Module 1 - Motherboards Flashcards
What are the two main chips that control communication on the motherboard?
The two main chips are the Northbridge (AKA Memory Controller Hub - MCH) and the Southbridge (AKA Input/Output Controller Hub - ICH).
What is the Northbridge responsible for?
The Northbridge is responsible for high data transfer devices such as high speed graphics and the RAM.
What is the Southbridge responsible for?
The Southbridge is responsible for handling all secondary controllers such as hard drives, USB connections, ethernet, and input/output devices.
What does the DMI do in a motherboard?
DMI (Direct Media Interface AKA Internal Bus) connects the Northbridge and Southbridge chips.
What is a FSB?
FSB (Front Serial Bus) is the connection between the Northbridge and the actual core of the CPU.
What’s the difference between FSB and HT?
FSB (Front Serial bus) is the bus designed by Intel that is a parallel interconnect between the Northbridge and the core of the CPU. HT (Hypertransport) is a serial interconnect designed by AMD, that for all intents and purposes is also a FSB.
What is the memory bus?
The memory bus is the bus that connects the Northbirdge o the RAM.
What are expansion buses?
Expansion buses are the buses that connect to the expansion slots to expand the capabilities of the motherboard.
What were the PS/2 ports used for?
Typically PS/2 ports were used to for keyboard and mouse connections.
RJ45 ports are for?
Ethernet connections.
Rj11 ports are for?
Phone / Modem
Serial ports are typically used for what?
Typically used for external devices like joysticks or external modems. This is why it’s often referred to as the “gaming port”.
Serial ports are used with what kind of connectors?
Serial ports are used for DB connections and are either DB9 (9 pins) or DB15 (15 pins).
Parallel ports are used typically used for what device?
They are typically used for printers. This is why they are can also be referred to as “Line Printer Terminal” (LPT) ports.
What kind of connections do parallel ports use?
They use DB25 (25 pins) connections.
