When you open a computer case to see what's inside, the first thing you notice is a large large shelf with several connectors and many transistors on it, that is the motherboard.
What is a motherboard "> How the computer motherboard is made
1) Form factor
Before seeing how a motherboard works it is therefore important to see what shape it can have and what differences there are between different models.
The shape and layout of a motherboard are called a form factor.
The form factor affects the position of individual components and the shape of the computer case.
While all motherboards work the same way, different card models have different types of ports, sizes and mounting holes.
The most common form factors are:
ATX : the most common form, large in size (most of which is 12x9.6 inches)
microATX : the smallest version of the standard ATX, which has become very popular in recent years.
Mini-ATX : smaller than the micro version, designed for laptops.
Mini-ITX : smaller than an ATX card (6.7x6.7 inches).
Nano-ITX : for thin devices
Pico-ITX : very small with dimensions of 3.9 x 2.8 inches.
2) CPU socket
The form factor is just one of many standards that apply to motherboards.
Another important feature that you must always look to be sure of the model you are going to buy is certainly the socket for the microprocessor, which determines the type of Central Processing Unit (CPU) used by the motherboard.
The socket is the processor bay or socket, which is different depending on the brand (Intel and AMD use different Sockets) and also according to the generation, (older AMD and Intel processors have different sockets than the current ones).
The CPU is that piece of the computer that has the shape of a small square with a lot of pins and connectors, which works to interpret and transmit the data made by the northbridge part of a chipset.
Having a high quality CPU is important for the overall speed and efficiency of a computer.
3) Chipset
The chipset makes up the logic system of the motherboard and usually consists of two parts: the Northbridge and the Southbridge .
These are the two most visible and important pieces of the motherboard, which function as two "bridges" connecting the CPU to other parts of the computer.
The chipset is the "glue" that connects the microprocessor to the rest of the motherboard and therefore to the rest of the computer.
The northbridge connects directly to the processor via the front side bus (FSB), a memory controller is located on the northbridge, which provides the CPU with quick access to memory.
The northbridge also connects to the AGP or PCI Express bus and to the memory itself.
The southbridge is slower than the northbridge, and information from the CPU must pass through the northbridge before reaching the southbridge.
Other buses connect the southbridge to the PCI bus, the USB ports and the IDE or SATA hard drive connections.
Chipset selection and CPU selection go hand in hand, because manufacturers optimize chipsets to work with specific CPUs.
The chipset is an integrated part of the motherboard, so it cannot be removed or updated.
This means that not only does the motherboard socket fit the CPU, but that the motherboard chipset must work optimally with the chosen CPU.
With the different models based on the socket and the chipset, when you buy a motherboard today you need to already know what type of processor you are going to mount on it and also, possibly, what kind of updates to do in the future.
The Chipset also includes the BIOS, or Basic Input / Output System chip, which checks the basic functions of the computer and performs a self-test every time it is turned on and the CMOS battery, which keeps the basic settings in memory and keeps it updated the system time even with the computer turned off.
Some systems have dual BIOS, which works as a backup in case the other fails or if an error occurs during the update.
As for the other motherboard slot attacks we can remember:
- Memory / DIMM slots : used to hold RAM memory
- PCI : connects expansion cards such as video card, network card and sound card.
- PCIe : a modern version of PCI, with a different interface that can work with almost any type of expansion card.
- USB : used for USB connectors.
- SATA : used for optical drives / hard drives / solid state drives
4) Data bus
all the components mentioned above would not work in unison without the necessary data buses that connect everything together.
When we talk about BUS we simply mean the circuit that connects one part of the motherboard to another.
The greater the number of data that a bus can manage simultaneously, the faster the information is capable of traveling.
Bus speed, measured in megahertz (MHz), refers to the amount of data that can move simultaneously on the bus.
Bus speed usually refers to the speed of the front side bus (FSB), the circuit that connects the CPU to the northbridge.
FSB speeds can range from 66 MHz to over 800 MHz.
Since the CPU reaches the memory controller through the northbridge, the speed of FSB can significantly affect the performance of the computer.
