Components of a Motherboard – What Are They?

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Category: Computer Architecture


part of your computer

A motherboard is probably the most important part of your computer, it’s the link between all of the various components inside of your computer. The sort of things you’re going to want to be aware of when looking for components of the motherboard. This piece of technology is one of the most complex pieces of computer equipment. Most modern motherboards employ a standard BIOS, stored in either an EEPROM chip or directly installed into or connected to the motherboard itself, for automatically booting up an operating system when turned on.

 

When considering components of the motherboard there are several important components that you should look at. Among these components are the Random Access Memory (RAM) and the System Memory (SMC). The two are often interchangeable, but each has their own purposes. RAM is what the computer will use to access data that is stored in the hard disk, while the SMCS is what the operating system uses to store the programs and settings that are essential to running the machine.

 

There are a few different types of slots which can be found on motherboards. These different types of slots can house one, two, four, eight, or even sixteen different components. Some of these components are generally known as a cache, interrupt controller, or bus while others are more esoteric such as caches, front ends, pipelines, or instruction sets.

 

Typically, any of these primary components will host a number of removable or built-in components. Examples of this would be the lintel slot which houses the PCI slot where many devices can hook up to the computer. Some of the other integral parts of a CPU include the central processing unit (CPU), an input and output device hub (IODH), and a micro controller hub (MCH). Of course these are just the most important of the components as there are a multitude of others such as the Random Access Memory (RAM), Random Access Controllers (RAM controllers), System Reference Codes (SRC), System timers, and Digital LED controllers. Other chips are necessary for the CPU to operate, including an Executive Editor, IACX, and embedded systems like ATEX and debugging devices.

 

The majority of modern motherboards will contain a PCI express (PCI) slot which connects the CPU to external peripherals via the PCI bus. Most of these have several PCI bus slots that can support a variety of peripheral components including printers, scanners, card readers, USBs, and digital cameras. As with any PCI bus interface, the PCI Express offers high portability and can be used in a variety of different computer systems. However, it is typically not seen on laptop computers due to the need for a standard level I/O memory chip and bus adapters.

 

Motherboards often have various additional components which can be used to enhance the functionality of the computer system in question. For example, a PCI bus extender is a device that expands the length and width of the available PCI slots on a motherboard and adds support for various peripheral components through the use of an expansion slot. The standard function of the extender is to add extra bulk to the motherboard to allow more PCI slots for future expansion and enhanced connectivity.

 

Of course, expansion cards and sound cards are other popular features within a motherboard. These components generally enhance the basic functionality of a motherboard through the addition of expansion slots, internal components, or built in sound cards. Many of these components can also be used for connecting a printer to a computer or to an external peripheral device such as a camera. A PCI expansion card is also capable of being attached to a PCI bus and used for providing extended network card functionality.

 

One other commonly used component is a video card that can enhance the overall capabilities of a computer system by adding video output and input capabilities to the motherboard. Most often the video card will connect to the PCI bus of a PC and will be controlled through an interface with the PC. The most common video card connector is the DVI port that is capable of outputting resolutions up to 1920Ă—1080 at an output rate of sixty frames per second.


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