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By:

Sivaroshan.Mahamayam Course:

Diploma in Hardware Engineering & Networking

Duration: 2-3 Weeks

Type of Project: Institutional

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Introduction to Motherboard

Motherboard is the central printed circuit board (PCB) in many modern computers and holds many of the crucial components of the system, while providing connectors for other peripherals. The motherboard is sometimes alternatively known as the main board, system board, or,

on Apple computers, the logic board. It is also sometimes casually shortened to mobo. As its name suggests, the motherboard acts as a "parent" board, which takes the form of a large printed circuit with connectors for expansion cards, memory modules, the processor, etc.

Motherboard is a complex printed circuit board (PCB) that is the central part of many electronic systems, particularly the computers. They are alternately known as main board, system board, or logic board (Apple Computers). A motherboard is a platform that offers electrical connections through which other components of a computer communicate, and it also has the central processing unit (CPU), generally referred to as the brain of computer. Motherboards are also present in mobile phones, clocks, stop watches, etc. Motherboards include a lot of essential components of a computer such as microprocessor, main memory; microprocessor’s supporting chipset that provides interfaces between CPU and other external components. The devices revolutionized the way computer systems were designed. The earlier versions were confusing and time consuming. Few things that a motherboard nowadays includes are:

• Sockets for microprocessors • Slots where main memory (Random Access Memory) is installed • A chipset that forms an interface between CPU, main memory and peripheral

buses • BIOS (Basic input/output system) • Expansion card slots, etc

History of Motherboard

Prior to the advent of the microprocessor, a computer was usually built in a card-cage

case or mainframe with components connected by a backplane consisting of a set of

slots themselves connected with wires; in very old designs the wires were discrete

connections between card connector pins, but printed circuit boards soon became the

standard practice. The Central Processing Unit, memory and peripherals were housed

on individual printed circuit boards which plugged into the backplane.

During the late 1980s and 1990s, it became economical to move an increasing number

of peripheral functions onto the motherboard. In the late 1980s, motherboards began to

A

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include single ICs (called Super I/O chips) capable of supporting a set of low-speed

peripherals: keyboard, mouse, floppy disk drive, serial ports, and parallel ports. As of

the late 1990s, many personal computer motherboards supported a full range of audio,

video, storage, and networking functions without the need for any expansion cards at

all; higher-end systems for 3D gaming and computer graphics typically retained only the

graphics card as a separate component.

The early pioneers of motherboard manufacturing were

Micronics, Mylex, AMI, DTK, Hauppauge, Orchid Technology, Elite group, DFI, and a

number of Taiwan-based manufacturers.

The most popular computers such as the Apple II and IBM PC had published schematic

diagrams and other documentation which permitted rapid reverse-engineering and third-

party replacement motherboards. Usually intended for building new computers

compatible with the exemplars, many motherboards offered additional performance or

other features and were used to upgrade the manufacturer's original equipment.

The term main board is archaically applied to devices with a single board and no

additional expansions or capability. In modern terms this would include embedded

systems and controlling boards in televisions, washing machines, etc. A motherboard

specifically refers to a printed circuit with the capability to add/extend its performance.

1989: AsusTek, one of Taiwan’s top 5 companies, started manufacturing graphic cards.

1993: First International Computer Inc. becomes the largest motherboard manufacturer

in the world.

1997: Intel Corp. plans to add to its monopoly in microprocessor by manufacturing

motherboards.

2000: ATI Technologies Inc. announces graphic cards technology, advancement, in

computer graphics.

2007: AsusTek becomes the world’s largest maker of computer motherboards.

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Constituent components of Motherboard

1. Mouse & keyboard 2. USB 3. Parallel port 4. CPU Chip 5. RAM slots 6. Floppy controller 7. IDE controller 8. PCI slot 9. ISA slot 10. CMOS Battery 11. AGP slot 12. CPU slot 13. Power supply plug in

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1. Mouse & keyboard: Keyboard Connectors are two types basically. All PCs have a Key board port connected directly to the motherboard. The oldest, but still quite common type, is a special DIN, and most PCs until recently retained this style connector. The AT-style keyboard connector is quickly disappearing, being replaced by the smaller mini DIN PS/2-style keyboard connector. You can use an AT-style keyboard with a PS/2-style socket (or the other way around) by using a converter. Although the AT connector is unique in PCs, the PS/2-style mini-DIN is also used in more modern PCs for the mouse. Fortunately, most PCs that use the mini-DIN for both the keyboard and mouse clearly mark each mini-DIN socket as to its correct use. Some keyboards have a USB connection, but these are fairly rare compared to the PS/2 connection keyboards. 2. USB (Universal serial bus): USB is the General-purpose connection for PC. You can find USB versions of many different devices, such as mice, keyboards, scanners, cameras, and even printers. A USB connector's distinctive rectangular shape makes it easily recognizable. USB has a number of features that makes it particularly popular on PCs. First, USB devices are hot swappable. You can insert or remove them without restarting your system.

