2. Introduction-Motherboard
The motherboard is the largest printed circuit board, and every electronic device has one including
computers, cell phones, printers, cars, and even toasters.The motherboard is the main system
board for the computer and connects all of the internal hardware components. The motherboard
determines the capabilities and limitations of a computer system. Every component on a computer
system plugs into the motherboard is controlled by it and depends on it to communicate. 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. There are many
components found in a laptop or computer’s motherboard. Some of its main components-
1.CPU(Central Processing
Unit)chip
6.Power connector 11.ISA (Industry Standard
Architecture) slot
2.RAM(Random Access
Memory)slots
7.Audio connector 12.Parallel port
3.USB (Universal Serial Bus) 8.Clock generator 13.FDC (Floppy-Disk Controller)
4.BIOS (Basic Input/Output
System)
9.Expansion slots 14.Heat sink/heatsink (cooling
system)
5.I/O Port 10.PCI (Peripheral Component
Interconnect) slot
15.DIP (Dual In-line Package)
switch
3.
4. Components of Motherboard
● Some of the components of the motherboard are explained below-
● 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. 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. USB (Universal Serial Bus)
● 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.
● 4.BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)
5.
6. ATX
Motherboard
Micro-ATX
Motherboard
Mini-ATX
Motherboard
These Motherboards are
the oldest of its kind. AT
means Advanced
Technology (AT) power
connectors, although they
have it or not. The AT
Motherboards were used
in the mid-’80s with size
ranging 13.8 x 12 inches.
This Motherboard made it
difficult for new drives to
get installed.
ATX (Advanced
Technology eXtended) as
this Motherboard
configuration developed
in the mid-’90s and is still
in use.ATX is the most
common Motherboard
design which is used in
smaller boards.
Dimensions of a full-size
standard ATX board
range in 12 x 9.6 inches.
The ATX Motherboards
seem to have gone
through lots of upgrades
in recent times.
It is smaller than the
typical ATX with a
dimension of 9.6 x 9.6
inches. Some
manufactures have a
dimension reduced to 9.6
x 8.1 inches. Most
modern ATX have a
maximum of seven PCI or
PCI-Express expansion
slots, while microATX
boards only have a
maximum of four.It has
advantages like-1.It is
more compact and small
than ATX,2.Cheap tha n
ATX or ITX
motherboards.
The Mini ITX ranges 6.7 x
6.7 inches in dimension,
which is smaller than any
other conventional
Motherboard. Some of its
advantages-1.The smaller
size and fan-less cooling
which enables it to low
power
consumption,2.Mini ITX
board can be used in any
cases which are designed
for ATX, Micro-ATX, and
other ATX variants if
desired.
The E-ATX is extended
ATX Motherboard, and its
size is enormous
compared to ATX, but it
doesn’t matter with the
size it has many features
and uses, which any other
typical Motherboards lack.
It is primarily used for
gaming. This
Motherboard can be
expanded to have huge
memory and can
accommodate a powerful
CPU with more
cores.Advantages-More
PCI & DIMM
slots,Maxium-128 GB
RAM,in-bulit WiFi,sound
cards,powerful
VRM,onboard
troubleshooting features.
Types Of Motherboards
AT
Motherboard
E-ATX
Motherboard
7. ◆ Modern ATX Motherboard
● The modern ATX Motherboard has many advantages over its predecessors. Some of the features and
uses of modern ATX Motherboard are as follows.
● -More power phases for cleaner and more stable power.
● -More clearance around the CPU socket to accommodate those huge after-market heatsinks.
● -Wider gaps between expansion slots for better graphics card cooling.
● These are the types of Motherboards which can be used conventionally. Moreover, there are several features
like overclocking, USB 3.0, USB 3.1, thunderbolt, liquid-cooling expansion, and many more. The above
Motherboards were ones of the majorly used and best Motherboards.
● If you are building your own PC or gaming PC, choosing the right type of Motherboard that is compatible with
other parts of your computer is essential to determine the overall speed of your PC. Once you know about
various Motherboard components, you can easily assemble your own PC or solve the basic hardware issues
in your Motherboard.
● So from above, we can conclude that Motherboard is the main component in the computer architecture.
Moreover, it holds a lot of importance in itself.