Description
This item is from the PC Hardware
FAQ, by Willie Lim and Ralph Valentino with numerous
contributions by others. (v1.25).
2.38 What is bus mastering and how do I know if I have it?
Bus mastering is the ability of an expansion (ISA/EISA/VLB/MCA/etc)
card to directly read and write to main memory. This allows the CPU
do delegate I/O work out to the cards, freeing it to do other things.
For all of the above busses, bus mastering capability is assumed.
Unless specifically stated otherwise (labeled "SLAVE" for instance),
you should assume each slot has this capability. For cards, this is
not assumed. If you want a bus mastering card, you should
specifically request it and expect to pay more. Note that some cards
(RLL/MFM/IDE/com) are not available in bus mastering versions.
A bus mastering card will only work in a slot that supports bus
mastering. If placed in a non-bus mastering slot, it will fail
immediately. A non-bus mastering card will work identically in either
type of slot.
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pc, hardware, faq, frequently asked questions, repair, computer
