Modul3 3 - Motherboards, Buses, and Interfaces Flashcards
1
Q
List the six motherboard form factors we need to know:
A
- AT (Advanced Technology)
- ATX (Advanced Technology Extended)
- MicroATX
- BTX (Balanced Technology Extended)
- NLX (New Low-profile Extended)
- Mini-ITX
2
Q
Identify the following motherboard type:
A
Advanced Technology
- Brown slots are ISA bus slots, very old and slow.
- The only connection exposed outside the case was the DIN-5 keyboard connector
- Featured two identically-shaped power connectors that could be installed correctly. (should be installed so black wires are next to each other).
- Wall current (110-120 volts AC) was brought directly to the power switch inside, creating internal shock hazard
3
Q
Identify the following motherboard type:
A
ATX (Advanced Technology Extended)
- Uses one power connector, designed to be installed only one way.
- AC voltage no longer brought in the case.
- Provides AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) or PCI Express
4
Q
Identify the following motherboard type:
A
Micro ATX
- Typically uses the same chipset as full-size ATX boards
5
Q
Identify the following motherboard type:
A
Mini-ITX
- Passively-cooled for use in smalls spaces
- Many built-in components, especially video and audio
- Generated much less heat than full-size boards
6
Q
Identify the following motherboard type:
A
BTX (Balanced Technology Extended)
- Better cooling by lining up heat-producing components between intake vents and exhaust vans
- Improved acoustic and system performance.
- Never widely accepted
7
Q
Identify the following motherboard type:
A
NLX (New Low-profile Extended)
- Intel designed in 1997
- For slimmer desktop computer cases
- Very often proprietary to the OEM vendor, such as HP or Dell
*
8
Q
Things to keep in mind when replacing mother boards:
A
- If cost is an issue, replace with an exact duplicate if possible.
- Make sure form factor matches case and power supply. AT, ATX, and BTX form factors are not compatible.
- If upgrading to a better motherboard, check to see that CPU and RAM are compatible with newer one.
- Consider updating BIOS if the new motherboard BIOS is significantly older than the latest version.
9
Q
What size fans are most popular for computer cases?
A
80 mm
92mm
120mm
10
Q
What type of cooling system is this?
A
- Negative Pressure System
- Air wants to get in.
- Can build-up dust inside the case unless filters are used.
11
Q
What type of cooling system is this?
A
- Positive Pressure Cooling
- Air wants to get out.
- Air will try to escape out any opening in the case, graphics cards that exhaust air our of chassis will work more efficiently.
- Dust is less prevalent
12
Q
What is this?
A
I/O Shield
- Thin rectangular piece of aluminum with cutouts for external ports of the motehrboard.
- Fits on back of case and is specific to the motherboard installed.
13
Q
What is a bus?
A
- A pipeline that supports the transfer of data between components inside a computer or between a computer and external components.
- Can logically connect several peripherals over the same set of wires.
- In addition to data, can also carry control signals, addresses of devices, power.
14
Q
Parallel Communications
A
- Uses multiple wires to carry multiple bits of data, like a multilane highway.
- Typical data widths of 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64 bits, although some internal buses can be much wider.
- Design flaws:
- Simplex communication
- Clock skew
- Crosstalk
- Largely fading from use in favor of serial transmission.
15
Q
Simplex communication
A
Can only transmit in one direction at a time, thus limiting speed.
(A design flaw of parallel communications.)
16
Q
Clock skew
A
Causes some bits to arrive early and som late. Receiving device must wait for all bits to be received before continuing.
(A design flaw of parallel communications)
17
Q
Crosstalk
A
A condition that allows bits to jump from one wire to the wire next to it.
(A design flaw of parallel communications)
18
Q
What is soft power?
A
A feature introduced with ATX that allows software to shut down the computer.
19
Q
What connectors were introduced with ATX?
A
Introduced PS/2 keyboard and mouse (DIN-6 or mini-DIN connector)
20
Q
What voltage DC power is brought into ATX motherboard via 20 or 24-pin ATX/P1 connector?
A
- 3.3
- 5
- 12 volts DC power
21
Q
What are the dimensions of the ATX motherboard?
