The motherboard, or main board, is normally the first component to be installed in the case. All additional adapters will be installed directly on the motherboard, and storage device (drives) will be attached to it by wide ribbon cables. There are a dozen well-known motherboard manufacturers and hundreds of lesser-known brands. PCs are not named for their motherboards, but by their CPUs, such as Pentium 4 or Athlon. The CPU and the memory (RAM) require no connections to anything else in the case other than the motherboard, and can therefore be mounted on the motherboard before it is installed in the case. Not surprisingly, the motherboard is the largest component you will install in the case, and is often the most expensive.
The modern ATX (AT extension) motherboard provides many basic function: It passes power from the power supply to the installed adapters, CPU, and memory modules; provides connection ports for the keyboard, mouse and printer; and integrates all the supporting function necessary to make the CPU into a computer. Most jobs handled by the motherboard go on entirely in the background, transparent to the user and remarked on only if there is a problem. The motherboard function that you should always keep in mind when building your PC is that it acts as the communications infrastructure for the entire computer. The motherboard is crisscrossed by information superhighways, some as wide as 64 lanes, which move information and instructions from one component to another.
The modern ATX (AT extension) motherboard provides many basic function: It passes power from the power supply to the installed adapters, CPU, and memory modules; provides connection ports for the keyboard, mouse and printer; and integrates all the supporting function necessary to make the CPU into a computer. Most jobs handled by the motherboard go on entirely in the background, transparent to the user and remarked on only if there is a problem. The motherboard function that you should always keep in mind when building your PC is that it acts as the communications infrastructure for the entire computer. The motherboard is crisscrossed by information superhighways, some as wide as 64 lanes, which move information and instructions from one component to another.
Motherboard
For example, to display a checkbook ledger stored on your system last week, the CPU (which does most of the decision making) asks the hard drive, via a motherboard superhighway, to send this information to immediate memory for use. The requested information is moved from the hard drive to the memory (RAM) via a motherboard superhighway, where the CPU operates on it via a special expressway and formats it for presentation. The information is then sent via another superhighway to the video adapter, which translates it into television-type signals for the monitor. You don't have to keep track of which superhighway, called a bus, is involved in every operation, but it is important to understand that the various push-together connections you will make to the motherboard form vital bridges for the information flow.
Manufacturers in a “reinventing the wheel” process do not design motherboards. The design of the motherboard is largely controlled by the choice of the chipset-the one or two highly integrated chips that support the CPU. Although the CPU can be seen as the decision maker, it doesn't actually carry out the policing of all the motherboard superhighways (and back roads) by itself. The chipset handles all the support functions for the motherboard largely in automatic mode, just like nervous system of the human body maintains our vital function even while we sleep. The level of support offered by the chipset defines the capabilities that can be built into the motherboard, including what speeds will be possible for the CPU and memory. There are far fewer chipset manufacturers than motherboard manufacturers, and CPU manufacturers always design a companion chipset of their own to go with their CPUs.
For example, to display a checkbook ledger stored on your system last week, the CPU (which does most of the decision making) asks the hard drive, via a motherboard superhighway, to send this information to immediate memory for use. The requested information is moved from the hard drive to the memory (RAM) via a motherboard superhighway, where the CPU operates on it via a special expressway and formats it for presentation. The information is then sent via another superhighway to the video adapter, which translates it into television-type signals for the monitor. You don't have to keep track of which superhighway, called a bus, is involved in every operation, but it is important to understand that the various push-together connections you will make to the motherboard form vital bridges for the information flow.
Manufacturers in a “reinventing the wheel” process do not design motherboards. The design of the motherboard is largely controlled by the choice of the chipset-the one or two highly integrated chips that support the CPU. Although the CPU can be seen as the decision maker, it doesn't actually carry out the policing of all the motherboard superhighways (and back roads) by itself. The chipset handles all the support functions for the motherboard largely in automatic mode, just like nervous system of the human body maintains our vital function even while we sleep. The level of support offered by the chipset defines the capabilities that can be built into the motherboard, including what speeds will be possible for the CPU and memory. There are far fewer chipset manufacturers than motherboard manufacturers, and CPU manufacturers always design a companion chipset of their own to go with their CPUs.
