A Northbridge or host bridge is an Intel chipset which communicates with the computer processor and it is placed in the core logic chipset architecture on a PC motherboard. It is connected directly to the CPU via the front-side bus (FSB) and it is responsible for tasks that require the highest performance. The northbridge is usually paired with a Southbridge which is also known as I/O controller hub. In the system, these two chips manage communications between the CPU and other parts of the motherboard which constitute the core logic chipset of the PC motherboard.