A
12 x 9.6 inches
22
Q
Is Micro ATX backwards compatible with ATX mounting hardware?
A
Yes, it is smaller but the connection points line up.
23
Q
What size power connector does the Micro ATX use?
A
Uses standard 20 or 24-pin power connector with same voltages as ATX.
24
Q
How many expansion slots in MicroATX motherboard?
A
- no more than 4 (Reduced number of expansion slots from ATX)
25
What is the only motherboard design not introduced by Intel?
Mini-ITX
VIA Corp introduced in 2001
26
What are the dimensions of the Mini-ITX motherboard?
6.7 x 6.7 inches
27
Is Mini-ITX compliant with ATX mounting?
Not compliant with ATX.
28
What size power connector does Mini-ITX use?
20 or 24 pin power connector with same voltages as ATX
29
What are the dimensions of the BTX motherboard?
12.8 x 11.34 inches
30
When was BTX motherboard introduced?
Intel introduced in 2004
31
What motherboard uses specialized "riser card" or "daughter card"
NLX (New Low-profile Extended)
32
How does serial transmission work?
One bit at a time, similar to one vehicle after another on a street.
33
What is "full duplex" in regards to serial communications?
Means transmission can occur in both directions at the same time (provided there is a transmit pair of wires and a receive pair of wires)
34
Where is the clock signal in serial communications?
Imbedded in the transmission.
Therefore serial communication does not need to be synchronized like parallel transmission.
35
T/F - Generally speaking, serial buses are much faster than parallel buses.
True.
36
Name five buses that use serial communications:
PCI Express
USB
Firewire
SATA
Serial SCSI
37
What is clock speed?
A computer bus has a clock that provides the frequency for the bus, typically measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).
38
What does hertz mean?
A term that specifies one cycle per second.
A bus that runs 33 MHz runs at 33 million cycles per second.
39
T/F - Generally speaking, the faster the clock the faster that data moves on the bus.
True
40
T/F - Some activities, also known as operations or transactions, can take several clock cycles to complete.
True
41
What is the bandwidth/peak transfer rate of a bus?
The maximum amount of bits or bytes that the bus can transport during a second of time.
42
What is the bandwidth for a PCI bus?
133 megabytes per second (MB/s)
43
What is the bandwidth for USB 2.0 bus?
480 megabits per second (Mb/s)
44
What is the actual transfer rate or throughput, bit rate, or data rate?
The actual peak transfer rate, which may be equal to the bandwidth but is usually less because of other factors.
45
What are some factors that effect bandwidth or actual transfer rate?
* devices in use on the bus,
* amount of data being transmitted
* transmitting speed of the device connected to the bus.
46
How do you calculate bandwidth?
Multiply the clock rate by the data width, in bytes.
Ex. If clock speed is 33.33 MHz and data width is 4 bytes (32 bits), or:
33.33 x 4 = 133.32 MB/s
Usually rounded off, so clock speed would be 33 MHz and bandwidth would be 133 MB/s.
47
What is an expansion slot?
A connector on a motherboard that accepts expansion/add-in cards, such as sound, network, video cards, etc.
48
What was the order that expansion slots were added?
1. First ISA slots only
2. Then PCI
3. Then AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port)
4. PCI Express (PCIe) was final, as all others were eliminated because PCIe is magnitudes faster.
49
What does PCI stand for?
Peripheral Component Interconnect
50
What type of communications does PCI use?
(Parallel or Serial)
Parallel
51
What is the data width of PCI buses?
Typically 32 bits (4 bytes)
52
What volts are used PCI buses?
* 3.3 volts originally
* 5 volts later
53
Where is the slot on a 5-volt PCI slot?
Right side
54
Identify the PCI card types in the photo:
Top = Universal
Middle = 3.3 volts
Bottom = 5 volts
55
Where are Mini PCI slots found?
* In laptops, they are about 1/4 the size of normal PCI slot.
* They are placed parallel to the motherboard, not perpendicular as in desktop computers.
56
What is the following?
PCI Bus, specifically 5-volt slots.
57
What is PCI-X bus?
A faster version of PCI, running at twice the speed.
58
What are the turquoise slots below?
What are the white slots?
PCI-X bus (turquoise)
PCI bus, 5-volt (white)
59
How wide is the PCI-X bus interface?
