The Origin of 1990s Hardware Headers on Modern Boards
Modern motherboards still come with legacy ports such as Serial (COM), Parallel (LPT), and PS/2 headers, leaving many users wondering why hardware companies continue to include connections from decades ago. According to reporting on XDA-Developers, it is easy to assume these old inputs stay on current circuit boards because manufacturers are simply lazy, but the reality involves specific engineering choices and decades-old licensing standards. Think of it like a plumbing fixture in an old house that remains connected because it is simply easier to leave in place than to redesign the entire wall.
The story starts back in the 1990s, when Intel announced the Low Pin Count (LPC) interface. According to XDA-Developers, the company wanted to get rid of the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, which used a lot more pins than LPC did. The LPC interface used fewer pins than ISA, resulting in lower costs and improved efficiency for hardware OEMs. Intel had a problem at the time: how would it get manufacturers to adopt this new technology?
How Royalty-Free Licensing Drove Industry Adoption
Fortunately for Intel, it had a plan. According to XDA-Developers, Jan Camps, marketing manager for Intel’s Platform Component Division, explained the strategy at the time. Camps stated that as the industry moved toward more powerful, higher bandwidth solutions, carrying older legacy technologies became a burden due to higher pin counts which required more space, cost, and testing procedures. Intel found a way to facilitate this migration through research and development efforts, resulting in lower costs and improved efficiency for hardware original equipment manufacturers and developers, while making higher-performing technologies available more quickly for personal computer users.
Intel opened the specification so the industry could quickly adopt the technology and integrate it into motherboard legacy input/output peripheral development. According to XDA-Developers, this open specification was the main draw Intel used to get people to actually use the new hardware. Companies could use LPC as a royalty-free technology, and with the rapid adoption, Intel could facilitate the move over from ISA much faster.
Super I/O Chips and the Trusted Computing Group
Manufacturing companies quickly adopted the system, and firms such as Nuvoton, ITE, and Winbond found that LPC was a highly efficient bus for their existing Super I/O chips. According to XDA-Developers, these chips are still in our computers today, with support for legacy devices such as Serial, Parallel, PS/2, and floppy drives. Manufacturers also used the Super I/O chip to monitor vital computer variables, such as reading thermal sensors to see how hot the hardware was getting, and controlling the fan speed.
Fast forward to the early 2000s, and the LPC bus had been widely forgotten about apart from legacy peripheral use. It still hung around because it cost very little to include, and because the technology was royalty-free anyway. According to XDA-Developers, the Trusted Computing Group saw potential in this bus and decided it could use the LPC bus to power its new Trusted Platform Module 1.2 chip, a cryptographic coprocessor. All motherboards had one by standard, and the TPM 1.2 chip did not require a ton of bandwidth.
Modern Motherboard Designs And Legacy Ports
According to XDA-Developers, modern motherboards still come with legacy ports such as Serial, Parallel, and PS/2 headers. The COLORFUL iGame X870E ULTRA-S V14 motherboard, for example, features a 16+2+1-phase power design and support for up to 256GB of DDR5 memory, but it does not explicitly mention the inclusion of legacy ports.
However, as reported by XDA-Developers, the presence of these legacy ports can be attributed to the royalty-free licensing agreements and the widespread adoption of the Low Pin Count (LPC) interface. The LPC interface, introduced by Intel in the 1990s, used fewer pins than the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, resulting in lower costs and improved efficiency for hardware OEMs.
The design of modern motherboards, such as the iGame X870E ULTRA-S V14, prioritizes high-performance features like PCIe 5.0 storage and high-speed connectivity, while still maintaining support for legacy devices through the inclusion of legacy ports. This approach allows motherboard manufacturers to cater to a wide range of users, from gamers and PC enthusiasts to content creators and businesses that may still rely on older hardware.
The Role of Royalty-Free Licensing in LPC’s Longevity
Intel’s decision to make the Low Pin Count (LPC) interface royalty-free played a pivotal role in its widespread adoption and longevity. According to XDA-Developers, this strategy allowed manufacturers to integrate LPC without incurring additional costs, which was a significant incentive. By removing financial barriers, Intel ensured that the LPC interface became a standard feature in motherboard designs, even as newer technologies emerged.
The royalty-free nature of LPC not only facilitated its adoption but also encouraged innovation. Manufacturers could experiment with the technology without worrying about licensing fees, leading to its integration into various applications beyond legacy peripherals. This flexibility contributed to the LPC interface’s enduring presence in modern motherboards, where it continues to support both legacy and newer functionalities, such as the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2 chip.
Super I/O Chips and System Monitoring Tasks
Manufacturing companies quickly adopted Intel’s Low Pin Count interface, and firms such as Nuvoton, ITE, and Winbond found that LPC was a highly efficient bus for their existing Super I/O chips. According to XDA-Developers, these chips are still in our computers today, providing support for legacy devices such as Serial (COM), Parallel (LPT), PS/2, and floppy drives.
Beyond handling legacy peripheral connections, manufacturers also used the Super I/O chip to perform vital system monitoring tasks. According to XDA-Developers, these tasks included reading thermal sensors to see how hot the computer’s hardware was getting, as well as controlling the fan speed.
Sources
- Your motherboard still has “useless” headers from the 1990s, and licensing agreements are to blame
- Motherboard
- COLORFUL Launches iGame X870E ULTRA-S V14 Motherboard in India | Loktej Business News
Photo: Phiarc (CC BY-SA 4.0)
