Motherboard SouthBridge Chip Packs Serial ATA And RAID Support

Aug. 18, 2003

The VT8237 SouthBridge chip for Intel, AMD, and VIA processor-based motherboards includes what its manufacturer calls the industry's first integrated multiconfiguration serial ATA/RAID controller....

Dave Bursky

The VT8237 SouthBridge chip for Intel, AMD, and VIA processor-based motherboards includes what its manufacturer calls the industry's first integrated multiconfiguration serial ATA/RAID controller. By integrating the features on the motherboard logic chip, the company hopes to drive serial ATA hard-disk-drive technology and RAID into the mainstream. The VT8237 handles four distinct application segments. The VIA DriveStation Controller Suite boasts native support for two 150-Mbyte/s serial ATA channels and RAID. The VIA advanced connectivity suite supports eight USB 2.0 ports and a 10/100-Mbit/s local-area-network interface. The VIA Vinyl multichannel audio suite offers on-board high-quality sound and up to eight output channels. And, the VIA modular architecture platform (V-MAP) provides maximum flexibility to motherboard manufacturers.

VIA Technologies Inc.www.via.com.tw/en/apollo/vt8237.pdf; (886) 2-2218-5452

About the Author

Dave Bursky | Technologist

Dave Bursky, the founder of New Ideas in Communications, a publication website featuring the blog column Chipnastics – the Art and Science of Chip Design. He is also president of PRN Engineering, a technical writing and market consulting company. Prior to these organizations, he spent about a dozen years as a contributing editor to Chip Design magazine. Concurrent with Chip Design, he was also the technical editorial manager at Maxim Integrated Products, and prior to Maxim, Dave spent over 35 years working as an engineer for the U.S. Army Electronics Command and an editor with Electronic Design Magazine.