Computer motherboards
are like motherships that have control of everything that is connected too it.
Everything that is connected to it will fail if the motherboard fails. Now when you think
about this it brings some importance to this computer part. Many people choose to discard this fact
and focus on speed of the computer cpu or how good the graphics are on a video card. If those
devices aren't allowed to work at 100% all your money is wasted. Other parts of a computer
are imporant as well.
On that note lets talk about how the motherboard works. You would be best to pull out the motherboard
manuals you have or you can get them online from their manufacturer's websites. Basically, all a
motherboard does is provide a way for information to go to all of the computer parts that are involved
with the data. All computer motherboards have the following components. They will either have more or
less than them depending on their capabilities.
Different Parts of a Computer Motherboard
CPU Socket
RAM Slot
Power Supply Connector
Hard Drive Connector
Computer Case Fan
Video Card Slot
Computer Peripheral Slot (CD-ROM, DVD, etc...)
USB Slot
PS/2 Slot
VGA/DVI Connector
Sound Card Connections
Ethernet Socket
Inherently, computer motherboards are placed with a computer case, but this has nothing to do with
who has control. The computer case is just a space for this computer part to be housed to effectively
allow it to be stored and cooled in a safe place. It is sort of like your house. Lets talk about the
different parts of a computer motherboard next.
Computer CPU (Central Processing Unit) Socket
The computer CPU Socket, which works with the computer CPU
is one of the main things that determines what type of computer motherboard you will be buying. Generally
their is an AMD motherboard and Intel motherboard. Within each one of them can be several things like
a Socket A motherboard or a Socket 478 motherboard. Each computer CPU brand has a different socket
type for each type of CPU technology they make. More of this will be explained in the CPU section.
Computer Memory RAM (Random Access Memory) Slot
The Computer Memory RAM slot is where you place your
RAM memory within your computer system. It has two fasteners on either side to hold it in place. All
the computer motherboards have this slot for the computer RAM. You can read more about how important
RAM memory is within the Computer Memory RAM section.
Power Supply Connector
The best pc power supply connector is what gives power to your computer system. I don't mean computing power;
I am talking about electricty. That is all it does unless it has a second fan on the bottom of it to
suck up air to cool itself and spit out the back of the computer. Ironically, it is sucking up hot air
that the rest of the computer is making, which actually helps the rest of the computer parts. You can
read more about this in the power supply section.
Hard Drive Connector
The best hard drives come with a couple type of inputs now. They have IDE, HDMI, USB, USB2 and uSB3 soon. It
generally depends on what speed you want and how much you are willing to spend. Maybe you are just
fixing an old computer and need one of the older formats. It is generally the same and is in the
same location on computer motherboards. Many of the computer peripherals like DVD drives use the same
ports so they are interchangeable. You can read more about this in the best hard
drive section.
Computer case fan
You cannot see on the picture above, but their will be locations where 3 pins are available on a computer
motherboard. These are for case fans for your computer case or your computer video card. If you look
long enough you will find them scattered across most computer motherboards. Beware of one near the hard
drives that has a 2 pin connector on it. This is your CMOS (Leave it alone)!
Video Card Slot
The computer video card slot is a similar type of PCI slot that has been modified for use with a computer part
that has its own processing power. This in turn means it needs more speed than a regular PCI slot can
give. That is why they made the PCI-Express slot for newer video cards. AGP used to be the only one
available, but now it is obsolete. You can read more about this in the
Video Cards section.
Computer Peripherals
Computer Peripherals include hard drives, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, Floppy Drives, ZIP drives, etc... They
are some sort of media drive that stores data in some fashion. With the exception of the hard drives
the rest of them are external media that can be reinserted at any time. They share the same inputs as
the hard drives, but cannot store as much information. You can read more about this in the
best dvd burner section.
USB Slot
The USB is one of the most versatile slots on computer motherboards. This is because they have many
uses that people find very important. You can plug a hard drive, USB key, computer monitor, computer
keyboard, computer mouse and even some video cards into it. They are all subject to its speed
requirements, but they are getting progressively faster. Intel even had a super cool commercial with
the creator of USB being profiled as a celebrity with Intel.
PS/2 Slot
The PS/2 slot is a very old technology that was used for the computer keyboard and computer mouse. It
is no longer available on newer computer motheboards. I only mention it because my old Dell Optiplex
GX270 has PS/2 and 12 USB slots. I am not sure why they made it back then still....
VGA / DVI Connector
VGA is like the PS/2 connector to the USB connector. The DVI connector is much faster and produces
graphics for your computer monitor. VGA will disappear within the next 5-10 years. These are both used
to send information from your video card to your comuter monitor for display. The more powerful your
video card gets the stronger your computer monitor has to be. At least until DVI technology is not able
to handle the load of these fast computer video cards.
Sound Card Connections
I am sure you the sound card connections on your computer motherboard. You will see a speaker connection
, which is green and a red one that is the microphone. These are the important parts of the sound card
that most people use. You plug it in and go. It is one of the simpler ones. If you bought an external
sound card you will just plug it into the PCI slot and do the same thing. You can read more information
about this in the sound card section.
Ethernet Socket
The ethernet socket is where you put your Cat 5 cable to get broadband internet to your computer. It is
a simple process of plugging it in. You can either have 10/100 or 10/100/1000 speed connections. If you
are lucky you can get an optical connection where the speed will blow your mind. If you aren't
sharing it with 100,000 people that is. Most big colleges will run off an optical cable from the
internet backbone.
Motherboard Videos
Motherboard Manufacturer List
A lot of manufacturers are out there for computer motherboards, but not all of them are up to snuff.
What I mean is just because you make computer motherboards doesn't mean that people should buy
your computer parts. I know who the best are and the smaller companies that are just sleeping
giants waiting to pounce on the big guys. I will list them below.
I believe people should learn how to do
their own laptop repairs.
Computer laptops can seem intimidating, but they are just
like everything else, just smaller. You can save hundreds of
dollars by not dealing with customer support and young kids
messing with your important documents!
Fix it yourself with full HD online videos that show you step
by step what you can do to fix your computers and how to do
it easily. You will be amazed at what you are capable of and
the things people charge hundreds of dollars for that is so
easy! Learn how to do a laptop computer repair today!
Computer Monitor Reviews
I believe people should learn how to do
their own 