Direct media interface

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Direct Media Interface ( direct media interface , abbreviated DMI ) is a bus on the motherboard .

function

DMI is an interface between the northbridge and the southbridge . On the Northbridge of are main processor (CPU), the memory ( RAM ) and the AGP - slot the graphics card connected. The southbridge controls the I / O interfaces such as hard disk , USB or network interfaces.

The northbridge has recently also been called the memory controller hub ( distributing memory manager ) because information between the processor and the memory is processed via this distributor. The corresponding designation of the Southbridge is I / O Controller Hub ( input-output distributor ) according to its distribution function for input and output information.

history

With a speed of 266 Mbytes / s, the hub interface introduced in 1999 (see Intel ICH, Section ICH5 ) had become too slow, especially for gigabit network cards, so that they were connected to the northbridge with their own data line bypassing the hub interface . With the Intel 9xx series chipset launched in July 2004, the connection between the north and south bridges was changed from the hub interface to the 2.0  GB / s direct media interface in connection with the introduction of PCI Express .

support

The following northbridge devices support DMI:

• Intel 915, 925, 945, 955 and 965
• Intel P35, P45 and P55
• Intel X38, X48 and X58

The following southbridge devices support DMI:

• ICH6, ICH7, ICH8, ICH9 and ICH10
• PCH

See also

• HyperTransport
• Intel QuickPath Interconnect
• Front side bus

literature

• Uwe Brinkschulte, Theo Ungerer: Microcontrollers and microprocessors. Springer, Berlin 2007.
• Patrick Rogers: PC Architecture A Complete Course. Global Media, Delhi 2007.
• Klaus Wust: Microprocessor technology: basics, architectures and programming of microprocessors, microcontrollers and signal processors. Vieweg, Wiesbaden 2008.

Web links

• Nvidia has to reposition itself in the chipset market . In: heise-online . July 15, 2008, accessed December 15, 2009.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Frank Hüber: 925X and 915 Express - The Basics (3/11): Too modern for the here and now? Retrieved December 15, 2009.