Bus mastering is a bus design that allows peripherals (plug-in boards) to access the computer's memory independently of the CPU. This allows data transfer between the peripherals and the main system memory while the CPU is being used by other devices. Bus mastering usually requires that the adapter or peripheral have its own built-in processor so that it can operate independently of the CPU. A bus-mastering peripheral can control the bus and act as if it were the entire computer system.
In order when Bus Masters, configured properly with other elements of your system, can reduce the CPU's work of retrieving and/or storing data on your hard disk drive or other IDE device.
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