The chipset and the RAM

The performance of the RAM is also dependent on the type of chipset used. This is because both Intel and AMD handle the RAM differently.

How does Intel Manages your RAM?

In computers that are using Intel chipset, the processor accesses the RAM via two buses. The first bus is a controller (known as memory controller) that stores the data address in the RAM while the second bus is the data bus that performs the actual transferring of data. (known as the Front Side Bus, or in short, FSB) Whenever the processor needs to retrieve data from the RAM, it will first go to the memory controller to request for the data address, then head to the RAM to retrieve the data. The instruction is then sent via the FSB to the CPU.

How The AMD Chipset Does It?

In AMD, data are retrieved from the RAM in a slightly different way. Since Athlon 64, AMD reinvented the wheel and changed the whole design architecture. They removed the memory controller from the motherboard and integrated it into the CPU. The CPU now has instant access to the data address and is able to retrieve data at a faster rate. This resulted in an improvement of the system performance.

(In the latest release of Intel Penryn and Nehalem CPU, the memory controller has also been integrated to the CPU chip.)