Motherboards Flashcards by Brittany R

Printed circuit board that contains computer components and provides connectors

Motherboard

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4 basic functions of a computer

1) Input
2) Output
3) Processing
4) Storage

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Where is processing conducted?

CPU (Central Processing Unit)
or
GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)

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Difference between non-persistent storage and persistent storage?

Non-persistent = Temporary storage
Persistent = Permanent storage

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Data transferred across the motherboard measures the speed of data in ___ or ___

MHz (mega-hertz) or GHz (giga-hertz)

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Difference between Volatile storage and Non-volatile storage

Volatile storage – Speed is fast
Non-volatile storage – Speed decreases rapidly

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Term to describe a motherboard’s shape, layout, type of case and power supply that will be used by the system

Form Factor

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Two main categories for form factor types

1) ATX (Full-size ATX, Mini-ATX, Micro-ATX)
2) ITX (Mini-ITX)

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Form factor type that offers full-size motherboard and measures 12” x 9.6” in size (305mm x244 mm)

ATX (Advanced Technology eXtended)

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Form factor type that is smaller than ATX but contains the same features (measures 11.2” x8.2” in size – 284mm x 208 mm)

MIni-ATX

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Form factor type that measures 9.6 inches squared (244mm x 244mm) (same as ATX, but only has 4 expansion card slots)

Micro-ATX (mATX)

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Form factor type that was designed as a replacement for the ATX but was never produced

ITX (Information Technology eXtended)

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Form factor type of ITX that measures 6.7” x 6.7” with only one expansion slot (170mm x 170mm squared)

Mini-ITX

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3 smaller ITX form factors

1) Nano-ITX
2) Pico-ITX
3) Mobile-ITX

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3 main CPU architectures

1) x86 (IA-32)
2) x64
3) ARM (Advanced RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) Machine)

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CPU architecture type developed by Intel with an 8-bit, 16-bit, and up to 32-bit instruction set

X86 (IA-32)

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CPU architecture type that supports 64-bit instruction set

x64

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x86 (32-bit architectures) can only support a max of how many GB of RAM?

4 GB

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CPU architecture type that is used for low-power devices (tablets and cell phones)

ARM (Advanced RISC Machine)

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Pros of ARM compared to x86 or x64

1) Extended battery life
2) Produces less heat

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Two main manufactures of CPU (processors)

1) Intel
2) AMD

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Inserts the CPU without pressing down and giving no pressure

ZIF (Zero Insertion Force)

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Socket used by Intel processor – form factor that positions all pins to connect the CPU processor into the socket

LGA (Land Grid Array)

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Socket used by AMD processor – form factor where the processor has the pins and the socket has the holes

PGA (Pin Grid Array)

Two main types of CPU sockets

1) LGA (Intel) 2) PGA (AMD)

Single stream of instructions being sent by a software application to a processor

Simultaneous Multithreading -- SMT (by AMD) Hyper-Threading (by Intel)

Traditional workstation and servers have multiple processors

SMP (Symmetric Multiprocessing)

Single CPU with multiple processors inside

Multi-core Processor

Two CPUs inside a single chip Four CPUs inside a single chip Six CPUs inside a single chip Eight CPUs inside a single chip

Dual-core Processor Quad-core Processor Hexa-core Processor Octa-core Processor

Virtualization in Intel vs. AMD

VT (used by Intel) EPT (Extended Page Table) used by Intel AMD-V (used by AMD) RVI (Rapid Virtualization Indexing) used by AMD

Allows running multiple systems on a single physical host

Virtualization

Motherboard installation 7 step process

1) Review the motherboard's documentation 2) Position the motherboard to align with rear of the case 3) Insert the standoffs to match the hole locations for the motherboard 4) Install the processor and memory modules before installing the motherboard 5) Verify the standoff are properly aligned prior to installing the motherboard 6) Secure the standoffs using the appropriate screw type 7) Install the power supply, disk drives, add-on cards, and other components

Described as a 32-bit legacy expansion card (33MHz)

PCI

Described as a 64-bit legacy expansion card (133MHz)

PCI-X

PCI and PCI-X are used for what cards? (2)

Networking cards Audio cards

Used for legacy video graphics cards

AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port)

What replaced PCI, PCI-X, and AGP?

