A
northbridge or
host bridge is one of the two chips in the core logic
chipset architecture on a
PC motherboard, the other being the
southbridge. Unlike the southbridge, northbridge is connected directly to the CPU via the
frontside bus (FSB) and thus responsible for tasks that require the highest performance. The northbridge is usually paired with a
southbridge, also known as
I/O controller hub. In systems where they are included, these two chips manage communications between the
CPU and other parts of the motherboard, and constitute the core logic
chipset of the PC motherboard.