3.5 CQ

Question 1

Which motherboard form factor measures 12 inches × 9.6 inches (305 mm × 244 mm)?

Image A. microATX

Image B. SATA

Image C. ATX

Image D. mITX

Answer 1

C. ATX boards measure 12 inches × 9.6 inches (305 mm × 244 mm). microATX boards are square and measure 9.6 × 9.6 inches (244 mm × 244 mm). SATA is a type of hard drive technology and the port used to connect hard drives to the motherboard. mITX (or Mini-ITX), also square, measures 6.7 × 6.7 inches (17 cm × 17 cm).

Question 2

Which component supplies power to the CMOS when the computer is off?

A. Lithium battery

B. POST

C. Power supply

D. BIOS

Answer 2

A. The lithium battery (or CMOS battery) supplies power to the CMOS when the computer is off. This is because the CMOS is volatile and would otherwise lose the stored settings when the computer is turned off.

Question 3

To implement a secure boot process, which device should be listed first in the Boot Device Priority screen?

A. Network

B. CD-ROM

C. USB

D. Hard drive

Answer 3

D. To ensure that other users cannot boot the computer from removable media, set the first device in the Boot Device Priority screen to hard drive.

Question 4

Which of the following connectors would you use to power a video card?

A. 24-pin power

B. 6-pin PCIe

C. Molex

D. 3.5-mm TRS

Answer 4

B. A video card is normally powered by a 6-pin or 8-pin PCIe connector. Lesser cards are simply powered by the PCIe bus. The 24-pin power connector is the main connector that leads from the power supply to the motherboard. Molex is used for fans, older IDE drives, and other secondary devices. 3.5 mm (or 1/8 inch) TRS is an audio connection.

Question 5

Which of the following is a chip that stores encryption keys?

A. Intel VT

B. Secure boot

C. Firmware

D. TPM

Answer 5

D. To perform hard drive encryption, some motherboards come with a Trusted Platform Module (TPM), a chip that stores encryption keys—it can be enabled in the BIOS. Intel Virtualization Technology (VT) is part of the firmware that supports the use of virtualization software such as Hyper-V and VMware. Secure boot can block rootkits and other malware from launching boot loaders that have been tampered with. Firmware (such as a motherboard’s BIOS) should be updated or “flashed,” periodically to take advantage of the latest functionality and security updates.