The motherboard is the most important part of a computer. It provides the electrical connections by which the other components of the system communicate. The data pathways between the CPU, memory, and peripherals are all routed through the motherboard and its circuitry. In addition, many of the system’s important controllers are typically integrated onto the motherboard. These include the central processing unit (CPU), memory, and input/output (I/O) controllers for devices like the keyboard, mouse, disk drives, and video display.
A motherboard is called by a variety of names which include system board, mobo, printed circuit board (PCB), base board, mb, and backplane board. It is essentially the main PCB in a computer which has connectors for attaching other essential components of the system.
When Was the First Motherboard Made?
The first motherboard was created in 1981 by IBM and it was named Planar Breadboard. An electrical engineer Patty McHugh was the one who created it and it was not like a modern motherboard having all the fancy components. It solely consisted of some chips and microprocessors embedded in silicon plates.
Form Factors of Motherboards
Motherboards come in a variety of sizes and with different features, depending on the device into which they’re integrated. They are used in PCs, laptops, smartphones, tablets and even in advanced electronic devices.
The size of the motherboard is determined by its form factor. The smaller the form factor, the less space it takes up inside the computer case. In a desktop PC, a large-sized motherboard is used and the components are independently connected to the board. These components can be removed or replaced easily while in the case of a laptop, the components are soldered onto the main board which makes it difficult to replace or remove them.
The most commonly known types of motherboards are ATX, Micro-ATX, ITX and E-ATX. Let’s take an in-depth review of these form factors:
ATX Motherboard: ATX stands for Advanced technology extended and it is a motherboard form factor that was introduced in the 1990s by Intel. It is still the most popular form factor today. ATX motherboards are smaller than AT boards and they use newer technology. They are also compatible with a wider range of drivers and software. The power connectors on these boards are easier to identify and work with.
Micro-ATX Motherboards: Micro-ATX is comparatively smaller than the ATX motherboard. These boards are used for smaller and compact builds. They are also cheaper and use less power. Micro-ATX boards can be used in both towers as well as small form factor cases.
ITX Motherboard: ITX is the smallest form factor motherboard. These boards are used in small form factor and mini-ITX cases. They have a very low power consumption and are very affordable.
E-ATX Motherboards: E-ATX is a newer form factor which is becoming increasingly popular. These boards are extended ATX boards and they are larger than the standard ATX boards. They are mainly used in gaming PCs and workstations.
What is a Chipset?
A chipset is a group of microchips that are responsible for managing the data flow between the various parts of the computer system. It is located on the motherboard and controls communication between the CPU and other devices attached to the motherboard.
Chipset also determines the number of high-speed peripherals such as keyboards, mice, monitors, and trackpads your PC can support. With a new processor, there comes a new chipset by the CPU manufacturer companies Intel and AMD but they are not cross-compatible. So, Intel and AMD processors need motherboards having their corresponding chipsets.
There are two main types in chipsets:
Northbridge chipset: The Northbridge chip is responsible for managing the data flow between the CPU and RAM. It also controls communication with high-speed devices such as graphics cards and SSDs.
Southbridge chipset: The Southbridge chip is responsible for managing the data flow between the Northbridge chip and lower-speed devices such as hard drives and optical drives. It also connects SATA, PCI bus slots and IDE ports to the northbridge chipset.
Components of a Computer Motherboard
The motherboard is the most important part of the computer as it holds all the vital components that make the system work. There are several important components on a motherboard:
CPU socket: This is where the CPU is inserted. The type of CPU socket will dictate what type of processor can be used. Each processor has a specific socket type that it is compatible with.
Memory slots: These are where the RAM modules are inserted. The type and number of memory slots will dictate how much and what type of RAM can be used.
Expansion slots: These are used to insert expansion cards such as graphics cards, sound cards, and network cards.
Chipset: A chipset is a group of microchips that are responsible for managing the data flow between the various parts of the computer system. It is located on the motherboard and controls communication between the CPU and other devices attached to the motherboard.
I/O ports: These are used to connect peripherals such as keyboards, mice, printers, and scanners. The type and number of I/O ports will dictate what type of peripherals can be used.
Power connectors: These are used to connect the power supply to the motherboard. The type and number of power connectors will dictate how much power the motherboard can receive.
Working of Motherboards
A motherboard has many layers of fibreglass and copper material to avoid a single interruption that works together to function properly. The motherboard contains several important components, such as CPU and RAM. These components are all interconnected and work together to allow the computer to function.
The CPU is the brain of the computer and it handles all of the processing. The RAM is used to store data that the CPU needs quick access to. During its working, the motherboard circulates the data between the CPU and RAM as well as the chipset. If used with a graphics card, the motherboard will also circulate data between the CPU, RAM, and graphics card.
A motherboard also contains several other important components, such as the BIOS and I/O ports. The BIOS is a set of instructions that tells the computer how to boot up and it is stored on a chip on the motherboard. The I/O ports are used to connect peripherals, such as keyboards and mice.
The motherboard is the most important part of the computer as it houses all of the vital components that make the system work. Without a motherboard, a computer would not even exist.
Conclusion
I’d like to say that the motherboard is the central nervous system of a PC which houses the important components and coordinates them to work together to make a PC work. Different types of motherboards are available in the market which support different processors and have different numbers of expansion slots, I/O ports etc. Selecting a motherboard depends on the type of processor, number of graphics cards, PCI devices, SATA devices and USB devices you want to us.
