MOTHERBOARD

MOTHERBOARD
Also called system
board, logic board or
main board.
A circuit board that
either houses or is
connected to all the
components operating
in the computer.

REMEMBER:
Choosing the correct motherboard
requires attention regarding the which
features and configurations are
available.
Ensure that the board chosen is
compatible with the system CPU and
that there are enough compatible
expansion and memory slots, keeping
in mind future upgrading requirements.

OBJECTIVES:
Identification/Components
Types
Layout/Form Factors
ROM BIOS
Motherboard Buses
Configuring jumper settings
Upgrading motherboards
Sign of trouble

Signs of trouble
Common motherboard
problems
Maintenance
Cleaning procedures
Troubleshooting and
Testing Motherboards

TYPES
OF
MOTHERBOARD

Form Factors
Obsolete
Baby-AT
Full-size AT
LPX (semiproprietary)
NLX
BTX, microBTX,
picoBTX

Modern

ATX and
Variants
microATX
FlexATX

COMPUTER FORM FACTOR

OBSOLETE FORM FACTORS

1. FULL AT (ADVANCED
TECHNOLOGY)
The AT form factor is the oldest and the
biggest form factor and widely used until
1993
The full AT motherboard is 12" x 11-13"
in size.

FULL -AT

2. BABY AT (ADVANCED
TECHNOLOGY)
The Baby AT was the standard in the PC industry
from roughly 1993-1997 and is still being used
today, usually in Pentium class products.
The baby AT board is 8.5" x 10-13" in size.
use the smaller 6-pin mini-DIN connector
(sometimes called a PS/2-type connector) and
might even have a mouse connector.

BABY - AT

LPX

LPX and mini-LPX form factor boards were a semiproprietary

design that Western Digital originally developed in 1987 for
some of its motherboards.

The LP in LPX stands for Low Profile, which is so named

because these boards incorporate slots that are parallel to the
main board, enabling the expansion cards to install sideways.
use a T-shaped riser card that allows expansion cards to be
mounted at the normal 90 angle to the motherboard but still
above the motherboard.

LPX

LPX Back Panel Connectors

NLX
NLX is a low-profile form factor designed to replace
the nonstandard LPX design used in previous lowprofile systems.
Introduced in November 1996 by Intel, NLX was a
popular form factor in the late 1990s for Slimline
corporate desktop systems from vendors such as
Compaq, HP, and Toshiba

NLX

NLX Back Panel Connectors

BTX
Balanced Technology Extended (BTX) is a motherboard
form factor specification that Intel released in
September 2003, with 1.0a and 1.0b updates released
in February 2004 and July 2005
To provide standard interfaces and form factors in an
effort to address the thermal and acoustical issues
associated with the ever-increasing power dissipation of
desktop microprocessors, chipsets, and graphics cards
in smaller desktop computing systems.

BTX

BTX Motherboard Form Factors

COMPUTER FORM FACTOR

MODERN FORM FACTORS

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
EXTENDED (ATX)
Developed as an evolution of the Baby AT form
factor
The ATX board is 12" x 9. 6 " in size.
It has all the I/O ports integrated directly into
the board, including USB ports.

ATX

FEATURES OF THE ATX MOTHERBOARDS

1. The processor is relocated away from the
expansion slots, allowing them to hold full length add-in cards.
2. Any cards inserted into the bus architectures would not cover
the processor and prevent proper cooling.
3. The longer side of the board is used to host more on-board I/O.
4. The ATX is basically a Baby AT rotated 90 degrees and
provides a new mounting configuration for the power supply in
which rather than blowing air out of the chassis, as in most
Baby AT platforms, provides air-flow through the chassis and
across the processor.

ADVANTAGES OF ATX MOTHERBOARDS

1.

Enhanced ease of use.

2.

Better support for current and future I/O.

3. Better support for current and future processor

technology
4. Reduced total system cost.

