Joshua Lambino Grade 11-Bravo 4/4/2019

“Motherboard Parts and Functions”

Motherboard Basics

A computer has many components, each with their own roles and functions.
The role of the motherboard is to allow all these components to communicate
with each other. Considering the fact that all the other components are
installed on the motherboard or connected to it, it is safe to say that the
motherboard is the central piece of a PC, the component that brings it all
together.

Processor Socket

The processor socket is the central piece of a motherboard, usually being

located near the center of the motherboard. It’s also the central piece because
it holds the processor – the brain of your computer.

Power Connectors

No computer component can operate without power, and a motherboard is

no exception. The power connector, commonly a 20 or 24-pin connector, can
be situated either near the right edge of the motherboard, or somewhere
close to the processor socket on older motherboards. This is where the power
supply’s main connector gets attached, providing power to the motherboard
and all the other components.

Newer motherboards have an additional 4-pin or 8-pin connector near the

processor, used to supply additional power directly to the processor.

Memory Slots

Located in the upper-right part of the motherboard, the memory slots are
used to house the computer’s memory modules. The number of slots can
vary, depending on motherboard, from 2, in low-end motherboards, all the
way up to 8 memory slots, on high-end and gaming motherboards.

It is important to pay close attention to the type of memory a motherboard

supports, in order to buy the appropriate memory modules. Newer
motherboards support DDR3 memory, the current industry standard
memory architecture, but motherboards with DDR2 memory slots and even
DDR1 memory slots are still present on the market. An interesting aspect is
that there are some older motherboard models that supported different types
of memory, and usually come with two DDR1 memory slots and 2 DDR2
memory slots, or two DDR2 slots and two DDR3 slots. These motherboards
Joshua Lambino Grade 11-Bravo 4/4/2019

were great options for people that wanted to upgrade a motherboard without
having to upgrade all the other components as well.

The number of memory slots should be an important criterion to take into

account when choosing a motherboard, as it will determine the maximum
amount of memory you can install. You may plan to take an online course
to learn video editing or learn 3d modeling and rendering from
this online course – do you really want to be limited by your motherboard
in the process?

Video Card Slot

This is the type of slot that doesn’t need an explanation, as its name doesn’t
leave much room for interpretation as to what its role is. Coming in the form
of a PCI-Express slot on newer motherboards or AGP on older ones, the
video card slot is situated right below the processor.

It is not uncommon for older motherboards, especially those that target the
office segment, to lack this slot, meaning that you won’t be able to install a
discrete video card, thus having to rely on the integrated one. At the opposite
pole, high-end gaming motherboards come with multiple video card slots,
allowing the installation of multiple video cards in a SLI or CrossFire
configuration.

Expansion Slots

Expansions have the role of letting you install additional components to

enhance or expand the functionality of your PC. You can install a TV tuner, a
video capture card, a better soundcard, etc. – you get the idea. These ports
are located under the video card slot, and come in the form of PCI slots (on
older motherboards) or a scaled-down version of PCI-Express slots (on
newer motherboards). Some motherboards come with both types of
expansion slots. The number of slots is usually dependent on the format of
the motherboard – larger motherboards (full ATX) have more, while smaller
formats (micro-ATX) have fewer, if any.

IDE and SATA Ports

IDE and SATA ports are used to provide connectivity for the storage devices
and optical drives. The IDE interface is somewhat outdated, so you shouldn’t
be surprised if you see a lot of new motherboards coming without this type of
port. It was replaced by the smaller and much faster SATA interface, which
currently reached its 3rdrevision, being able to achieve maximum speeds of
up to 600 MB/s, as opposed to the IDE interface, which can reach a
maximum of 133 MB/s.

It is not uncommon for manufacturers to include SATA ports of different

revisions, such as two SATA2 ports and two SATA3 ports. Considering the
Joshua Lambino Grade 11-Bravo 4/4/2019

fact that most optical drives on the market come with a SATA connector, and
these devices are not bandwidth-hungry, using a SATA2 port for an optical
drive is perfectly acceptable. In fact, most mechanical hard drives cannot
achieve SATA3 speeds due to mechanical limitations, so unless you plan to
use multiple high-performance solid state drives in your PC, which can
benefit of the higher speeds of SATA3, a combination of SATA2 and SATA3
shouldn’t make much of a difference. If you’re not familiar with the
differences between classical hard drives and solid state drives, check out
this computer essentials online course – you might find out some
more interesting information about computers along the way.

BIOS Chip and Battery

The BIOS chip contains the basic code needed to take your computer through
the boot process, up to the point where the operating system takes over.
Since the BIOS code is stored on a memory chip that needs constant power to
function, a battery is also present to keep the chip powered when the
computer is unplugged.

Northbridge and Southbridge

If you have a look at your motherboard, chances are you’ll see a square metal
component somewhere in the lower-right part of the board. This metal
component is actually a heatsink, and its role is to provide thermal
protection for the Northbridge – one of the most important components of a
motherboard. The northbridge is responsible for coordinating the data flow
between the memory, the video card and the processor. A secondary chip,
known as Southbridge, has a similar function, coordinating the data flow
between the processor and peripherals such as sound cards or network cards.

Front Panel Connectors, USB Headers and Audio Header

The front panel connector is where all the elements present on the front of
your case are connected. Power button, reset button, power led, audio
connectors and USB connectors – they are all connected to the front panel or
the corresponding headers.

Rear Connectors

These connectors are the bridge between the outside of your computer and
the inside. The name is a bit misleading, as the connectors are actually
located on the left edge of the motherboard; however, since these connectors
are accessible from the outside, the name simply implies where they are
accessible from – the rear of the PC case. External peripherals such as
keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers and so on are all connected via these
connectors.
Joshua Lambino Grade 11-Bravo 4/4/2019