Some of the other buses that can be found on a motherboard are:
- the back side bus connects the CPU with the level 2 cache (L2), also known as secondary or external cache.
- The memory bus connects the Northbridge to the memory.
- The IDE or ATA bus connects the southbridge to the disk drives.
- The AGP bus connects the video card to the memory and the CPU.
- The PCI bus connects the PCI slots to the southbridge.
5) RAM
Another important function of the motherboard is to provide the RAM memory slot.
We have established that the processor clock controls the speed with which a computer thinks, that the speed of the chipset and the buses controls the speed with which it can communicate with other parts of the computer.
The speed of the RAM connection, on the other hand, directly controls how fast the computer is in accessing instructions and data, with a decisive impact on system performance.
Much of the memory available today is "Double Data Rate" (DDR), but there are several generations of DDR.
When choosing RAM, you must also pay attention to what type of RAM is supported by the motherboard, if DDR3 or DDR4, which have different compatibility.
6) Conclusion
Putting it all together: how the motherboard works "> when you turn on the computer, the electricity is sent from the power supply to the motherboard and the first data transfers begin via the data buses, which pass through the northbridge and southbridge part of the chipset .
The northbridge part connects the CPU, RAM and PCIe data, the RAM starts sending inputs to the CPU, which "interprets" these actions as output.
The data on the PCIe is then transferred to an expansion card, depending on the type you have.
The southbridge part connects the data to the BIOS, USB, SATA and PCI.
The BIOS signals allow the computer to boot, while the data sent to the SATA socket "awakens" the optical drives, the hard disk and the SSD drive.
The SATA data is used to turn on the screen, activate the network connection and audio.
In short, the motherboard functions as headquarters in a computer to transmit data to each part via data bus and it is the hardware component that, together with the CPU, better identifies the computer itself, so much so that changing the motherboard or CPU can mean, in fact, change everything computer.
For this reason it is essential to choose a new computer motherboard and CPU well, thinking about the present and also in the future.
READ ALSO: How to assemble the PC, assemble the pieces and build a computer from scratch
What is a motherboard "> How the computer motherboard is made
1) Form factor
Before seeing how a motherboard works it is therefore important to see what shape it can have and what differences there are between different models.
The shape and layout of a motherboard are called a form factor.
The form factor affects the position of individual components and the shape of the computer case.
While all motherboards work the same way, different card models have different types of ports, sizes and mounting holes.
The most common form factors are:
ATX : the most common form, large in size (most of which is 12x9.6 inches)
microATX : the smallest version of the standard ATX, which has become very popular in recent years.
Mini-ATX : smaller than the micro version, designed for laptops.
Mini-ITX : smaller than an ATX card (6.7x6.7 inches).
Nano-ITX : for thin devices
Pico-ITX : very small with dimensions of 3.9 x 2.8 inches.
2) CPU socket
The form factor is just one of many standards that apply to motherboards.
Another important feature that you must always look to be sure of the model you are going to buy is certainly the socket for the microprocessor, which determines the type of Central Processing Unit (CPU) used by the motherboard.
The socket is the processor bay or socket, which is different depending on the brand (Intel and AMD use different Sockets) and also according to the generation, (older AMD and Intel processors have different sockets than the current ones).
The CPU is that piece of the computer that has the shape of a small square with a lot of pins and connectors, which works to interpret and transmit the data made by the northbridge part of a chipset.
Having a high quality CPU is important for the overall speed and efficiency of a computer.
3) Chipset
The chipset makes up the logic system of the motherboard and usually consists of two parts: the Northbridge and the Southbridge .
These are the two most visible and important pieces of the motherboard, which function as two "bridges" connecting the CPU to other parts of the computer.
The chipset is the "glue" that connects the microprocessor to the rest of the motherboard and therefore to the rest of the computer.
The northbridge connects directly to the processor via the front side bus (FSB), a memory controller is located on the northbridge, which provides the CPU with quick access to memory.
The northbridge also connects to the AGP or PCI Express bus and to the memory itself.