3. Parallel port: Most printers use a special connector called a parallel port. Parallel port carries data on more than one wire, as opposed to the serial port, which uses only one wire. Parallel ports use a 25-pin female DB connector. Parallel ports are directly supported by the motherboard through a direct connection or through a dangle.

4. CPU Chip: The central processing unit, also called the microprocessor performs all the calculations that take place inside a pc. CPUs come in Variety of shapes and sizes. Modern CPUs generate a lot of heat and thus require a cooling fan or heat sink. The cooling device (such as a cooling fan) is removable, although some CPU manufactures sell the CPU with a fan permanently attached.

5. RAM slots: Random-Access Memory (RAM) stores programs and data currently being used by the CPU. RAM is measured in units called bytes. RAM has been packaged in many different ways. The most current package is called a 168-pin DIMM (Dual Inline Memory module).

6. Floppy controller: The floppy drive connects to the computer via a 34-pinribbon cable, which in turn connects to the motherboard. A floppy controller is one that is used to control the floppy drive.

7. IDE controller: Industry standards define two common types of hard drives: EIDE and SCSI. Majority of the PCs use EIDE drives. SCSI drives show up in high end PCs such as network servers or graphical workstations. The EIDE drive connects to the hard drive via a 2-inch-wide, 40-pin ribbon cable, which in turn connects to the motherboard. IDE controller is responsible for controlling the hard drive.

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8. PCI slot: Intel introduced the Peripheral component interconnect bus protocol. The PCI bus is used to connect I/O devices (such as NIC or RAID controllers) to the main logic of the computer. PCI bus has replaced the ISA bus.

9. ISA slot: (Industry Standard Architecture) It is the standard architecture of the Expansion bus. Motherboard may contain some slots to connect ISA compatible cards.

10. CMOS Battery: To provide CMOS with the power when the computer is turned off all motherboards comes with a battery. These batteries mount on the motherboard in one of three ways: the obsolete external battery, the most common onboard battery, and built-in battery. 11. AGP slot: If you have a modern motherboard, you will almost certainly notice a single connector that looks like a PCI slot, but is slightly shorter and usually brown. You also probably have a video card inserted into this slot. This is an Advanced Graphics Port (AGP) slot 12. CPU slot: To install the CPU, just slide it straight down into the slot. Special notches in the slot make it impossible to install them incorrectly. So remember if it does not go easily, it is probably not correct. Be sure to plug in the CPU fan's power. 13. Power supply plug in: The Power supply, as its name implies, provides the necessary electrical power to make the pc operate. The power supply takes standard 110-V AC power and converts into 12-Volt, 5-Volt, and 3.3-Volt DC power.

I/O Shield

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Types of Computer Motherboard

Well, of course, after the discussion that we had above, you must be wondering how to determine a motherboard type. But before starting off with this process of describing the computer motherboard type, we need to understand, what are the different ways of classifying or rather differentiating computer motherboards.

Classification of Motherboard on Basis of Processor

This way of differentiating computer motherboards is based on motherboard socket types. In short, the CPUs that are available in the current market are compatible to specific motherboards. Let us try to understand the different CPU specific computer motherboards in a little more detail. Socket Motherboards These motherboards are meant for the AMD and Durons processors. The Socket a motherboard is also known as Socket 464 motherboard. The CPU socket in the motherboard has 462 pins and it comes in a PGA (Pin Grid Array) packaging. The bus speed of this type of motherboard is 100 to 200 MHz Socket 370 Motherboards Meant for Intel Pentium III and Celeron processor, this motherboard comes for CPUs with 370 pins. It can also support VIA Cyrix III and VIA C3 processors. The bus speed for this type of motherboard is 66 to 133 MHz and it also comes in a PGA package. Socket 378 Motherboards this type of motherboard is meant for the Pentium 4 processors. It also comes in a PGA package and has 478 pins. The bus speed is 100 to 200 MHz This motherboard can also support Intel Pentium 4EE and Intel Pentium M processor. This type of motherboard is also known as Socket N motherboard. Socket T Motherboards Also known as LGA 775, this type of motherboard is meant for Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Core 2 Quad and Intel Xeon processor. Of course, this motherboard can also support other Intel processors such as the Celeron, Pentium 4, Pentium D, Celeron D and Pentium XE processor. Its specifications include 775 pins and a very high bus speed of