PCIe (PCI Express)

PCIe card sizes (4)

1) PCIe x1 2) PCIe x4 3) PCIe x8 4) PCIe x16

What are PCIe x1 cards mostly used for?

Modems, network cards, wireless cards, input/output devices, and audio cards

What are PCIe x16 cards mostly used for?

Graphics and video cards

Connects to the bus to get data to and from the motherboard for external devices

PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express)

True or False? PCIe x1 is faster than PCIe x16

False *the higher the number, the faster the speed*

How many watts of power do PCIe slots provide?

25 watts

What is it called when you put a smaller card in a larger slot? What is it called when you put a larger card in a smaller slot?

Up-plugging Down-pugging

Standard PCIe card with smaller form factor

Mini PCIe

What are Mini PCIe cards mostly used for?

Inside of laptops, specifically for wireless networking

Most common PCIe card sizes that are used today? (2)

1) PCIe x1 2) PCIe x16

Expansion Card/Adapter that gives quality signal for monitors

Video Card / Graphics Adapter

A specialized processor designed to accelerate graphics rendering

GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)

Embeds the memory to give additional capability to offload from the system

High Speed Memory

Installed outside of the card (Thunderbolt, DisplayPort, and HDMI)

Graphical Ports

Expansion Card that takes video signals and processes them inside the computer (used for recording footage)

Video Capture Card

Expansion card type; Cables that are plugged into a computer to get all cable TV channels

TV Capture Card

Expansion card that gives better output through audio

Sound/Audio Card

NIC stands for

Network Interface Card

A special type of expansion card on a motherboard (allows horizontal space rather than vertical)

Riser Card

Which connection type uses a 7-pin or 15-pin **L-shaped** data connector with one device per port? a) PATA connection b) USB connection c) SATA connection d) Port cluster

c) SATA connection *(Serial ATA)*

You want to build a new gaming computer but intend to reuse as many of the parts as possible from your old computer. You have determined that the motherboard and the case will be reused, and you will purchase a new graphics card, sound card, network interface card, and a USB 3.0 expansion card to increase your system's overall speed and performance. You are a bit worried that your old computer's power supply may not be able to support all of these new expansion cards. Which of the following cards is MOST likely to consume the most power during operations and require you to purchase a new power supply to support it? a) USB 3.0 b) Sound card c) Graphics card d) NIC

**c) Graphics card** *The power consumption of today's graphics cards has increased a lot. The top models demand between 110 and 270 watts from the power supply; in fact, a powerful graphics card under full load requires as much power as the rest of the components of a PC system combined. If your old computer didn't have a dedicated graphics card, it is unlikely that the power supply will be powerful enough to support one without replacing the power supply. Most business computers have a 300-watt power supply. If you are building a high-end gaming workstation, you may require a power supply with 750 watts or more.*

You are trying to install Hyper-V on a new laptop, but you keep receiving an error during installation that the software cannot be installed. Which of the following characteristics of the laptop's processor should you investigate as the MOST likely issue? a) Virtualization (VT) support b) Number of cores available c) Cache size d) Hyper-threading (HT) technology

**a) Virtualization (VT) support** *CPU Virtualization is a hardware feature found in all current AMD & Intel CPUs that allows a single processor to act as if it was multiple individual CPUs. This allows an operating system to more effectively & efficiently utilize the computer's CPU power to run faster. This is enabled or disabled on supported processors within your system's BIOS. HyperThreading (HT) is an Intel CPU architecture implemented to expose two or more logical processors to the OS to deliver performance benefits.*