page_title: I/O Controller Hub
section_title: ICH
hierarchical_section_title: I/O Controller Hub / ICH
caption_attribution_description: English: Asus P3C2000 - Intel FW82801AA - I/O Controller Hub (Southbridge). 241 BGA package
context_page_description: I/O Controller Hub is a family of Intel southbridge microchips used to manage data communications between a CPU and a motherboard, specifically Intel chipsets based on the Intel Hub Architecture. It is designed to be paired with a second support chip known as a northbridge. As with any other southbridge, the ICH is used to connect and control peripheral devices.
  As CPU speeds increased data transmission between the CPU and support chipset, the support chipset eventually emerged as a bottleneck between the processor and the motherboard. Accordingly, starting with the Intel 5 Series, a new architecture was used that incorporated some functions of the traditional north and south bridge chips onto the CPU itself, with the remaining functions being consolidated into a single Platform Controller Hub. This replaces the traditional two chip setup.
context_section_description: The first version of the ICH was released in June 1999 along with the Intel 810 northbridge. While its predecessor, the PIIX, was connected to the northbridge through an internal PCI bus with a bandwidth of 133 MB/s, the ICH used a proprietary interface (called by Intel Hub Interface) that linked it to the northbridge through an 8-bit wide, 266 MB/s bus.
  The Hub Interface was a point-to-point connection between different components on the motherboard. Another design decision was to substitute the rigid North-South axis on the motherboard with a star structure.
  Note that, along with the ICH, Intel evolved other uses of the "Hub" terminology. Thus, the northbridge became the Memory Controller Hub (MCH) or if it had integrated graphics (e.g., Intel 810), the Graphics and Memory Controller Hub (GMCH).
  Other ICH features include: 
  PCI Rev 2.2 compliant with support for 33 MHz PCI operations.
  Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) Support
  Integrated IDE controller for Ultra ATA support
  Integrated I/O APIC supporting 24 interrupt sources
  System Management Bus (SMBus) with support for I²C devices
  AC'97 2.1 Compliant Link
  Low Pin Count (LPC) interface
  The ICH came in two flavors:
  82801AA (ICH) - Ultra ATA/66 support, 6 PCI slots, Alert on LAN support
  82801AB (ICH0) - Ultra ATA/33 support, 4 PCI slots, no Alert on LAN
caption: ICH - 82801AA
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