Method and apparatus for monitoring a row address strobe signal in a graphics controller

A method and apparatus for integrating a row address strobe signal monitoring circuit in a graphics controller is described. The present invention includes an improved graphics controller comprising a bi-directional input/output pad and a row address strobe signal snooping circuit to monitor the row address strobe signal to detect the pre-charge status of the signal prior to a memory access by the graphics controller. The input/output pad of the present invention enables the graphics controller to simultaneously receive and drive a row address strobe signal upon being granted permission to access memory. The row address snooping method of the present invention enables the graphics controller to pre-charge the row address strobe signal while the controller is in an inactive memory access state. Pre-charging the row address signal allows the graphics controller to immediately drive a pre-charged address strobe signal to memory upon receiving permission to access memory; thereby reducing the number of clocks it takes the graphics controller to access memory.