64 bits (8 bytes)
60
What are the typical clock speeds of PCI-X bus?
66 and 133 MHz
61
What are the througput speeds of PCI-X bus?
* 533
* 1064
* 2128
* 4264 MB/s
62
What is AGP?
Accelerated Graphics Port
63
What is AGP used for?
Attaching video cards only to the motherboard.
64
T/F - AGP cards have a clip that engages the slot when inserted
True - to preven the card from creeping out of slot.
65
What is the data width of AGP buses?
Typically 32 bits, but 64 bit was proposed and not widely adopted.
66
What are the speeds of the following AGP versions?
* 1x
* 2x
* 4x
* 8x
* 1x = 266 MB/s (66 MHz clock)
* 2x = 533 MB/s (133 MHz clock)
* 4x = 1066 MB/s (266 MHz clock)
* 8x = 2133 MB/s (533 MHz clock)
67
What is the following expansion slot?
AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port)
68
What are the following expansion slots?
PCIe (PCI Express)
Top = x4
Second = X16
Third = X1
Last = PCI Slot (5-volt)
69
What are the varying lengths of PCI Express slots?
Stated in number of channels:
x1
x4
x8
x16
70
T/F - A PCIe slot can hold any card of equal or lesser length.
True, e.g. an x1 card will fit in an x1, x4, x8, or x16 slot
71
What size power supply do PCIe video cards usually require?
12V supplied by power supply
72
What is the following image?
PCIe power connector with six pins in 3x2 configuration
73
What are bandwidths for version 3.0 PCIe?
* x1
* x4
* x8
* x16
* x1 = 1000 MB/s
* x4 = 4000 MB/s
* x8 = 8000 MB/s
* x16 = 16000 MB/s
74
T/F - Most motherboards feature interfaces that are resident or built-in to the motherboard.
True
75
What controls the resident interfaces on motherboards?
Either the **main chipsets** of the motherboard or **dedicated microprocessors** soldered onto motherboard.
76
Name some resident interfaces on typical motherboards?
* Keyboard and mouse
* Audio and video
* LAN
* HDMI
* USB
* Firewire
* IDE, SATA, SAS
* RAID Controllers
77
What is the following:
Header Pins
* Exposed pins on motherboard that provide an interface for a cable, typically USB or IEEE 1394.
78
What is the following?
Header Pins on Motherboard
* Exposed pins that provide an interface for a cable, typically USB or IEEE 1394.
79
When was USB 1.0 introduced?
A. 1990
B. 1995
C. 1998
D. 2000
B. 1995
* Collaboration of Intel, Microsoft, Phillips, and US Robotics.
80
Which USB was called Low Speed?
USB 1.0
81
Which USB was called Full Speed?
USB 1.1
* Introduced shortly after USB 1.0
82
Which USB was called High Speed?
USB 2.0
83
When was USB 2.0 introduced?
April 2000
84
Which USB is called Super Speed?
USB 3.0
85
What does USB stand for?
## Footnote
A. Universal Search Bus
B. Universal Serial Bus
C. Unicode Sensory Bus
D. United Serial Base
B. Universal Serial Bus
86
What OS first supported USB?
Windows 98
(Windows 95SE needed an updated driver)
87
How many wires does USB 3.0 use?
8 Wires
(4 Wires for USB 1.x/2.x, plus 4 wires for send/receive communications at full duplex)
88
How many wires are in USB 1.x/2.x?
A. 3 Wires
B. 5 Wires
C. 4 Wires
D. 2 Wires
C. 4 Wires
(Some 5-wire implementations exist, with the 5th wire tied to ground.)
89
Identify the following USB types:
* USB 1.x = White
* USB 2.x = Black
* USB 3.x = Blue
* Always-active USB = Red
90
What duplex communications do the following use?
* USB 1.x
* USB 2.x
* USB 3.x
* half-duplex
* half-duplex
* full duplex
In half-duplex, send/receive activity cannot occur simultaneously.
91
What is the maximum number of devices that can be connected to a single USB port?
127 devices
92
What is the speed of USB 1.0?
1.536 Mbps
93
What is the speed of USB 1.1 (full speed)?