FLEX ATX
In March 1999, Intel released the FlexATX addendum to the
microATX specification. This added a new and even smaller
variation of the ATX form factor to the motherboard scene.
Smaller design is intended to allow a variety of new PC
designs, especially extremely inexpensive, smaller, consumeroriented, appliance-type systems.
defines a board that is up to 9 inches 7.5 inches (229mm
191mm), which is the smallest of the ATX family boards

COMPONENTS OF ATX MOTHERBOARD

COMPONENTS OF AT MOTHERBOARD

COMPONENTS OF
MOTHERBOARD

COMPONENTS
(1. Processor Interface)
Slot Interface:
A slot interface accepts
processors that are on
circuit boards. Slots
were used by some older
processors.

Socket Interface:
A socket interface
accepts processors that
have multiple pins.
Sockets are used by all
new processors.

Types

COMPONENTS
(Processor Interface)
Slot Interface

ZIF (Zero Insertion

Force)
Socket Interface
Has a lever to allow for
easy installation and
removal of chip

LGA (Land Grid Array)

Socket Interface
Uses gold pads (called
lands) on the bottom of
the processor.

Socket Interface

COMPONENTS
(2. Memory Modules)

The motherboard contains slots for different

types of memory.
Must be compatible with the type supported
by the motherboard, the total memory
capacity and the processor and chipset
support.

TWO TYPES OF MEMORY SLOTS

1. SINGLE IN LINE MEMORY MODULE (SIMM)

SLOT
- a 72-pin socket/slot for SIMM packaging of
DRAM and is usually found in older AT motherboards.

2. DUAL IN LINE MEMORY MODULE (DIMM)

SLOT
- a 168-pin socket/slot for DIMM packaging of
DRAM.

Memory Modules
SIMM

DIMM

How to install Memory Modules

SIMM

DIMM

COMPONENTS
(3. North Bridge Chipset)
North Bridge is one of the core chips that handle
communication between high speed devices like the CPU,
Cache, RAM, AGP and the SOUTHBRIDGE.
North Bridge also defines the type of processor that it can
handle. For example, an INTEL CHIPSET can handle only
specific INTEL PROCESSORS.
North Bridge is also known as Graphics and Memory
Controller Hub (GMCH) or Memory Controller Hub
(MCH).

COMPONENTS
(4. South Bridge Chipset)
South Bridge is one of the core chips that handles
peripheral communication of slower speed devices
including IDE, on-board sound, serial ports, parallel
ports, USB, etc.
South Bridge is connected to the CPU via the North
bridge.
South bridge is also known as I/O Controller hub
(ICH).

MCH Memory Controller

Hub
ICH I/O Controller Hub

COMPONENTS
(5. Expansion Slots)

A part of the motherboard which

serve the purpose of adding
functionality to the computer.
Expansion Cards such as
dedicated Soundcards and
Network Cards and the like are
inserted on these slots.

COMPONENTS
(5. Expansion Slots)
ACCELERATED GRAPHICS
PORT (AGP)
Is a high-speed slot for
attaching a video card
to the motherboard
used primarily to assist
in the acceleration of
3D computer graphics.
Usually a red, brown,
black colored slot
usually placed on top of
PCI slots.

PERIPHERAL COMPONENT
PERIPHERAL COMPONENT
INTERFACE/ INTERCONNECT INTERFACE/ INTERCONNECT
EXPRESS (PCIe)
(PCI)
Supports a 32 or 64-bit
I/O bus providing
compatibility with both
486 and Pentium
machines.
Most commonly used
for devices such as
sound cards, modems
and network cards.

Is a next generation I/O

bus architecture.
It provides multiple
transmission lanes (x2, x4,
x8, x16, x32)
It is backwards compatible
and allows legacy PCI
technology to be run in
the same system
Most commonly used for
video cards in modern
computer systems

PCI Express vs PCI

PCIe Slot vs AGP Slot

PCIe vs AGP vs PCI

COMPONENTS
(6. PATA Controller )
A part of the motherboard responsible for receiving
and sending information to and from both the
processor and the hard disk.
IDE drives and devices are attach to the motherboard
by means of a 40-wire ribbon cable.
The IDE standard also allows TWO DRIVES to connect
in a daisy- chain fashion.

