Understanding Motherboards and CPUs
The Motherboard
The motherboard serves as a single platform to connect all the parts of a computer together. It connects the CPU, memory, hard drives, optical drives, video card, sound card, and other ports and expansion cards directly or via cables.
It can be considered the backbone of a computer.
Features of a Motherboard
A motherboard comes with the following features:
- Motherboards vary greatly in supporting various types of components.
- Normally, a motherboard supports a single type of CPU and a few types of memory.
- Video cards, hard disks, and sound cards have to be compatible with the motherboard to function properly.
- Motherboards, cases, and power supplies must be compatible to work properly together.
Popular Manufacturers
- Intel
- ASUS
- AOpen
- ABIT
- Biostar
- Gigabyte
- MSI
Description of a Motherboard
The motherboard is mounted inside the case and is securely attached via small screws through pre-drilled holes. The motherboard contains ports to connect all of the internal components. It provides a single socket for the CPU, whereas for memory, normally one or more slots are available. Motherboards provide ports to attach floppy drives, hard drives, and optical drives via ribbon cables. The motherboard carries fans and a special port designed for the power supply.
There is a peripheral card slot in front of the motherboard using which video cards, sound cards, and other expansion cards can be connected to the motherboard.
On the left side, motherboards carry a number of ports to connect a monitor, printer, mouse, keyboard, speaker, and network cables. Motherboards also provide USB ports which allow compatible devices to be connected in a plug-in/plug-out fashion, for example, pen drives, digital cameras, etc.
What is a CPU?
Alternately referred to as a processor, central processor, or microprocessor, the CPU is the Central Processing Unit of the computer.
A computer’s CPU handles all instructions it receives from hardware and software running on the computer.
The CPU is often referred to as the brain of the computer. However, it is more appropriate to refer to software as the brain and the CPU as a very efficient calculator. A CPU is really good with numbers, but if it wasn’t for the software, it wouldn’t know how to do anything else.
Many new computer users may improperly call their computer and sometimes their monitor the CPU. When referring to your computer or monitor, it is proper to refer to them as either the “computer” or “monitor” and not a CPU. The CPU is a chip within the computer.
Components of the CPU
In the CPU, the primary components are the ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit) that performs mathematical, logical, and decision operations, and the CU (Control Unit) that directs all of the processor’s operations.
Types of CPUs
In the past, computer processors used numbers to identify the processor and help identify faster processors. For example, the Intel 80486 (486) processor is faster than the 80386 (386) processor. After the introduction of the Intel Pentium processor (which would technically be the 80586), all computer processors started using names like Athlon, Duron, Pentium, and Celeron.
Today, in addition to the different names of computer processors, there are different architectures (32-bit and 64-bit), speeds, and capabilities.
An Intel Pentium processor may look. The processor is placed and secured into a compatible CPU socket found on the motherboard. Processors produce heat, so they are covered with a heat sink to keep them cool and running smoothly. On the bottom of the chip are hundreds of connector pins that plug into each of the corresponding holes in the socket. Today, most CPUs resemble the picture shown above. However, Intel and AMD have also experimented with slot processors that were much larger and slid into a slot on the motherboard. Also, over the years, there have been dozens of different types of sockets on motherboards. Each socket only supports specific types of processors and each has its own pin layout.