Motherboards and Their Components
Motherboard (Main Board, System Board, Desktop Board) Overview
The motherboard is the part of the computer to which every other component is connected. It contains the processor socket(s), memory slots, expansion card slots, ports for mouse, keyboard, printer, et cetera, and electronic parts, known as the chipset, to make everything run. Most motherboards contain some built-in components such as video, sound, network adapter, and others, and they therefore have ports for whatever built-in components they have. For example, if a motherboard has built-in sound, it will have built-in audio connectors as well.
Note Laptop/notesite motherboards are not covered in this chapter unless otherwise noted.
Form Factors
Since the first PC was introduced, several types of motherboards have been used; the types referred to as form factors. What differentiates form factors of motherboards is their size, arrangement of components on the boards, and other details. Cases and power supplies are also classified into the same form factors; they all have to match to some extent for the components to fit properly into the case. The following form factors of motherboards are among those that have been used for PCs: AT, ATX, LPX, Micro ATX, NLX, and Flex ATX, in addition to proprietary boards by Dell, Compaq, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and others. Newer proprietary boards are based on the aforementioned standards, so some substitution is possible. Many sites on the Web explain the differences among form factors, such as motherboards.org and formfactors.org. Search Google.com for "motherboard form factors."
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