You are now entering the PC Anatomy portal

The Northbridge was a chip on a motherboard that connected the CPU to high-speed components like RAM and the graphics card. It acted as a communication hub for the most demanding tasks in older computer architectures. Today, its functions have been largely integrated into the CPU or a single chipset, making the separate Northbridge chip obsolete.

Function in older computers

Communication hub: Managed data flow between the CPU, system memory (RAM), and graphics slots (like AGP or PCI Express).

High-performance tasks: Handled the highest-performance, fastest data transfers on the motherboard.

Integrated graphics: Some Northbridge chips also included a graphics controller, known as a Graphics and Memory Controller Hub (GMCH).