What Is the SMBus Controller?

The SMBus is one of many communication channels used by computer hardware.

The System Management Bus, or SMBus, is essentially a wire on a computer's motherboard used to transfer information between the processor and various peripheral devices.

History and Development

The SMBus was developed by Intel for use in their chipsets in 1995. It has since been replaced by faster, better bus technologies in later chipsets.

Speed

The SMBus is a relatively slow data bus. Its speeds range from about 10 kHz to about 100 kHz.

Function

Because the SMBus is slow, it is typically used to communicate with devices that don't need to send large amounts of data very quickly. Some of these devices include clocks, fan sensors, temperature sensors and power-regulation devices.

Common Issues

The most common problem people experience related to the SMBus is lack of drivers. Since the SMBus is used often for power management functions, this may cause problems with a computer hibernating or waking up.

Fixes

Since the SMBus was created by Intel, that company provides drivers for it. The drivers may be downloaded from the Intel website.

References

• Intel: SMBus Chipset Drivers