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1600 MHz it also comes in a PGA package. Socket 939 Motherboards The Socket 939 is meant mainly for the AMD family. It can support AMD processors like the Athlon 64, Athlon 64 FX, and Athlon 64 X2 and Opetron. It has 939 pins and can have a bus speed from 200 to 1000 MHz Just like the other computer motherboard types described above; it also comes in a PGA package. Socket AM3 Motherboards Socket AM3 is among the most recently developed motherboards. Introduced in 2009, this motherboard is meant for the AMD Phenom II and AMD Athlon II processors. It has 941 pins and a bus speed range of 200 to 3200 MHz The packaging for Socket AM3 motherboard is PGA. Socket H Motherboards The Socket H or LGA 1156 is another recent motherboard that has been introduced in the year 2009 and is meant for the Intel Core i3, Intel Core i5 and Intel Core i7processors. It has 1156 pins and comes in LGA (Large Grid Array) packaging. What I have mentioned above are the most common motherboard types. Besides the different types of computer motherboard types given above, there are other computer motherboards too. For example, the Socket F motherboard meant for the AMD Option and AMD Athlon 64 FX and the Socket M motherboard meant for the Intel Core Solo, Intel Dual Core and Intel Core Duo processors.

Classification of Motherboard on Basis of Dimensions

The dimensions of a motherboard, also known as the form factor, are another way of distinguishing between the different motherboard types. The different types of motherboards based on this form factor can be listed as under. AT baby/AT full format:

Is a format used in the earliest 386 and 486 PCs? This format was replaced by the ATX format, which shape allowed for better air circulation and made it easier to access the components;

ATX:

The ATX format is an upgrade to Baby-AT. It was intended to improve ease of use. The connection device on an ATX motherboard is designed to make plugging in peripherals as easy as possible (for

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example, the IDE connectors are located beside the disks.) What's more, motherboard components are arranged in parallel, so as to improve heat removal.

• ATX standard: The ATX standard format is traditionally 305x244 mm. It includes an AGP connector and 6 PCI connectors.

• Micro-ATX: The micro ATX format is an upgrade to ATX, which has the same primary advantages in a smaller format (244x244 mm), with a lower cost. Micro-ATX includes an AGP connector and 3 PCI connectors.

• Flex-ATX: Flex ATX is an expansion of micro ATX which offers manufacturers greater flexibility when designing their computers. It includes an AGP connector and 2 PCI connectors.

• mini-ATX: mi I ATX is a compact alternative to the format micro ATX (284x208 mm), and includes an AGP connector and 4 PCI connectors instead of 3 that come with micro ATX. It is mainly intended for mini-PCs (barebones computers).

BTX:

The BTX format (Balanced Technology extended), supported by Intel, is a format designed to improve upon the arrangement of components, so as to optimize air circulation, acoustics, and heat dissipation. The various connectors (memory slots, expansion slots) are aligned in parallel, in the direction in which air circulates. Additionally, the microprocessor is located in the front end of the case, by the air intake, where the air is freshest. The BTX power cord is the same as with ATX power supplies. The BTX standard defines three formats:

• BTX standard, with standard dimensions of 325x267 mm; • micro-BTX, with small dimensions (264x267 mm); • Pico-BTX, with much smaller dimensions (203x267 mm).

ITX:

The ITX format (Information Technology extended), supported by Via, is an extremely compact format designed for miniature configurations such as mini-PC. There are two major ITX formats:

• mini-ITX, with small dimensions (170x170 mm) and a PCI slot; • Nano-ITX, with extremely small dimensions (120x120 mm) and a miniPCI

slot. For this reason, the choice of the motherboard (and its form factor) depends on which case is chosen. The table below summarizes the characteristics of the various form factors.

