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CompTIA A+ Core 1 > 3.4 Motherboard, CPU, Expansion Cards > Flashcards

3.4 Motherboard, CPU, Expansion Cards Flashcards

1
Q

Motherboard Form Factors

A
  • over 40 different form factors
  • chosen based on size of case and room for expansion
  • Most common: Standard-ATX & Mini-ITX
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2
Q

ATX

A

Advanced Technology Extended
- standardized by Intel in 1995
- very common for desktops
- 20 or 24 pin power connector
- may have additional 4 or 8 pin connector for CPU

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3
Q

Mini-ITX

A

Information Technology Extended
- small form factor uses (single-purpose computing i.e. streaming media)
- low power
- screw holes are the same as ATX

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4
Q

Computer Bus

A
  • Backside of motherboard
  • wires connect different parts of the motherboard
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5
Q

PCI

A

Peripheral Component Interconnect
- connection for expansion cards (sound cards, network cards, etc) or other devices
- used in older computers
- 32-bit and 64-bit bus width
- parallel communication
- 3.3v or 5v capability

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6
Q

PCIe

A
  • replaced PCI
  • serial communication: unidirectional “lanes”, slower devices don’t slow everything else down
  • x1, x2, x4, x8, x16, x32
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7
Q

PCIe Serial Communication

A
  • each lane has one communications path going one way and another path going the other way
  • more lanes per bandwidth
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8
Q

Power Connector

A
  • one of the largest connectors
  • +3.3 V, +/-5 V, +/-12 V
  • originally 20 pin connector for ATX
  • 24 pin was added for PCIe
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9
Q

P4 Connector

A
  • 4 pin
  • for ATX
  • provides additional 12 V, primarily used for the CPU
  • older motherboards
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10
Q

SATA connection

A
  • colored connectors
  • commonly used for hard drives and SSDs
  • L-shaped to prevent improper insertion
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11
Q

eSATA Connection

A
  • connects external storage devices
  • same throughput and performance as an internal SATA connection
  • usually connects to back of PC case
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12
Q

Headers

A
  • pin headers
    Many different uses:
  • power
  • peripheral connections
  • USB ports
  • cooling fans
  • lights and buttons on case
  • front panel connectors (labeled)
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13
Q

M.2 Connector

A
  • commonly used to connect SSD
  • most common slot types are B, M, and B+M (based on PCIe)
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14
Q

CPU Compatibility

A
  • Intel and AMD are the two main manufacturers
  • motherboard is designed either for Intel or for AMD = not interchangeable
  • AMD for cost
  • Intel for performance
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15
Q

Server Motherboard

A
  • multi socket: supports multiple physical CPU packages, CPUs split the load
  • many different expansion slots
  • larger ATX-sized system
  • designed for a rack-mounted system
  • supports ECC RAM
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16
Q

Desktop Motherboard

A
  • size varies: full size to compact or monitor only systems
  • single CPU
  • usually 2 or 4 memory slots
  • 1 or 2 expansion slots
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17
Q

Mobile Motherboard (Laptops)

A
  • CPU is designed for power usage and efficiency
  • CPU will throttle when laptop gets warmer due to lack of cooling
  • limited modifications
  • proprietary: specific to laptop model
  • replacement is difficult since many parts are soldered on
18
Q

BIOS

A

Basic Input/Output System
- software used to start computer
- aka firmware or ROM

  1. Initialized CPU and memory
  2. POST (power on self test)
    - check to see if computer has memory, CPU, video card, and keyboard/mouse
  3. Looks for boot loader on boot drive -> start the OS
19
Q

Flash Memory

A
  • usually found on the motherboard
  • BIOS contents are stored in the flash memory
  • some have a main BIOS and backup BIOS
20
Q

UEFI BIOS

A

Unified Extensible Firmware Interface
- replaced legacy BIOS
- all modern computers have UEFI
- graphical and text based
- controlled by mouse
- network access
- DRM (Digital Right Management) support

21
Q

Boot Options

A
  • configure where the BIOS goes to boot the OS (ex. USB, SSD, flash drive)
  • determine boot order
  • some can disable hardware to make it undetectable to the OS
22
Q

USB Permissions in BIOS

A

USBs are a security challenge:
- can be used to steal information
- can infect computers with malware

  • modify which USB interfaces are enabled or disabled
  • USB access can be disable completely
23
Q

Fan Settings in BIOS

A
  • configure fan performance based on best performance, best experience, etc
24
Q

Secure Boot

A
  • protects the boot process from malicious software
  • verifies the digital signature associated with the bootloader with the public key that is embedded within the BIOS
25
Q

Boot Password Management

A
  • required to start the OS
  • supervisor password restricts BIOS changes
  • built into the BIOS, not the OS
  • must reset BIOS if password is forgotten
26
Q

CMOS battery

A
  • used to maintain BIOS config in older devices
  • modern devices used flash memory for BIOS
  • modern devices use this to maintain date/time when the device is off
27
Q

TPM

A

Trusted Platform Module
- a chip with cryptographic functions
- stores encryption keys for hardware authentication
- usually embedded in motherboard or CPU

28
Q

HSM

A

Hardware Security Module
- used in large environments
- standalone device: plug in adapter card or hardware device
- similar function to TPM

29
Q

32-bit (x86) vs 64-bit (x64) CPUs

A

32-bit:
- can store 2^32 bytes of info
- 4 GB memory limit
- cannot run 64-bit programs

64-bit:
- can store 2^64 bytes of info
- 17 billion GB memory limit
- can run 32-bit programs

30
Q

Advanced RISC Machine (ARM)

A

Reduced Instruction Set Computing
- CPU architecture developed by ARM
- they design the chip and licenses the designs to manufacturers
- efficient and fast processing
- less power and less heat
- traditionally used for mobile and IoT devices
- slower than x64 but uses less power

31
Q

Processor Cores

A
  • Processors can be single-core, dual-core, quad-core…
  • each core has its own cache
  • caches help speed up the processing of info in and out of the CPU
32
Q

Multithreading

A

Dividing up work into multiple threads, threads are processed in parallel by multiple cores

33
Q

Hyper-Threading Technology (HTT)

A
  • Intel proprietary technology that splits a core into two virtual cores
  • Allows a single CPU core to handle multiple task simultaneously
  • one CPU acts like two but doesn’t work as fast as two
34
Q

Virtualization Support

A
  • many CPU include hardware that allows a computer to virtualize other OS
  • virtualization in software is limited
  • hardware is faster and easier to manage
  • Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
  • AMD Virtualization (AMD-V)
35
Q

Expansion cards

A
  • expands the functionality of your computer
  • connect card to expansion slot
  • some require driver installation
  • sound card
  • video card
  • capture card
  • NIC (network interface card)
36
Q

Cooling Fans

A

case fans
on-board fans
- fans attached to an adapter card
- usually on high end graphics cards

37
Q

Heat Sink

A
  • dissipate heat through thermal conduction
  • usually copper or aluminum alloy
  • fins/grids increase surface area
38
Q

Thermal Paste

A
  • thermally conductive adhesive
  • in between heat sink and component
39
Q

Thermal Pad

A
  • alternative to thermal paste
  • cut to size and install
  • almost as effective as thermal paste
  • must be replaced each time heat sink is removed
40
Q

Liquid Cooling

A
  • coolant is circulated through a computer
  • liquid flows from the CPU block to the radiator
  • fan blows air through the radiator to cool the liquid

CompTIA A+ Core 1 (22 decks)

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