▷ Components of a motherboard 【piece by piece】 ⭐️

Also known as a motherboard, mobo (abbreviation), MB (abbreviation), system board, and even logic board, a computer motherboard is used to connect all parts of a computer. The processor, memory, hard drives, graphics card, expansion cards, and other ports connect to the motherboard directly or via cables.

The motherboard is the piece of computer hardware that can be thought of as the "backbone" of the PC, or rather as the hub where all the pieces are kept together.

Phones, tablets, and other small devices also have motherboards, but they are often called logic boards or PCBs.

Its components are often soldered directly to the board to save space, which means there are no expansion slots for upgrades like those seen on desktop computers.

Going back a few years, the IBM computer that was released in 1981 is considered to be the first computer motherboard. However, currently the most popular motherboard manufacturers are ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, EVGA, Supercomputer or the classic Biostar.

Index of contents

Parts of a motherboard

Everything behind the computer case is somehow connected to the motherboard so that all components can communicate with each other.

This includes graphics cards, sound cards, hard drives, optical drives, microprocessor (1 or 2), RAM, USB connections or power from the power supply.

On a motherboard, there are also expansion slots, jumpers, capacitors, device and data power connections, fans, heat sinks, and screw holes.

All of these components will be detailed below.

Important facts about the motherboard

PC motherboards, power supplies, and boxes come from the factory in different sizes, which are known as "form factors." These three components of a PC have to be compatible in terms of size in order to function properly.

Motherboards vary greatly with respect to the types of components they support. For example, each motherboard supports a single CPU type and a short list of memory types. Also, some graphics cards, ram memories, hard drives, and other peripherals may not be compatible. The motherboard manufacturer should provide clear guidance on component compatibility.

In laptops and tablets, and increasingly even in desktop computers, the motherboard usually incorporates the functions of the video card and the sound card. This helps keep these types of computers small. However, it also prevents those built-in components from being updated.

Furthermore, poor cooling mechanisms of the motherboard can damage the hardware connected to it. This is why high-performance devices like high-end CPUs and video cards are often cooled with heat sinks, and built-in sensors are often used to sense temperature and communicate with the BIOS or operating system to regulate the fan speed.

Devices attached to a motherboard often require device drivers to be manually installed to work with the operating system.

Physical description of a motherboard

On a PC, the motherboard mounts inside the case or chassis, facing the side with the easiest access. It is securely fixed using small screws through pre-drilled holes.

The front of the motherboard contains ports to which all internal components connect. A single socket / socket houses the processor, while multiple slots allow the connection of one or more memory modules.

We also find other ports that reside on the motherboard, which allow the hard drive and optical drive to connect via data cables.

The small cables on the front of the computer case connect to the motherboard to allow the power, power button, and LED lights to work. Power from the power supply is supplied to the motherboard through a specially designed port.

Also on the front of the motherboard are a series of peripheral card slots. These slots are where most video cards, sound cards, and other expansion cards are connected to the motherboard.

On the left side of the motherboard (the side facing the rear of the chassis) there are a number of ports. These ports allow connection of most external computer peripherals such as monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, network cable and much more.

All modern motherboards also include USB ports and, increasingly, other ports such as HDMI, USB Type C with Thunderbolt 3 or MiniDisplayPort that allow compatible devices to connect to the computer when needed, such as digital cameras, printers and more.

What is on a motherboard?

Laptop motherboards do the same job as PC motherboards, but they're custom-made and vary greatly in design and layout. Also, although a PC motherboard is designed to have room to add additional components, on a laptop motherboard the only thing that can usually be upgraded is RAM.

That being said, these are the main components of a motherboard:

CPU socket (processor)

This is where the CPU, or processor, connects. All modern computers have large cooling devices on top of the processor, which typically consists of a finned metal block and a fan. The socket is carefully designed so that the processor will only fit in the right place.

Also known as a microprocessor or processor, the CPU is the brain of the computer. It is responsible for obtaining, decoding, and executing program instructions, as well as performing mathematical and logical calculations.

The processor chip is identified on its surface by the type of processor and the manufacturer. This information is usually inscribed on the chip itself. For example, Intel 386, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) 386, Cyrix 486, Pentium MMX, Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Core i3, Intel Core i5, Intel Core i7, Intel Core i9, AMD Threadripper or AMD Ryzen.

