Parts of Motherboard

ROM Chip
ATX Power
AGP Slot Connector

Microprocessor
Expansion
socket
slots

FDD Socket
Northbridge

Southbridge
chipset Memory slots
System Panel
Connector CMOS Battery
IDE Socket
 Parts of Motherboard
ROM chip
- The chip or IC which contains and stores critical
programs such as the program that boots the computer and
BIOS.
 ROM

Pronounced rahm, acronym for read-only memory, computer memory on which data
has been prerecorded. Once data has been written onto a ROM chip, it cannot be
removed and can only be read.

Unlike main memory (RAM), ROM retains its contents even when the computer is
turned off. ROM is referred to as being nonvolatile, whereas RAM is volatile.

Most personal computers contain a small amount of ROM that stores critical programs
such as the program that boots the computer. In addition, ROMs are used extensively in
calculators and peripheral devices such as laser printers, whose fonts are often stored in
ROMs.
 Parts of Motherboard
• AGP Slot
- Accelerated Graphics Port supports 1.5 V
- Slot refers to a unit of space in a motherboard that supports AGP cards
and it yields a throughput rate of 266 MBps.
 Parts of Motherboard
• Expansion Slot (PCI or ISA)
- A socket on the motherboard that accepts an expansion card.
* PCI – Peripheral Component Interconnect is a high-speed connection for
devices including modems, sound cards, LAN cards etc. It can run at clock
speeds of 33 or 66 MHz. At 32 bits and 33 MHz, it yields a throughput rate
of 133 MBps.
 Parts of Motherboard
• FDD Connector/Socket
- A socket for Floppy Disk Drive cable connector or interface.
 Parts of Motherboard
Southbridge
- is the chip that controls all of the computers I/O functions, such as USB, audio, serial,
the system BIOS, the ISA bus, the interrupt controller and the IDE channels. In other words, all of
the functions of a processor except memory, PCI and AGP. They do not normally come with a heat
sink.

Southbridge
chipset
 Parts of Motherboard

Northbridge
- a Chip that connects to a CPU to memory, the PCI bus, Level 2 cache and
AGP activities. The Northbridge chips communicate with the CPU through the FSB.

Northbridge chipset
 Parts of Motherboard

• System Panel Connector

- This connector accommodates several front panel functions
a. System Power LED
b. HDD Activity
c. ATX Power Switch
d. Reset Switch
 Parts of Motherboard
IDE Connector Socket (Intelligent Drive Electronics or Integrated Drive Electronics)
- A socket for IDE Cable connector/interface

IDE Socket
 Parts of Motherboard

ATX Power Connector Socket

- A socket for the ATX Power Supply Cable Connector.
 Parts of Motherboard

AT Power Connector Socket

 Parts of Motherboard

• Microprocessor Socket
- is the connector that interfaces between a computer's motherboard and the processor itself. Earlier CPU
sockets and processors are built around the Pin Grid Array (PGA) architecture, in which the pins on the
underside of the processor are inserted into the socket, usually with zero insertion force (ZIF) to aid
installation. Today, most of the sockets used are built with Land Grid Array (LGA) architecture. Processors
used in this architecture are sometimes termed as Pin less.

Socket 370 Socket 2 Slot mount

Socket 478
Socket LGA775
 Parts of Motherboard

Memory Slots
- Slots for the memory modules (RAM) also called
memory banks
 Parts of Motherboard

• CMOS Battery
- CMOS & Clock Backup batteries perform the same function in desktop and laptop
computers: when the computer is turned off, the battery maintains the time and date, thus
insuring their accuracy when the system is once again restarted. More importantly, the
battery saves the computers BIOS setup configuration, which allows the system to efficiently
reboot once it is restarted.
 Parts of Motherboard
Rear Panel I/O

Mouse
port
p/s 2 USB interface LAN port
Keyboard Firewire interface
port Parallel port
printer Blue – line in
Pink – mic
Com port Lime – line out
Serial port
 Good
Safety Luck
Precaution
Follow these safety precaution when installing
motherboard

•Wear a grounding strap attached to a grounded

device to avoid damage from static electricity

•Discharge static electricity by touching the metal

of a safely grounded object before working on the
motherboard.

•Leave the components in the static proof bags

they came in.

•Hold all circuit boards by the edges .