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Form factor Dimensions Slots

ATX 305 mm x 244 mm AGP / 6 PCI

Micro ATX 244 mm x 244 mm AGP / 3 PCI

Flex ATX 229 mm x 191 mm AGP / 2 PCI

Mini ATX 284 mm x 208 mm AGP / 4 PCI

Mini ITX 170 mm x 170 mm 1 PCI

Nano ITX 120 mm x 120 mm 1 MiniPCI

BTX 325 mm x 267 mm 7

Micro BTX 264 mm x 267 mm 4

Pico BTX 203 mm x 267 mm 1

Some Brands which Produce Motherboard

§ Acer Inc.

§ Advances (industrial motherboards)

§ Albatron

§ AOpen

§ Arima Computer Corporation(Flextronics)

§ ASRock

§ ASUS

§ BFG Technologies

§ Biostar

§ Chaintech (ceased manufacturing motherboards)

§ Chassis Plans

§ DFI

§ Elitegroup Computer Systems (alsoPCChips)

§ EMAXX

§ EPoX

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§ eVGA

§ First International Computer

§ Foxconn

§ Gigabyte Technology

§ Gumstix

§ Intel

§ IWill

§ Jetway

§ Kobian Pte Ltd.(Mercury)

§ Lanner Inc (industrial motherboards)

§ Leadtek

§ Magic-Pro

§ Manli

§ MSI (Micro-Star International)

§ Palit add page

§ PCP

§ PNY Technologies

§ Powercolor

§ Quanmax

§ RedFox

§ Sapphire Technology

§ Shuttle Inc.

§ Soyo Group Inc

§ Supercomp

§ Supermicro

§ Trenton Technology

§ Tyan

§ Universal abit(formerly ABIT)

§ Vertex 3D

§ VIA Technologies

§ Vigor Gaming

§ Xitrix Computer Corporation

§ XFX

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§ Zebronics

§ Zotac

Some Brands which Produce Motherboard Chipset

§ AMD

§ Intel

§ Nvidia

§ Silicon Integrated Systems

§ VIA Technologies

ASUS 25 73.53%

DFI 3 8.82%

GigaByte 3 8.82%

MSI 3 8.82%

Soltek 0 0%

Abit 0 0%

Foxconn 0 0%

ECS 0 0%

ASRock 0 0%

Albatron 0

Classification of Motherboard on Basis of Brands

Brand Model Name Form Factor

Chipset Manufacturer Chipset

Asus* Maximus Formula ATX Intel® Intel® X38 Express Chipset

Asus Maximus Formula(Special Edition)

ATX Intel Intel® X38 Express Chipset

Asus P5E-VM DO ATX Intel Intel® Q35 Express

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Chipset

Asus P5E3 Deluxe ATX Intel Intel® X38 Express Chipset

Asus P5E3 Deluxe/Wi-Fi@n ATX Intel Intel® X38 Express Chipset

Asus P5E3 ATX Intel Intel® X38 Express Chipset

Asus P5B-VM DO uATX Intel Intel® Q965 Asus P5GZ-MX uATX Intel Intel® 945GZ Asus P5N-E SLI ATX NVIDIA* nForce 650i SLI Asus

P5N32-SLI Premium WiFi AP Edition

ATX NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI Intel Edition

Asus P5N32-E SLI ATX NVIDIA NF680I SLI Asus P5VDC-MX uATX VIA* P4M800 PRO/8251 Asus P5VDC-MX SE uATX VIA P4M800 PRO/8252 Asus P5VD2-X uATX VIA PT890/VT8237A Abit* IX38 QuadGT ATX Intel

Intel® X38 Express Chipset

Abit AW9D ATX Intel Intel® 975X Abit IL9Pro ATX Intel Intel® 945P Abit IP-95 uATX VIA P4M890/VT8237R Abit SG-95 uATX SiS* 662/966L Abit IB9 ATX Intel Intel® 965/ICH8 Asrock* 4Core-Dual VSTA ATX VIA PT880 Ultra BIOSTAR TF7150U-M7 ATX NVIDIA GeForce 7150 BIOSTAR* 945G-M7 uATX Intel Intel® 945G Colorful* C-945-PL ATX Intel Intel® 945PL ECS* PT890T-A ATX VIA PT890 ECS P4M900T - M V1.0 uATX VIA VIA P4M900 ECS 945GZT-M V1.0 uATX Intel Intel 945GZ EVGA* nForce 680i SLI ATX NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI Foxconn* X38A ATX Intel

