ICT
1ST QUARTER
INSTRUCTOR: DR. WENDY WRITER
[email protected]
Motherboard
- is the main printed circuit board (PCB) in a computer. The motherboard is a
computer's central communications backbone connectivity point, through which all
components and external peripherals connect.
● Form factors of motherboards
○ extended ATX
○ mini-ATX
○ micro ATX
○ BTX
○ micro BTX
○ mini-ITX
○ micro ITX
○ nano-ITX
○ AT
○ ATX
How do motherboards work?
● the PCB of a large motherboard may include six to 14 layers of fiberglass, copper
connecting traces and copper planes for power and signal isolation. Other
components get added to a motherboard through expansion slots. These include
processor sockets; dual in-line memory modules; Peripheral Component
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Interconnect (PCI), PCI Express (PCIe) and solid-state drive M.2 slots; as well as
power supply connections.
● A heatsink and fan manage the heat components such as the CPU generate.
Typically motherboards offer additional connectivity through a Southbridge chip
such as PCI, Serial Advanced Technology Attachment or SATA, Thunderbolt, USB and
other interfaces.
● The CPU is generally connected to double data rate 3 (DDR3), DDR4, DDR5 or
onboard LPDDRx RAM and PCIe. This is done through point-to-point interconnects
such as HyperTransport, Intel's QuickPath Interconnect and Ultra Path Interconnect.
Choosing a motherboard often determines many features a computer will support.
Components of a motherboard
Expansion Slots
These days, most motherboards feature just two slot types: the long PCIe x16 and the short
PCIe x1 slot. You may occasionally see an x4 slot (which sits between those two in length,
but they’re pretty rare. And since you can install an x4 or an x1 card into an x16 slot, x4
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slots aren’t all that useful unless you’re holding on to an old expansion card (that somehow
has modern drivers) and you want to use your x16 slots for graphics cards.
Rear Ports
22. PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse port 23. USB 3.0/3.1 Gen1 ports
24. DisplayPort 25. HDMI port
26. USB Type-C 27. USB 3.1 Gen2
28. Ethernet port 29. Analogue/digital audio ports
1. CPU (Central Processing Unit) chip
CPU is the electronic circuitry in a computer that executes instructions that make up a
program. It is also known as a central processor or the main processor. The CPU executes
the basic logic, arithmetic, controlling as well as input/output (I/O) operations specified by
the instructions in the desktop programs.
2. RAM (Random Access Memory) slots
RAM is a kind of computer memory that can be read and written. It is mainly used to save
data and machine code. A RAM device permits data to be read or written in nearly the
same amount of time no matter where the data’s physical location is in the memory.
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Compared to the direct-access storage devices like hard drives, CD/DVD and magnetic
tapes, RAM media is much faster for data reading and writing.
MiniTool
20 Main Motherboard Components and Their Functions
This essay from MiniTool will introduce you with 20 major components of a motherboard
together with their basic information including their functions.
On This Page :
Motherboard Components and Their Functions
What Are the Two Main Components on the Motherboard?
According to Wikipedia, a motherboard is the main printed circuit board (PCB) in common
computers (both desktops and laptops) as well as other expandable systems. It is also
known as a mainboard, main circuit board, system board, baseboard, logic board, planar
board or mobo.
Motherboard Components and Their Functions
There are many components found in a motherboard. Some of them are major
motherboard components while others are not. The following is a motherboard
components list.
How to Update Graphics Card Drivers (NVIDIA/AMD/Intel)?
How to Update Graphics Card Drivers (NVIDIA/AMD/Intel)?
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This post covers the ways for how to update graphics card drivers of NVIDIA, AMD and Intel
in Windows 10/11, both desktop and laptop.
READ MORE
20 Major Motherboard Components
CPU (Central Processing Unit) chip
RAM (Random Access Memory) slots
Southbridge/northbridge
BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)
I/O port
USB (Universal Serial Bus)
CPU slot
PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slot
AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) slot
ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) slot
Parallel port
FDC (Floppy-Disk Controller)
IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) controller
CMOS (Complementary Metal-oxide-semiconductor) battery
Power supply connector
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Mouse and keyboard ports
DIP (Dual In-line Package) switch
Jumper
Heat sink/heatsink (cooling system)
Clock generator
1. CPU (Central Processing Unit) chip
CPU is the electronic circuitry in a computer that executes instructions that make up a
program. It is also known as a central processor or the main processor. The CPU executes
the basic logic, arithmetic, controlling as well as input/output (I/O) operations specified by
the instructions in the desktop programs.
[Step by Step] How to Update CPU Drivers Windows 10/11?
[Step by Step] How to Update CPU Drivers Windows 10/11?
This post covers 5 solutions for how to update CPU drivers based
2. RAM (Random Access Memory) slots
RAM is a kind of computer memory that can be read and written. It is mainly used to save
data and machine code. A RAM device permits data to be read or written in nearly the
same amount of time no matter where the data’s physical location is in the memory.
Compared to the direct-access storage devices like hard drives, CD/DVD and magnetic
tapes, RAM media is much faster for data reading and writing.
3. Southbridge/northbridge
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They are the two chips in the core logic chipset on the motherboard. Typically, the
southbridge implements the slower capabilities of the motherboard in a
northbridge/southbridge chipset computer architecture.
The northbridge, also known as host bridge or Memory Controller Hub, is connected
directly to the CPU via the front-side bus (FSB). It is responsible for tasks requiring the
highest performance. Together with the southbridge, they manage communications
between the CPU and other motherboard components.
4. BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)
BIOS, also called system BIOS, PC BIOS or ROM BIOS, is firmware that is used to perform
hardware initialization during the booting process; and to provide runtime services for
operating system and programs. The BIOS firmware is the first software to run when
powered on; it is re-installed on a PC’s system board.
5. I/O port
Input/output ports are the connections between the CPU and peripheral devices on a
motherboard. There are two complementary methods to perform input and output
processes: memory-mapped I/O (MMIO) and port-mapped I/O (PMIO). Alternatively, you
can use dedicated I/O processors, called channels on mainframe computers, which execute
their own instructions.
6. USB (Universal Serial Bus)
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USB is an industry standard that creates specifications for connectors, cables and protocols
for connection; power supply (interfacing) and communication among computers,
computer peripherals as well as other desktops. There are a great many USB hardware
including several different connectors, of which USB-C is the latest kind.
7. CPU slot
A CPU slot, also called a CPU socket or Processor socket, contains one or more mechanical
components that provide mechanical and electrical connections between the PCB and a
microprocessor (CPU). Therefore, you can install a CPU on a motherboard without
soldering.
Is SSD good for long term storage? This post will answer it with opinions in the past and
now mainly based on the effects of temp, read/write and memory charge.
8. PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slot
Peripheral Component Interconnect is a local computer bus for connecting hardware to a
computer. It supports all the functions of a processor bus. PCI is usually been called
Conventional PCI to distinguish it from its successor PCI Express (PCIe, PCI-e or PCI-E).
PCI Express is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard designed to replace
the older PCI, PCI-X and AGP bus standard. It is a general-use motherboard interface for
the graphics card, SSDs, hard drives, Wi-Fi as well as Ethernet hardware connections.
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9. AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) slot
AGP was designed as a high-speed point-to-point channel for connecting a video card
(graphics card) to a computer system. Primarily, it was used to assist in the acceleration of
3D computer graphics. AGP is originally designed to be a descendant of the PCI series of
connections for video cards. Yet, it was replaced by the PCIe slots.
10. ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) slot
ISA is the 16-bit internal bus of IMB PC/AT and similar computers that are based on Intel
80286 and its immediate successors during the 1980s. It was backward compatible with the
8-bit bus of the 8088-based IBM PC largely.
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There once was an attempt to extend ISA into a 32-bit bus, called Extended Industry
Standard Architecture (EISA). The attempt wasn’t very successful and the EISA was largely
replaced by the later VESA Local Bus and the PCI bus.
11. Parallel port
A parallel port is a kind of interface for attaching peripherals on desktops. The name of this
kind of port is derived from the way the data is sent. That is, the parallel ports send
multiple bits of data at the same time. Serial interfaces, on the contrary, send bits one data
at once. To achieve parallel data transfer, there are multiple data lines in the parallel port
cables. The parallel port cable is larger than the cable of a contemporary serial port, which
only has one data line within.
12. FDC (Floppy-Disk Controller)
FDC is a special-purpose chip and associated disk controller circuitry. It controls and directs
reading from and writing to a computer’s floppy disk drive (FDD).
13. IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) controller
The devices used for connecting IDE, Ethernet, FireWire, USB and other systems can be
called host adapter. So, the IDE controller refers to the host adapter. A host adapter, also
called a host controller or a host bus adapter (HBA), connects a computer (acting as the
host system) to other network and storage devices.
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Tip: Host adapter is usually used to indicate devices connecting SCSI, Fibre Channel and
SATA devices.
14. CMOS (Complementary Metal-oxide-semiconductor) battery
CMOS battery, also called memory battery, clock battery or real-time clock (RTC), is
generally a CR2032 lithium coin cell. The lifespan of the CMOS battery is estimated to be
three years when the power supply unit (PSU) is unplugged or switch off.
15. Power supply connector
A power supply provides the necessary electrical power to let the computer to work. It
takes standard 110-Volt AC (Alternative Current) power to DC (Direct Current) power of 12
Volt, 5 Volt, 3.3 Volt, etc.
16. Mouse and keyboard ports
All computers have a keyboard port connected directly to the motherboard. There are two
types of connectors. The oldest one is a special DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung)
connector while the newest one is the mini DIN PS/2-style connector. Many PCs use the
PS/2-style connectors for both keyboard and mouse; and the connectors are marked
clearly for different usage.
17. DIP (Dual In-line Package) switch
A DIP switch is a manual electric switch packaged with others in a standard dual in-line
package. The term may refer to an individual switch or the whole unit. The DIP switch is
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designed to be used on a printed circuit board (motherboard) together with other
electronic motherboard components. It is usually used to customize the behavior of an
electronic device for specific situations.
18. Jumper
A jumper is a short length of conductor that is used to close, open or bypass part of an
electronic circuit. Typically, jumpers are used to set up or configure printed circuit boards
like the motherboard.
19. Heat sink/heatsink (cooling system)
A heat sink is a passive heat exchanger that transfers the heat generated by parts of
motherboard into a fluid medium like liquid or air. The fluid medium will dissipate away
from the device. Thus, the temperature of the device is kept within a tolerable range. On
the motherboard, the heatsink is usually used to cool CPU, GPU (graphics processing unit),
chipsets and RAM modules.
20. Clock generator
A clock generator is an electronic oscillator (circuit) that produces a clock signal for usage in
synchronizing a circuit’s operation. The clock signal ranges between high and low
frequencies, thus creating a metronome for the coordination of actions.
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