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The Front Side Bus (FSB) is the primary interface between the CPU and the rest of the motherboard. This contains the clock circuit that drives the CPU. When selecting a CPU/motherboard combination, you want to match the FSB speed to the CPU's speed for the best performance. A speed mismatch will cause the system to run at the highest mutually-available speed.
The FSB also determines the fastest memory speed. For best performance, be sure that your FSB matches your RAM speed. As with a CPU/FSB mismatch, the memory subsystem will operate at the fastest mutually available speed if there is a mismatch between your RAM speed and your FSB speed.
Some motherboards allow you to manually set the FSB speed and clock multiplier using jumpers or settings in the BIOS. Many hobbyists will use this to make a CPU run at a speed higher than its rated speed (Intel and AMD make special processors with unlocked clock multipliers for this purpose). This may or may not be successful. Whether it works or not, this is the realm of the hobbyist and should never be done in a business setting.
You don't need to know much about the Northbridge and Southbridge chips, but they are mentioned here because they are major parts of the computer. The Northbridge interfaces directly with the CPU over the front side bus. The Northbridge then interfaces with the memory subsystem, the AGP slot (if present), the graphics processor (GPU), the PCI Express bus, and the Southbridge.
The Southbridge interfaces with the PCI bus, any onboard graphics controller, the ROM BIOS, and the Multi-I/O system (serial port, parallel port, floppy disk, keyboard, and PS/2 mouse).
AMD integrated the functions of the Northbridge into the CPU in the early 2000s. The newest Intel CPUs have also incorporated the Northbridge functions into the CPU die. This replacement for the Northbridge is called the system agent on Intel's sandy bridge architecture CPUs.
AMD has incorporated the GPU onto the same die as some CPU chips. These chips are called Accelerated Processing Units (APUs).
1. While troubleshooting problems with memory access, you determine that the memory modules are good, so the memory controller must have failed. What should be replaced?
a. You will most likely
replace the motherboard. However, most newer Intel CPUs have the Northbridge
functions on the CPU die, in which case you will replace the CPU.
Glue logic is the auxiliary chips that interface between the CPU
and other major subsystems. These are often off-the-shelf circuits such as 7400
and 4000 series logic circuits, but may also be programmable logic devices.
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