Intel® X38 Express Chipset

Gigabyte* GA-X38-DQ6 ATX Intel Intel® X38 Express Chipset

Gigabyte GA-X38-DS5 ATX Intel Intel® X38 Express Chipset

Gigabyte GA-X38T-DQ6 ATX Intel Intel® X38 Express Chipset

Gigabyte GA-945PL-S3 ATX Intel Intel® 945PL Exp Gigabyte GA-945GME-DS2 uATX Intel Intel 945G Gigabyte

GA-945GZM-S2 (Rev. 3.0)

uATX Intel Intel 945GZ Gigabyte GA-945P-S3 ATX Intel Intel® 945P Gigabyte GA965G-DS3 ATX Intel Intel® G965 Gigabyte GA-8I945GZME-RH uATX Intel Intel 945GZ Intel DP35DP ATX Intel Intel® P35 Intel DQ35JO uATX Intel Intel® Q35 Intel DQ35MP uATX Intel Intel Q35 Intel DG33FB ATX Intel Intel® G33

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Intel DG33BU uATX Intel Intel G33 Intel DG33TL uATX Intel Intel G33 Intel DG965MS uBTX Intel Intel G965 Intel DG965OT uATX Intel Intel G965 Intel DG965RY ATX Intel Intel G965 Intel DG965SS uATX Intel Intel G965 Intel DG965WH ATX Intel Intel G965 Intel DP965LT ATX Intel Intel® P965 Intel DQ963FX ATX Intel Intel® Q963 Intel DQ965GF uATX Intel Intel Q965 Intel D975XBX2 ATX Intel Intel 975X Intel D946GZIS uATX Intel Intel® 946G Intel D946GZTS uATX Intel Intel 946G Intel D945GCCR uATX Intel Intel 945G Intel D945GCL uATX Intel Intel 945G J & W* 945GZ uATX Intel Intel 945GZ Mercury* PI945GZD uATX Intel Intel® 945GZ/ICH7 Mercury PI945GCM uATX Intel Intel® 945GC/ICH7 Mercury PVM890M uATX VIA Via P4M890 Mercury PVM900M uATX VIA Via P4M900 MSI* X38 Platinum ATX Intel

Intel® X38 Express Chipset

MSI 945GM3-F uATX Intel Intel 945G MSI 945P Neo-3 uATX Intel Intel 945P MSI P4M900M-L uATX VIA P4M900 MSI P4M890M-L uATX VIA P4M890 MSI P965 Platinum uATX Intel Intel P965 MSI G965M-F uATX Intel Intel G965 MSI Q965 MDO-F1 uATX Intel Intel Q965 MSI P965 Neo (-F) ATX Intel Intel P965 nVidia nForce 680i SLI ATX nVidia C55 SPP/MCP nVidia nForce 650i Ultra ATX nVidia nForce 650i SLI Onda* 965PD ATX Intel Intel P965 Onda 945GZM uATX Intel Intel 945GZ Onda 945PLD ATX Intel Intel 945PL

Classification of Motherboard in Basis of Generation Second Generation Motherboard

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Third Generation Motherboard

Forth Generation Motherboard

Forth Update Generation Motherboard

Laptop Motherboard

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Server Motherboard

Fifth Generation Motherboard

What is the difference between motherboards?

There are a lot of motherboards on the market to choose from. The big question is, how do you go about choosing which one is right for you? Different motherboards

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support different components, and so it is vital you make a number of decisions concerning general system specifications before you can pick the right motherboard. If you purchase your case before the rest of the components, the first factor to think about concerning motherboards is the size, or form factor. A form factor is a standardized motherboard size. If you think about fitting a motherboard in a case, there are a number of mounting holes, slot locations and PSU connectors. The most popular motherboard form factor today is ATX, which evolved from it's predecessor, the Baby AT, a smaller version of the AT (Advanced Technology) form factor. Generally speaking, nowadays a standard computer will have an ATX form factor motherboard: only special cases require different form factors. So now you know which size you need, what comes next? The following are all factors you need to consider. The first important differential is which CPU the board supports. Two of the biggest makes of CPUs at the moment are Intel and AMD, yet you cannot buy motherboards that support the use of either: it will support one or the other, due to physical differences in the connectors. This is often referred to as a type of platform; for example, an ‘Intel platform motherboard' means a motherboard with an Intel CPU. Furthermore, you must choose a specific type of processor; for example, an AMD Athlon 64 or Pentium 4. Therefore, you must choose which CPU you want before you can choose your motherboard. Both Intel and AMD processors are capable of running the same applications, but there are differences in price and performance depending on which one you choose.

