MSI MS-6580-060 User Guide - Page 103

MS-6580 ATX Mainboard contents of frequently accessed RAM locations and the addresses where these data items are stored. Chipset A collection of integrated chips designed to perform one or more related functions. For example, a modem chipset contains all the primary circuits for transmitting and receiving data; a PC chipset provides the electronic interfaces between all subsystems. Clock Cycle Clock cycle (or tick) is the smallest unit of time recognized by a device. For personal computers, clock cycles generally refer to the main system clock, which runs at 66 MHz. This means that there are 66 million clock cycles per second. Since modern CPUs run much faster (up to 533 MHz), the CPU can execute several instructions in a single clock tick. CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) CMOS is a widely used type of semiconductor, which features high speed and low power consumption. PCs usually contain a small amount of battery-powered CMOS memory to retain the date, time, and system setup parameters. DRAM (Dynamic RAM) A most common type of computer memory. It usually uses one transistor and a capacitor to represent a bit. As the development of technology, the memory type and specification used in computer becomes variety, such as SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, and RDRAM. For further instruction, please see the table below: Dynamic RAM (DRAM) Memory Technologies Type First Used FPM (60,70ns) 1990 EDO (50,60,70ns) 1994 SDRAM (66MHz) 1996 SDRAM (100MHz) 1998 SDRAM (133MHz) 1999 RDRAM (Direct Rambus) 1999 DDR SDRAM (100MHz) 2000 DDR SDRAM (133MHz) 2000 Clock Rate 25MHz 40MHz 66MHz 100MHz 133MHz 400MHz 100MHz 133MHz Bus* Width Peak Bandwidth 64 bits 200 MBps 64 bits 320 MBps 64 bits 528 MBps 64 bits 800 MBps 64 bits 1.1 GBps 16 bits 1.6 GBps 64 bits 1.6 GBps 64 bits 2.1 GBps Volts 5v 5v 3.3v 3.3v 3.3v 2.5v 3.3v 3.3v * Memory channel width (64 bits started with 75MHz Pentium) Source: Computer Desktop Encyclopedia G-2