Chapter 1: Introduction
1-2 Chipset Overview
The H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 serverboard is based on the nVidia MCP55 Pro and AMD- 8132 chipset. The MCP55 Pro functions as Media and Communications Processor (MCP) and the AMD-8132 as a PCI-X Tunnel. Controllers for the system memory are integrated directly into the AMD Opteron processors.
MCP55 Pro Media and Communications Processor
The MCP55 Pro is a single-chip, high-performance HyperTransport peripheral controller. It includes a 28-lane PCI Express interface, an AMD Opteron 16-bit Hyper Transport interface link, a six-port (3 Gb/s) Serial ATA interface, a dual-port Gb Ethernet interface, an ATA133 bus master interface and a USB 2.0 interface. This hub connects directly to CPU#1.
AMD-8132 HyperTransport PCI-X Tunnel
This hub includes AMD-specific 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 up to five 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 and Ethernet controllers.
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 efficient use of memory in multi-processor systems. The end result is a significant increase in bandwidth within the chipset.