If the processor chip is not on the motherboard, you can identify the processor socket as socket 1 to socket 8, LGA 775 and several more. This can help you identify the processor that fits in the socket. For example, a 486DX processor fits into socket 3. An Intel Core i-7 8700K processor to the LGA 1151 socket, an i9-7900X to the 2011 LGA socket, or the first and second generation AMD Ryzen to the AM4.

RAM memory slots (DDR memory)

Most desktop computers have two, four, or eight slots for RAM. More slots means more RAM can be adjusted, up to the maximum specified in the motherboard manual. In notebooks, the RAM slots are usually the only part of the motherboard that the user can replace.

RAM modules are long and thin. The slots have a mechanism along which corresponds to a gap in the RAM module, so the module will only fit in the right way. This gap also ensures that incompatible RAM cannot be installed on a board, such as an older DDR2 module on a modern DDR4 motherboard.

Random access memory, or RAM, usually refers to computer chips that temporarily store dynamic data to improve computer performance while it is working.

In other words, it is the workplace of the computer, where the active programs and data are loaded so that each time the processor needs them, you do not have to recover them from the hard disk.

Random access memory is volatile, which means that it loses its content once the computer is turned off. This is different from nonvolatile memory, such as hard drives and flash memory, which do not require a power source to hold data.

When a computer is properly shutdown, all data located in RAM is returned to permanent storage on the hard drive or flash drive. At the next boot, the RAM begins to fill with programs loaded automatically at startup, a process called startup.

Expansion slots: PCI Express and PCI

They are used to add additional components to your PC, such as graphics or sound cards. There are two main types of expansion slots: PCI Express and the outdated PCI. PCI Express slots come in three sizes and speed ratings: x1, x4, and x16, to fit different types of cards.

On many PCs, these slots may never be used. All motherboards have built-in sound, and many CPUs have integrated graphics components. However, gaming-built computers often have powerful dedicated graphics cards in a PCI Express x16 slot, and some audiophiles prefer dedicated sound cards to improve audio quality, though the latest motherboard releases have greatly improved the quality of the integrated sound card: nichicon capacitors, EMI protection, good dedicated chips and above all highly developed software.

The PCI slot is for older expansion cards and they have always been compatible with sound cards, network cards, connection cards. Although it is less and less common to see them on mid-range and high-end motherboards, where PCI Express slots predominate.

The buses carry signals such as data, memory addresses, power, and component-to-component control signals. Other types of buses are ISA and EISA, but they only appear on old motherboards.

Expansion buses enhance the capabilities of PCs by allowing users to add missing features to their computers by inserting adapter cards into expansion slots.

A quick summary of the main expansion slots:

• ISA and / or VESA connection: Obsolete and that began to be used in the first 386. PCI connection: it is still seen, but at the time of Pentium I it was a standard with the arrival of 3D graphics cards like VOODOO. PCI Express connection: We find it in different speeds: x1, x4 and x16. They are the usual expansion slots that make up current motherboards.

Storage connectors

These connectors are for mechanical hard drives, solid state storage (SSD) devices, and optical storage devices such as DVD burners.

There are two types of connectors: SATA 2 and the fastest SATA 3. SATA 2 is fast enough for traditional mechanical hard drives and optical drives, while SSDs need SATA 3 to run at full speed.

SATA 2 devices work well with SATA 3 connectors, but SATA 3 devices connected to SATA 2 connectors can work at reduced speeds.

PS / 2 connectors for keyboard and mouse

Most keyboards and mice now connect via USB, but there are still some models that use the old round PS / 2 connector, which can still be found even on new motherboards. A classic connection that was once repeated twice on the motherboard and now with luck in one.

Graphics connectors (for monitors)

If your microprocessor has integrated graphics, it will use these connectors to connect to the monitor. If you have a dedicated graphics card, you will use the connectors on the back of it.

Different motherboards have different connectors, like DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, and sometimes the older VGA. You will need a port that matches your monitor, but be aware that a DVI port can be used with an HDMI monitor and vice versa using cheap adapters. HDMI and Displayport connections carry audio too, but

USB ports

Almost everything you connect to your computer from the outside, from keyboards to mice and printers, connects to a USB port. There are two types of full-size USB that you will be familiar with: USB 2 and USB 3. A USB 3 is much faster and better suited for devices like USB 3 external hard drives, where the extra speed will really make a difference.