12 Mbps
94
What is the speed of USB 2.0?
* 250 Mbps
* 375 Mbps
* 480 Mbps
* 550 Mbps
480 Mbps
95
What is the speed of USB 3.0 (Super Speed)?
* 2 Gbps
* 2.5 Gbps
* 3.5 Gbps
* 5 Gbps
5 Gbps
| (5000 Mb/s or 625 MB/s)
96
What is the speed of USB 3.1 (SuperSpeedPlus)?
10 Gbps
97
What is the maximum number of USB hubs that can be chained together?
* 2
* 4
* 3
* 5
Answer: 5
98
What is the power supplied by USB 1.x/2.x?
* Volts
* milliamps
* 5 Volts
* Initial 100mA upon detection, then
* 500 mA after device is recognized.
99
What is the power supplied by USB 3.0?
* Volts
* milliamps
* 5 Volts
* 150 mA at onset
* 900 mA once recognized
Many USB 3.0 devices can run without the need for its own power adapter.
100
What type of USB is the following?
USB Series B
101
What type of USB is shown below?
USB Series A
102
What type of USB is shown below?
USB Mini A
103
What type of USB is shown below?
USB Mini B
104
What type of USB is shown below?
USB 3.0
105
What type of USB is shown below?
USB 3.0 Mini-B
106
What type of USB is shown below?
Dual power USB cable.
Provides additional 5 volts to attached device.
107
T/F - USB 1.1 devices can plug into USB 2.0 ports
True, but will be limited to their 12 Mb/s speed.
108
T/F - USB 2.0 devices can plug into 3.0 ports
True, but will be limited to 480 Mb/s
109
What is the max cable length for USB 1.1?
3 meters
110
What is the max cable length for USB 2.0?
5 Meters
111
What is the max cable length for USB 3.0?
Not specified, but best not to esceed 5 meters for Hi speed devices.
112
Name four reasons for the following error message:
## Footnote
*This device can perform faster if you conenct it to a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port*
Reason/Fix
1. Wrong USB driver/install right one
2. Using 2.0 device on a 1.x port / upgrade hardware
3. OS doesn't support it/ upgrade OS
4. Old firmware on USB device / update firmware
113
Name one reason for the following error message:
## Footnote
*Device cannot be stopped right now.*
1. Open files on USB device or a program is using it / close files or program
114
Name two reasons for the following error message:
*Device not recognized*
1. OS, BIOS, drivers, program, not up to date
2. Port failure, try another port or another computer.
115
What is the common name for IEEE 1394 interface?
Firewire
116
What does IEEE stand for?
* Institute of Electrical and Elegant Engineers
* Institute of Electoral and Electrical Engineers
* Institute of Electroscopy and Endoscopic Engines
* Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
117
When was Firewire introduced?
1. 1990
2. 1992
3. 1995
4. 1998
3. 1995
118
What interface is shown below?
Firewire 400 (1394a) Ports
119
What is the speed of Firewire 400?
400 Mb/s
| (approx 50 MB/s)
120
What interface is shown below?
Firewire 800 (1394b)
121
What is the speed of Firewire 800 (1394b)?
800 Mb/s
| (Approx 100 MB/s)
122
What is 1394c?
* Also known as S800T
* Supports Firewire over CAT5e or better network cable.
* 800 Mb/s (same as 1394b)
123
What is Sony's name for its 4-pin 1394a port?
i-Link
124
How many pins (or wires) does the standard 1394a cable use?
* 6 pins
* 4 data and 2 power (up to 30 volts)
125
How many pins (or wires) does the standard 1394b cable use?
* 9 pins (provides extra grounds for twisted wire pins)
126
T/F - All 1394 cables have ends that are male.
True, and pins are located inside the connector housing.
127
What is the maximum number of different devices that can be connected via 1394?
63 devices
128
What is the interface shown below and does it carry power?
Firewire Mini Connector (4-pin)
Does not carry power
129
What is the following port?
USB 2.0
130
What is the following port?
USB 3.0
131
What is the following port?
Firewire 800 (1394b)
132
What does the following symbol mean?
Firewire (IEEE 1394)
133
What does the following symbol mean?
USB 2.0
134
What does the following symbol mean?
USB 3.0
