The Computer Dictionary

Bus

A set of hardware conductors on the motherboard that enable data transfer between the components in a computer system. Bus is essentially the road system within the computer. The "Internal Bus" inter-connects all the components to the processor and the memory banks (RAM Memory).

• Bus Width refers to the amount of bits that can be transferred at one time. So, a 32-bit bus can transfer 32 bits of data at one time.

• Bus Speed is measured in MHz. Bus Width X Bus Speed = amount of transfer possible in one second.

• Front Side Bus (FSB) refers to that section of the bus that transfers data between the components.

• Back Side Bus (BSB) refers to that section of the bus that transfers data between the processor and the L2 Cache.

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