Chapter 1: Motherboards, Processors & Memory Flashcards
What is the Motherboard?
pgs. 5
The spine of the computer which is the PCB/printed circuit board.
Define System boards: ATX, Micro ATX, ITX
pgs. 6-7
Form factor designs are ATX- Advanced Technology Extended motherboard created by Intel and places the CPU and Memory slots @ right angles to the Expansion slots; Micro ATX follows the ATX principles with less power and quantity; ITX was developed by VIA as a low-power, small form factor (SFF) consisting of Mini, Nano, Pico, Mobile for embedded application in home systems, set-top boxes and cell-phones.
Bus Architecture
pgs. 8-9
A ‘bus’ contains signal pathways in which related devices communicate via serial circuits like SATA (Serial ATA), USB (Universal Serial Bus), IEEE 1394/Fire Wire, and PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express)
Chipsets
pg. 9
Chips or circuits that perform interface and peripheral functions for the processor.The go-between CPU and and installed peripherals like Memory, expansion cards and peripherals.
Northbridge
pgs. 9-10
Northbridge is the set of circuitry or chips that manages high-speed peripheral communications
Southbridge
pg. 9
Southbridge is the set of circuitry or chips that support the slower expansion buses and peripherals which do not tie in with the CPU clock nor pose as a bottleneck to the system.
Expansion Slots
pgs. 10-17
The most visible part of the motherboard and are used to install various devices to expand on a computers capabilities, ie. video, network, sound, disk interface.
Which ‘bridge’ on the motherboard would contain AGP & PCIe slots?
pg. 9
The Northbridge is responsible for communications with integrated video utilizing AGP (Accelerated Graphics Program) and PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express).
Other names for motherboard?
pg.5
PCP/printed circuit board, system board and mainboard
Name a serial circuit.
pgs. 8-9
SATA (Serial ATA), USB (Universal Serial Bus), IEEE 1394/Fire Wire, and PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) are all serial circuit examples.
Identify a small form factor (SFF).
pgs. 5-7
ITX was developed by VIA as a low-power, small form factor (SFF) consisting of Mini, Nano, Pico, Mobile for embedded application in home systems, television set-top boxes, cell-phones.
What is a CPU?
pg. 5
The central processing unit on the motherboard.
What are the two main categories of bus architecture?
pg. 8
Serial and parallel connectivity.
What PCB area manages the processor-to-memory communications?
pg, 9
Northbridge
What is the go-between CPU and installed peripherals like Memory and expansion cards?
pg. 9
Chipsets
Parallel computer-system components work on the basis of a (blank) ?
pg. 9
A ‘bus’ which is a common collection of signal pathways that allow related devices to communicate
What is a set of signal pathways connecting the CPU and main memory?
pg. 10
FSB/ Frontside bus
The clock signal that drives the FSB is used to drive communications to other devices on the motherboard which are?
pg.10
AGP/ Accelerated Graphics Port and PCIe/ Peripheral Component Interconnect Express
What subset of a motherboard’s chipset main function is to manage high-speed peripheral communications?
Northbridge
What does the Southbridge do?
pg. 10
The Southbridge subset of the chipset provides support for onboard slower peripherals which do not restrict system performance.
How does the BSB/ Backside bus function?
pg. 10
If present, the BSB is a set of signal pathways between the CPU and Level 2 or 3 (external) cache memory.
What are Expansion Slots?
pg. 10
The most visible parts of any motherboard which are used to install various devices to expand the capabilities in a computer.
What are the main types of expansion slots?
pg. 10
PCI and AGP
How many versions of PCI slots and adapters are manufactured?
pg. 12
5V and 3.3V
What distinction can be made between the PCI versions?
pg. 12
The notch in the card edge of the 5V is oriented toward the front of the motherboard, and the 3.3V notch is located towards the rear.