The southbridge is slower than the northbridge, and information from the CPU must pass through the northbridge before reaching the southbridge.
Other buses connect the southbridge to the PCI bus, the USB ports and the IDE or SATA hard drive connections.
Chipset selection and CPU selection go hand in hand, because manufacturers optimize chipsets to work with specific CPUs.
The chipset is an integrated part of the motherboard, so it cannot be removed or updated.
This means that not only does the motherboard socket fit the CPU, but that the motherboard chipset must work optimally with the chosen CPU.
With the different models based on the socket and the chipset, when you buy a motherboard today you need to already know what type of processor you are going to mount on it and also, possibly, what kind of updates to do in the future.
The Chipset also includes the BIOS, or Basic Input / Output System chip, which checks the basic functions of the computer and performs a self-test every time it is turned on and the CMOS battery, which keeps the basic settings in memory and keeps it updated the system time even with the computer turned off.
Some systems have dual BIOS, which works as a backup in case the other fails or if an error occurs during the update.
As for the other motherboard slot attacks we can remember:
- Memory / DIMM slots : used to hold RAM memory
- PCI : connects expansion cards such as video card, network card and sound card.
- PCIe : a modern version of PCI, with a different interface that can work with almost any type of expansion card.
- USB : used for USB connectors.
- SATA : used for optical drives / hard drives / solid state drives
4) Data bus
all the components mentioned above would not work in unison without the necessary data buses that connect everything together.
When we talk about BUS we simply mean the circuit that connects one part of the motherboard to another.
The greater the number of data that a bus can manage simultaneously, the faster the information is capable of traveling.
Bus speed, measured in megahertz (MHz), refers to the amount of data that can move simultaneously on the bus.
Bus speed usually refers to the speed of the front side bus (FSB), the circuit that connects the CPU to the northbridge.
FSB speeds can range from 66 MHz to over 800 MHz.
Since the CPU reaches the memory controller through the northbridge, the speed of FSB can significantly affect the performance of the computer.
Some of the other buses that can be found on a motherboard are:
- the back side bus connects the CPU with the level 2 cache (L2), also known as secondary or external cache.
- The memory bus connects the Northbridge to the memory.
- The IDE or ATA bus connects the southbridge to the disk drives.
- The AGP bus connects the video card to the memory and the CPU.
- The PCI bus connects the PCI slots to the southbridge.
5) RAM
Another important function of the motherboard is to provide the RAM memory slot.
We have established that the processor clock controls the speed with which a computer thinks, that the speed of the chipset and the buses controls the speed with which it can communicate with other parts of the computer.
The speed of the RAM connection, on the other hand, directly controls how fast the computer is in accessing instructions and data, with a decisive impact on system performance.
Much of the memory available today is "Double Data Rate" (DDR), but there are several generations of DDR.
When choosing RAM, you must also pay attention to what type of RAM is supported by the motherboard, if DDR3 or DDR4, which have different compatibility.
6) Conclusion
Putting it all together: how the motherboard works "> when you turn on the computer, the electricity is sent from the power supply to the motherboard and the first data transfers begin via the data buses, which pass through the northbridge and southbridge part of the chipset .
The northbridge part connects the CPU, RAM and PCIe data, the RAM starts sending inputs to the CPU, which "interprets" these actions as output.
The data on the PCIe is then transferred to an expansion card, depending on the type you have.
The southbridge part connects the data to the BIOS, USB, SATA and PCI.
The BIOS signals allow the computer to boot, while the data sent to the SATA socket "awakens" the optical drives, the hard disk and the SSD drive.
The SATA data is used to turn on the screen, activate the network connection and audio.
In short, the motherboard functions as headquarters in a computer to transmit data to each part via data bus and it is the hardware component that, together with the CPU, better identifies the computer itself, so much so that changing the motherboard or CPU can mean, in fact, change everything computer.
For this reason it is essential to choose a new computer motherboard and CPU well, thinking about the present and also in the future.
READ ALSO: How to assemble the PC, assemble the pieces and build a computer from scratch