HOW TO IDENTIFY A MOTHERBOARD

The manufacturer of most modern, quality motherboards are fairly easy to identify. Many package their motherboards in retail boxes and include User Manuals (or what is often called "motherboard books"), etc. which clearly displays the manufacturer's name and motherboard model, and often include the manufacturer's web site URL, as well. If these are lost, one can usually find the name or an abbreviation thereof silk-screened on the motherboard/on the side of the last expansion board slot to the left of the motherboard. Additionally, the slot will often contain the board version number. Such has not always been the case. In the "old days" motherboards were commonly shipped as OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer - a company that makes computers, etc.) products in "plain wrappers." Some still are. And the motherboard books did not mention the manufacture either--a generic product, indeed. So how does one find-out who made the board?

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Watch the computer as it boots. The manufacture's name and motherboard model might be displayed as the BIOS goes through its post routine. Use the Pause Key to freeze the screen (and any key to restart it).

Download and run CT BIOS. This utility may grab the manufacturer's info from the BIOS. In the case of my BIOS, it listed the manufacturer's web site URL among other things.

Visit Whim’s Bios Page for help identifying the board with BIOS numbers.

Some boards just may have an FCC ID number on the board/slot, in the motherboard book, or elsewhere on the computer if the same manufacturer made more than just the motherboard. That number can usually be matched to the manufacture's name, etc. using the FCC data base at: http://www.fcc.gov/oet/fccid/. Use that info to find the manufacturer with an Internet search engine. This is also useful for finding the manufacturer of expansion boards, etc.

Other motherboards may just have the model number of the board on them. Run this number through some of the Internet search engines.

Slots in Motherboard

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A. PCI Slot - This board has 2 PCI slots. These can be used for components such as Ethernet cards, sound cards, and modems.

B. PCI-E 16x Slot - There are 2 of them on this motherboard diagram, both are blue. These are used for your graphics card. With two of them onboard, you can run 2 graphics cards in SLI. You would only need this if you are a gamer, or working with high end video / graphics editing. These are the 16x speed versions, which are currently the fastest.

C. PCI-E 1x Slot - Single slot - In the PCIe 1.x generation, each lane (1x) carries 250 MB/s compared to 133 MB/s for the PCI slots. These can be used for expansion cards such as Sound Cards, or Ethernet Cards.

D. Northbridge - This is the Northbridge for this motherboard. This allows communication between the CPU and the system memory and PCI-E slots.

E. ATX 12V 2X and 4 Pin Power Connection Power Connection - This is one of two power connections that supply power to the motherboard. This connection will come from your Power Supply.

F. CPU-Fan Connection - This is where your CPU fan will connect. Using this connection over one from your power supply will allow the motherboard to control the speed of your fan, based on the CPU temperature.

G. Socket - This is where your CPU will plug in. The orange bracket that is surrounding it is used for high end heat sinks. It helps to support the weight of the heat sink.

H. Memory Slots - These are the slots for your RAM. Most boards will have 4 slots, but some will only have 2. The color coding you see on the motherboard diagram is used to match up RAM for Dual-Channel. Using them this way will give your memory a speed boost.

I. ATX Power Connector - This is the second of two power connections. This is the main power connection for the motherboard, and comes from the Power Supply.

J. IDE Connection - The IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) is the connection for your hard drive or CD / DVD drive. Most drives today come with SATA connections, so you may not use this.

K. Southbridge - This is the controller for components such as the PCI slots, onboard audio, and USB connections.

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L. SATA Connections - These are 4 of the 6 SATA connections on the motherboard. These will be used for hard drives, and CD / DVD drives.

M. Front Panel Connections - this is where you will hook in the connections from your case. These are mostly the different lights on your case, such as power on, hard drive activity etc.

N. FDD Connection - The FDD is the Floppy Disk controller. If you have a floppy disk drive in your computer, this is where you will hook it up.

O. External USB Connections - This is where you will plug in external USB connections for your case or USB bracket.

P. CMOS battery - This is the motherboard's battery. This is used to allow the CMOS to keep its settings.

How to Select Motherboard 1. CPU There is three different motherboards types that support the three main CPUs in use today.