Most motherboards have USB 2 and USB 3 connectors, and all USB 2, USB 3, and USB 3.1 devices will work when connected to either port; although they may work a little slower on USB 2.

Modern motherboards now also come with second-generation USB-C. With greatly improved read rates with each update.

Network port

Not all laptops have wired network ports (some come with a USB with a Gigabit connection), but they are still found on virtually all desktops. This is where an Ethernet (network) cable connects to create a wired, rather than wireless, network connection to a home router or office network.

All modern motherboards have Gigabit Ethernet ports, also called 10/100/1000, which means they can transfer data at 1, 000 megabits per second (Mbit / s), or a theoretical maximum of 125 megabytes per second (MB / s). Although in the very near future 10 Gigabit connections will be included in all motherboards.

Northbridge

Also known as the Memory Controller Hub (MCH). It is a chipset that allows the CPU to communicate with RAM and the graphics card.

As of Intel Sandy Bridge in 2011, this motherboard component is no longer present as it has been integrated into the same microprocessor. Clearly improving speed on all hardware.

It is responsible for controlling transfers between the processor and RAM, so it is physically close to the processor. Sometimes it is called GMCH, for Graphic and Memory Controller Hub.

CMOS Battery (RAM CMOS)

The CMOS battery found in most motherboards is the CR2032 lithium battery.

Provides power to store BIOS settings and keep the real-time clock running.

Motherboards also include a separate small block of memory made of CMOS RAM chips that is kept alive by a battery (known as a CMOS battery) even when the PC is turned off. This prevents reconfiguration when the PC is on.

CMOS devices require very little power to operate. The CMOS RAM is used to store basic information about the PC configuration.

Other important data that is saved in CMOS memory is the time and date, which are updated by a real time clock (RTC).

Southbridge

Also known as an I / O Controller Hub.

It is a chipset that enables the CPU to communicate with PCI slots, PCI-Express x1 slots (expansion cards), SATA connectors (hard drives, optical drives), USB ports (USB devices), Ethernet ports, and integrated audio.

Handles communications between slower peripheral devices. Also called ICH (I / O Controller Hub). The term "bridge" is generally used to designate a component that connects two buses.

ATX power connector

Connects to the 24-pin ATX power cable from a power supply that supplies power to the motherboard. Auxiliary we can find extra power connections in 4 or 8-pin format, on high-end motherboards the normal thing is to see: 24 power pins and two 8-pin EPS connections. The Intel LGA 2066 (Intel Core i9 processor) and AMD TR4 (Theadripper) platforms

MSATA and / or M.2 NVME connector

Connects to an mSATA or M.2 NVME solid state drive. In most cases, this SSD is used as a cache to speed up hard drives, but it can be reused as a normal hard drive. It is currently difficult to find in home portable devices, but a business notebook can still bring us some surprises.

Power and reset button

Built-in button to turn on, turn off and restart the computer. This motherboard component is more common among high-end motherboards.

Basic Input / Output System (BIOS)

BIOS stands for Basic Input / Output System. BIOS is a read-only memory, which consists of low-level software that controls the system hardware and acts as an interface between the operating system and the hardware.

All motherboards include a small block of ROM (Read Only Memory) that is separate from the main system memory used to load and run the software. On PCs, the BIOS contains all the code necessary to control the keyboard, display screen, disk drives, serial ports, and various other functions.

The system BIOS is a ROM chip on the motherboard that is used during the boot routine (boot process) to test the system and prepare to run the hardware. The BIOS is stored on a ROM chip because the ROM retains information even when no power is supplied to the computer.

Cache

Cache is a small block of high-speed memory (RAM) that improves PC performance by preloading information from main memory (relatively slow) and passing it on to the processor on demand.

Most CPUs have an internal cache (built into the processor) known as Level 1 (L1) or primary cache memory. This can be supplemented by external cache memory installed on the motherboard. This is Level 2 (L2) or secondary cache.

Chipsets

A chipset is a group of small circuits that coordinate the flow of data to and from the key components of a PC. These key components include the CPU itself, main memory, secondary cache, and any devices located on the buses. A chipset also controls the flow of data to and from hard drives and other devices connected to IDE channels.

A computer has two main chipsets: northbridge and southbridge

Final words and conclusion about the components of a motherboard

With this we finish our article on what are the most important components of a motherboard. As we have seen at first glance, the components of a motherboard can seem complicated to understand, it can even be somewhat discouraging for some.

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