COMPONENTS
(7. Floppy Disk Controller )
Located very close to the hard disk controllers, this
controller supports a 33-wire ribbon cable, which
connects the floppy drive to the motherboard.
When connecting the floppy drive to the system, you
will notice that the ribbon cable for the floppy drive
has one end where the wires are twisted. This is the
end of the ribbon cable that must be connected to the
floppy drive. The opposite end is connected to the
controller on the motherboard.

COMPONENTS
7. SATA (Serial Advanced Technology
Attachment) Controller

Serial ATA, is an evolutionary replacement for

the venerable PATA physical storage interface.
Uses much smaller and thinner cables with
only seven conductors that are easier to route
inside the PC and easier to plug with smaller,
redesigned cable connectors.

FDD Controller vs SATA Controller

HDD Controller vs SATA

Controller

SATA Cable vs PATA Cable vs FDD Cable

COMPONENTS
9. BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) Chip
Is that chip responsible for holding the data
the computer needs to start and to check all
devices in the system. This data is not lost
when the computer is turned off.
It is usually rectangular in shape and
generally features the manufacturers name as
a label on the chip. Some of the popular
manufacturers are AMI, AWARD, and IBM.

COMPONENTS
10. CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide
Semiconductor) Battery

Is a small watch-like battery on the

motherboard that maintains enough
power to the BIOS Chip to make the data
intact even when the power is turned off
so that the computer can access the data
on the chip during boot up or power on
procedures.

BIOS Chip

COMPONENTS
11. Communication Port
Also called COM PORT (COM1, COM2), these are usually
integrated in ATX motherboard
Also known as SERIAL PORT because they send data in a
seriesa single bit at a time. If eight bits of data are being
delivered to a device connected to the COM ports, then the
system is sending the eight bits of data, one at a time.
It is usually used to connect an external modem, or a serial
mouse, to these ports. It is a male port at the back of the
system having either 9 or 25 pins of connections.

COMPONENTS
12. Parallel Port
It is also known as the PRINTER PORT, or LPT1 and
used to connect a printer to the system.
The parallel port gets its name by being able to send
information eight bits at a time. Whereas serial ports
only send one bit at a time in single file, parallel ports
send can send eight bits in one operation.
It is a female port located on the back of the system
board with 25 pins of connections.

COMPONENTS
13. Mouse/Keyboard PS/2 Connector
It is used for connecting some keyboards and mice to
a PC compatible computer system.
It is a color-coded PS/2 connection ports (purple for
keyboards and green for mice).
PS/2 name comes from the IBM Personal System/2
series of personal computers which was introduced in
1987.

KEYBOARD

MOUSE

COMPONENTS
14. VGA (VIDEO GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR)
Port

A built-in or integrated video adapter

on the motherboard used to connect
the video output device particularly a
CRT or LCD monitor.

COMPONENTS
15. SOUND CARD/AUDIO CARD
CONNECTION PORTS

A built-in or integrated audio adapter

on the motherboard that facilitates
the input and output of audio signals
to and from a computer.

COMPONENTS
16. NETWORK INTERFACE/LAN
ADAPTER PORT
A built-in or integrated network adapter on the motherboard that facilitates the
network communications of the system unit to other computers connected in the
network.

COMPONENTS
17. POWER SUPPLY CONNECTOR

A type of connector located on the

system board that is used to connect the
power supply to the motherboard.
This connector may be labeled as P1
(ATX), or on some systems, P8 and P9
(AT).

COMPONENTS
18. FRONT PANEL CONNECTIONS

These are the connections assigned for various

components of the system unit that are usually
located in front of the system casing or
chassis, which includes but not limited to
Power LED, On/Off Switch, Hard Drive Activity
LED.
Its connections to various front panel
components are based on motherboard
manufacturer's specifications.