What Is System Bus?

The system bus is the pathway between your processor and memory. It's like a highway for data but with more cables and connectors. The system bus combines the functions of the three main buses: the data, address and control buses. Each of those has its characteristics and responsibilities. For example, the data bus is responsible for transferring information from one place to another, like when you're sending an email or taking notes in class (or even just scrolling through Facebook). The address bus helps you figure out where to send that information so it gets where it needs to go. The control bus ensures everything happens when it should, like when you're playing video games or watching Netflix on your computer! The system bus usually runs at the same speed as the CPU, but some systems have a multi-speed bus; the speed of the system bus is independent of the CPU speed. The system bus width (the number of bits it transfers at one time) is usually 32 or 64. The system bus architecture varies from one system to another, but there are some standard features. The most common system buses today are the Advanced Graphics Port (AGP), Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) and Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP). AGP and PCI are used as host bus interface standards for computer systems. AGP is used in computer graphics cards, and PCI is used for everything else. PCI has been around for over a decade but is still the most commonly used standard for computer system buses. PCI is used for everything from network cards to hard drives. In addition to AGP and PCI, there are other system bus standards, including VME and RapidIO. The system bus is the highway that lets you get where you're going. The system bus is the connection between the motherboard and the CPU. It's like a superhighway for data and determines how fast your computer runs. A speedier system bus means that everything else has to be up to speed for optimal performance.