• Socket A motherboards for AMD Athlons and Durons • Socket 370 motherboards for Intel Pentium IIIs and Celerons • Socket 478 for the new Pentium 4

You must buy a motherboard that supports the type of CPU you want. CPUs differ by speed and price. You always pay a lot more for fast CPUs. If you are looking at getting a cheap computer then I recommend getting a minimum of a socket 370 Pentium III/Celeron motherboard. 2. Memory There is also three different memory types:

• DDR SDRAM this fast memory is the most common type supported by Althlon/Duron (socket A) motherboards. It is also supported by some of the newer Pentium 4 (socket 478) motherboards. DDR memory also comes in different speeds with 266 MHz the most common and 333 MHz just starting to arrive now.

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• SD RAM This is oldest, slowest and cheapest memory type. This is the only memory type found on Pentium III/Celeron motherboards. If you want to build your own cheap computer then I still recommend this memory type. Remember to get PC 133 SD RAM as it is the fastest and most common type.

• RD RAM this memory is only supported by Pentium 4 (socket 478) motherboards. RD RAM is very fast and worth getting if the price is right.

3. Hard drive transfer speed: Ultra DMA 33/66/100/133 or Raid Ultra DMA 133 is the fastest while Ultra DMA 33 is the slowest. Your hard drive must also support the transfer speed in order to get the speed boost. You can connect an Ultra DMA 33 drive to an Ultra DMA 133 motherboard but you will only get Ultra DMA 33 speeds. Raid hard drive interface can also be built in. This requires more than one hard drive to work and involves splitting data up over two drives that either prevents data loss due to hard drive failure or increases the read write speed by sharing the load. Raid effectively turns two drives into one fast drive or one automatically backed up drive. This is definitely not a required feature and is mostly found on servers. 4. USB ports if you are buying a new motherboard get a USB 2 compatible one. USB 2 is much faster than USB 1 and new USB devices are starting to come out now. USB 2 is fully back compatible with USB 1 so all the old stuff will still work. Also get as many USB ports as you can. 4 ports should be the minimum.

5. Onboard graphics and sound: Some new motherboards come with a built in graphics and sound capabilities. This saves you money as you do not have to spend extra to get these separate graphics and sound cards. However the built in graphics cards are slow and won't play the latest games very well. Usually built in sound is fine and definitely worth getting. Those about wraps up everything you need to know about motherboards. If you're interested in prices have a look at Tiger Direct for some great motherboard deals. Take a look around the rest of my site if you are interested in buying tips or technical guides to building your own computer.

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Motherboard buying tips

CPU socket / slot There are a wide variety of different types of CPU Sockets and Slots. When looking at purchasing a motherboard, ensure it is compatible with the CPU you have or that it will be compatible with the CPU you plan on purchasing.

Additional information about CPUs and the Sockets or Slots can be found on our CPU buying tips page.

Drive connectors Drive connectors can be an important consideration when purchasing a computer. Determine the type of interface of the drives you plan on using, and ensure that the motherboard supports that interface or has the connector for that interface. An example of such an interface is IDE, EIDE or SCSI.

Additional information about hard disk drive buying tips can be found on our Hard drive buying tips page.

Additional information about CD-ROM buying tips can be found on our CD-ROM buying tips page.

Memory slots / type Today there is a wide variety of different types and speeds of memory. When looking at purchasing a motherboard, ensure that it is compatible with the memory you currently have or plan on purchasing.

Additional information about Memory buying tips can be found on our Memory buying tips page.

Slots The type of slots can be an important consideration. Below is a listing of the different types of slots used in motherboards.

1. AGP - AGP, or Advanced Graphics Port, is used for video cards and is highly recommended that only motherboards with AGP slots be considered and/or purchased.

2. AMR - AMR, or Audio Modem Riser, is a new type of slot that is used for Audio / Modem cards and is found on some motherboards. This is not a critical slot and has been replaced by the CNR.

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3. CNR - CNR, or Communication and Network Riser, is a new type of slot that supports audio, modem, USB and Local Area Network cards. This slot is highly recommended for any user building a large amount of computers as the cards are generally cheaper than the standard PCI or ISA cards.

4. ISA - Today, ISA is becoming obsolete and is not found on all motherboards. Unless you have old ISA cards that need to be used, it is recommended you purchase a new motherboard with no ISA slots and additional PCI slots.

