PARTS OF MOTHERBOARD

PARTS OF MOTHERBOARD

BY:BRYAN FURING

MOTHERBOARD

A motherboard is one of the most essential parts of a computer system. It holds together many of the crucial components of a computer, including the central processing unit (CPU), memory and connectors for input and output devices. The base of a motherboard consists of a very firm sheet of non-conductive material, typically some sort of rigid plastic. Thin layers of copper or aluminum foil, referred to as traces, are printed onto this sheet.

There are different parts of motherboard:

• CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU)

Also known as the microprocessor or the processor, the CPU is the computer's brain. It is responsible for fetching, decoding, and executing program instructions as well as performing mathematical and logical calculations.The processor chip is identified by the processor type and the manufacturer. This information is usually inscribed on the chip itself. 

DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROCESSOR:

• Intel 386
• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) 386
• Cyrix 486 
• Pentium MMX
• Intel Core 2Duo
• iCore7

• RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY (RAM)

A type of computer data storage.I'ts impossible hold/access data in the computer.

• BASIC INPUT/OUTPUT SYSTEM (BIOS)

BIOS it pronounced (bye-oss),is a ROM chip located on all motherboards

• COMPLIMENTARY METAL OXIDE SEMICONDUCTOR (CMOS)

Motherboards also include a small separate block of memory made from CMOS RAM chips which is kept alive by a battery (known as a CMOS battery) even when the PC’s power is off. This prevents reconfiguration when the PC is powered on.CMOS devices require very little power to operate.

The CMOS RAM is used to store basic Information about the PC’s configuration for instance:

• Floppy disk and hard disk drive types
• Information about CPU
• RAM size
• Date and time
• Serial and parallel port information
• Plug and Play information
• Power Saving settings

• EXPANSION BUS

An expansion bus is an input/output pathway from the CPU to peripheral devices and it is typically made up of a series of slots on the motherboard. Expansion boards (cards) plug into the bus. PCI is the most common expansion bus in a PC and other hardware platforms. Buses carry signals such as data, memory addresses, power, and control signals from component to component. Other types of buses include ISA and EISA.

• PERIPHERAL COMPONENT INTERCONNECT (PCI)

These slots are used for expansion cards that do no require the same amount of data transfer that a graphics card requires.

• DUAL IN-LINE MEMORY MODULE (DIMM)

DIMM’s are by far and away the most used memory types in today’s computers. They vary in speeds and standards however and they need to match up to what your motherboard has been designed to take. The four standards of DIMM’s being used at the moment are SDR (Single Data Rate), DDR (Double Data Rate), DDR2 and DDR3. The speeds of memory can vary between 66Mhz to 1600Mhz.

• NORTH BRIDGE

Also known as Memory Controller Hub (MCH).

Chipset that allows the CPU to communicate with the RAM and graphics card.

Beginning from Intel Sandy Bridge in 2011, this motherboard component is no longer present as it has been integrated within the CPU itself. 

• SOUTH BRIDGE

Also known as the Input/Output Controller Hub (ICH).

Chipset that allows the CPU to communicate with PCI slots, PCI-Express x 1 slots (expansion cards), SATA connectors (hard drives, optical drives), USB ports (USB devices), Ethernet ports and on-board audio. 

• SATA Connectors

Connects to modern hard disk drives, solid state drives and optical drives for data transfer.