this at your own risk.
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