Athlon Motherboard Roundup - March 2000

One of the benefits, for manufacturers, using the 686A Super South Bridge boasts is that it features an integrated AC’97 Digital Audio Controller and an MC’97 Modem controller that enable low-cost, software based Audio and Modem solutions at a minimal cost to the manufacturer.  These two features aren’t supported by the 596B Mobile South Bridge, so motherboards based on that South Bridge naturally will not feature them. 

The integrated AC’97 controller still requires the use of an external Audio codec, but after the codec is placed on the motherboard the physical audio connectors can be placed on the board itself. 

In order to take advantage of the integrated MC’97 controller, you must use an AMR card, but as we mentioned earlier, AMR cards were never intended for public consumption but rather as an option for OEMs or system integrators. 

The integrated AC’97 and MC’97 controllers of the 686A Super South Bridge is a definite advantage for OEMs and system integrators, but for most AnandTech readers motherboard manufacturers better be glad that the codecs don’t cost much to implement on a motherboard design, otherwise there would be hell to pay, especially from the thousands of users that don’t use AMR or software based audio which can eat up a decent part of your CPU time.