Chapter 1: Introduction
1-9
1-2 Chipset
Overview
The H8DCR-3/H8DCR-i serverboard is based on the nVidia nForce Pro 2200 and
the AMD-8132 chipset. The nVidia nForce Pro 2200 functions as a Media and
Communications Processor and the AMD-8132 as a PCI-X Tunnel. Controllers for
the system memory are integrated directly into the AMD Opteron processors.
nForce Pro 2200 Media and Communications Processor
This MCP is a single-chip, high-performance HyperTransport peripheral controller.
The nForce Pro 2200 includes a 20-lane PCI Express interface, an AMD Opteron
16-bit Hyper Transport interface link, a four-port Serial ATA interface, a dual ATA133
bus master interface and a USB 2.0 interface. This hub connects directly to CPU#1.
The two GLAN (Ethernet) controllers connect directly to the nForce Pro 2200.
8132 HyperTransport PCI-X Tunnel
This hub includes AMD-specifi c technology that provides two PCI-X bridges with
each bridge supporting a 64-bit data bus as well as separate PCI-X operational
modes and independent transfer rates. Each bridge supports PCI masters that
include clock, request and grant signals. This hub connects to the processors
and through them to system memory. It also interfaces directly with the Serial ATA
controller.
HyperTransport Technology
HyperTransport technology is a high-speed, low latency point to point link that was
designed to increase the communication speed by a factor of up to 48x between
integrated circuits. This is done partly by reducing the number of buses in the
chipset to reduce bottlenecks and by enabling a more effi cient use of memory in
multi-processor systems. The end result is a signifi cant increase in bandwidth
within the chipset.
