What Motherboard Slot Has Direct Access to The North Bridge?

Being a PC builder means not only being able to build a working PC with all the right parts in all the right places. It also means understanding why all the connections are where they are and knowing the functions of all parts. 

As it did in mine, one of the questions in any beginner PC builder’s mind is about the bridges on the motherboard. Connections to the north bridge and south bridge are different in function. 

So, which components of the PC connect to which bridge becomes essential knowledge. Therefore, the most crucial question is – what motherboard slot has direct access to the north bridge?

To understand this, let us first understand what the north bridge means. 

What is the north bridge?

The north bridge is a chipset. It is the point of connection of all your essential peripherals to the CPU. This means everything that requires optimal computing performance. 

These devices include graphic cards, RAM and storage devices. 

For this reason, the north bridge is also called the MCH or Memory Controller Hub, or GMCH, the Graphics and Memory Controller Hub. 

Since the north bridge connects peripherals that demand high output from your CPU, it is important to know which motherboard slot for the peripheral devices has direct access. 

What is PCIe?

Gamers, PC builders, and anyone who has read a PC specs sheet has heard the term PCIe. So what exactly is it? Well, PCIe is nothing but a high-speed channel for data to transfer to your peripherals. It is simply a highway for data. 

Therefore, your primary PCIe slot will be the highest speed and volume channel. Besides, it must also require the highest computing power. Your primary PCIe slot is where you connect your graphics card, which is certainly a crucial part of your PC build!

What Motherboard Slot has Direct Access to the North Bridge?

Now, to answer our question, let us combine the information we have learned. The north bridge is where you connect peripherals that require optimum computing performance. Your primary PCIe slot is a peripheral that requires high speed and high volume performance.

Do you see where I am going with this? To provide optimum performance to the primary PCIe slot, it must have direct access to the north bridge. Therefore, the primary PCIe slot on the motherboard has direct access to the north bridge.

Conclusion

I hope this article answers your question concisely and provides information as to why this is the case. I truly believe PC building becomes fun and exciting when you know why you’re doing what you’re doing!

To summarize, the primary PCIe slot on your motherboard has direct access to the north bridge to provide optimum computing performance!