Motherboards and CPUs Flashcards
Chipset
A set of integrated circuits that routes communication between computer components and the CPU.
CPU (Central Processing Unit)
A silicon microchip that processes all instructions, whether they are entered through user input or submitted by a computer program.
DVI (Digital Visual Interface)
A video display interface used to connect a display device to the computer.
Expansion slot
A hardware interface that enables the communication between PC and expansion devices.
HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface)
A digital standard used to transfer high-definition video and audio from the computer to a display device.
Hyperthreading
A CPU feature that simulates two logical processors on one physical processor by using registers to overlap two instruction streams.
CMOS Battery
A small battery, typically a lithium coin cell, that provides continuous power to the computer’s real-time clock and maintains the system BIOS settings.
RAM Slot
Holds a memory chip for the computer.
SATA Connectors
Serial AT Attachment drive connectors connect modern hard disk drives, solid state drives, and optical drives to the circuitry of the motherboard
IDE Connectors
Integrated Drive Electronics drive connectors connect hard disk drives and optical drives to the circuitry of the motherboard.
ATX Power Connector
A 24-pin connector that connects to the power supply and provides power to the motherboard.
ATX 12 V Power connector
Connects the 12 volt, 4-pin power cable of the power supply unit to provide the CPU with additional power. High end and server motherboards might require an 8-pin EPS 12 V power connector.
Fan Connector
A three or four pin connector used for a CPU or case cooling fan.
Front Panel Connector
The front panel connector (also referred to as the fpanel or system panel connector) contains sockets to plug in five system cables for the power button, reset button, power LED, hard disk activity LED, and the internal speaker used for beeps and other simple system sounds.
USB Headers
Internal USB headers allow you to connect USB ports on your case to the motherboard.
USB
Universal Serial Bus provides a standard connection between the computer and a variety of computer peripherals, such as keyboards, digital cameras, printers, external disk drives, and more
PS/2
A six-pin interface used to connect older keyboards and pointing devices to a computer. Older computers will have a purple port for the keyboard and a green port for the mouse or other pointing devices, or two ports without clear colour coding.
VGA
Video Graphics Array is an older standard used to connect a display device to your computer.