n00b question

[DJ LUCiTE]

Hey all...
What does an on-chip or integrated FSB mean, and how would that affect my buying options for a CPU? Specifically, Athlons. I keep seeing it mentioned everywhere but I can't figure out what it is/does.

Little help here?
Thanks.

 

[BigBadBiologist]

It doesn't mean much of anything. The A64 has an on chip memory controller and has a hypertransport bus to the chipset. Thus, a lot of the marketing BS says that it doesn't really have a front side bus. However, in the most basic of respects, the FSB works similar to all other systems.

As far as buying a CPU, I don't know what you mean. In the AMD world, pretty much if the CPU has the same number of pins as the socket, it will work.

 

[BlueWeasel]

Basically, the memory controller is built into the A64 chips, which results in much faster speeds and less I/O bottlenecks. This reduces latency as the data no longer makes a stop at the Northbridge.

Link 1
Link 2

 

[DJ LUCiTE]

Ah, thanks.
BigBadBiologist: I kinda meant, how would this affect my buying choices for AMD CPUs. Like should I go for one with a built-in memory controller or whatever. But thanks anyway.