5. PCI - The most widely and commonly used slot, the PCI slot, allows for all types of cards.

Additional information and help about each of the above slots can be found on our Information about the computer bus page.

Buying tips for computer video cards can be found on our video card buying tips page.

Buying tips for computer sound cards can be found on our sound card buying tips page.

Buying tips for computer modems can be found on ourmodem buying tips page.

Jumpers Jumpers are generally overlooked when considering a motherboard; however, they can be an important consideration, especially for users who plan on overclocking their computer. Below is a listing of some of the jumpers that should be asked about or known when purchasing a computer motherboard.

1. Does the motherboard have a clear CMOS / BIOS jumper?

2. Does the motherboard have CPU settings jumpers? Or is it configured through CMOS? Is it auto detect?

3. Does the motherboard have onboard video / sound? If yes, can they be disabled with jumper or is it done through CMOS? Note: either way is fine as long as it can be disabled.

USB Ports While all motherboards today have USB ports, ensure that the motherboard you plan on purchasing has USB ports.

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Effects

Upgrading / replacing a new computer motherboard may have the below effects on the computer.

• Speed up the overall performance of the computer. May not be noticeable. • Allow for new improved hardware to be added into the computer.

Motherboard installation

Additional help and information about installing a computer motherboard and other computer hardware can be found through our Installation section.

Troubleshooting Motherboards Motherboards fail. Not often, but motherboards and motherboard components can die from many causes: time, dust, cat hair, or simply slight manufacturing defects made worse by the millions of amps of current sluicing through the motherboard traces. Installing cards, electrostatic discharge, flexing the motherboard one time too many when swapping out RAM or drives—any of these factors can cause a motherboard to fail. The motherboard is a hard-working, often abused component of the PC! Unfortunately for the common tech, troubleshooting a motherboard problem can be very difficult and time-consuming. Let’s wrap this chapter with a look at symptoms of a failing motherboard, techniques for troubleshooting, and the options you have when you discover a mother board problem. Symptoms Motherboard failures commonly fall into three types: catastrophic, component, and Ethereal. With a catastrophic failure, the PC just won’t boot. This sort of problem happens with brand-new systems due to manufacturing defects—often called a burn-in-ure—and to any system that gets a shock of electrostatic discharge. Burn-in failure is Uncommon, but usually happens in the first 30 days of use. Swap out the motherboard for a replacement and you should be fine. If you accidentally zap your motherboard When inserting a card or moving wires around, be chagrined. Change your daring ways and wear an anti-static wrist strap! Component failure happens rarely, but appears as flaky connections between a device And motherboard, or as intermittent problems. A hard drive plugged into a faulty Controller on the motherboard, for example, might show up in CMOS auto detect, but Be inaccessible in Windows. A serial controller that worked fine for months until a big Storm took out the external modem hooked to it, but doesn’t work anymore, even with A replacement modem is another example. The most difficult of the three types of symptoms to diagnose are those I call ethereal Symptoms. Stuff just doesn’t work all the time. The PC reboots itself. You get blue Screens of death in the midst of heavy computing, like right before you smack the villain And rescue the damsel. What can cause such symptoms? If you answered any of the

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Following, you win the prize: • Faulty component • Buggy device driver • Buggy application software • Slight corruption of the operating system • Power supply problems Err…you get the picture. What a nightmare scenario to troubleshoot! The Way of the Tech knows paths Through such perils, though, so let’s turn to troubleshooting techniques now.

Conclusion

Motherboard is the most important component in Computer. There are various manufactures to manufacture the motherboard in the world. They produce various types of Motherboards according to the demand of people. Each Manufacture or competitor to produce best, fast, efficient motherboard. In Srilanka, especially in Jaffna it is hard to stay update with those motherboards. Today’s new one will be older tomorrow. Through this project I’m able to know the Kinds of Motherboards as follows:

• AT baby • BTX • ITX

• ATX

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Reference

• Wikipedia-the free encyclopedia • PC Encyclopedia by Chuck Bryan • Photos - Encarta Encyclopedia • www.Buzzle.com • www.kioseka.net • www.duxcw.com • www.wikianswers.com • www.motherboars.com • www.asus.com • www.tutor2u.com • Teachers instruction manual for A/L – Unit 2 • Photos –www.pcworld.com • Google books There is a Video how to Assemble Motherboard from

Ø www.youtube.com sees it too………….. Click Here