MOTHERBOARD PARTS

A. Back Panel Connectors & Ports Connectors and ports for connecting the computer
to external devices such as display ports, audio ports, USB ports, Ethernet ports, PS/2
ports etc. (See image below)

B. PCI: Peripheral Component Interconnect Slot for older expansion cards such as

sound cards, network cards, connector cards.

(See image below)

C. PCI Express x1 x4 x 8 x 16 Slots Slot for modern expansion cards such as sound

cards, network cards (Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth), connector cards (USB, FireWire,
eSATA) and certain low-end graphics cards.
(See image below)

D. Northbridge Also known as Memory Controller Hub (MCH). Chipset that allows the

CPU to communicate with the RAM and graphics card. (See image below)
E. CPU

Socket
The processor
socket (also called
a CPU socket) is
the connector on
the
motherboard
that
houses

a CPU and forms the electrical interface and contact with the CPU.

F. ATX power connector is a 20- or 24-pin primary connector that specifically plugs and
supplies power into

an ATX-type

computer

motherboard.

This

in

turn

distributes power to internal components, such as the CPU, memory module, hard disk
and graphics card.

G. Front Panel Connectors Connects to the power switch, reset switch, power LED,

hard drive LED and front audio ports of a computer case.

H. IDE Connector Connects to older hard drive disks and optical drives for data transfer.

I. CMOS Battery Supplies power to store BIOS settings and keep the real-time clock

running.

J. South Bridge is an IC(integrated circuit) on the motherboard responsible for

the hard drive controller, I/O controller and integrated hardware. Integrated
hardware can include the sound card and video card if on the
motherboard, USB, PCI, ISA, IDE, BIOS, and Ethernet.

K. SATA (Serial Advance Technology Attachment) Connectors Connects to modern

hard disk drives, solid state drives and optical drives for data transfer.

L. RAM slot is what allows computer memory (RAM) to be inserted into the computer.
Depending on the motherboard, there may be 2 to 4 memory slots

M. BIOS (

basic
input/output
system) is the
program a

personal computer's microprocessor uses to get the computer system started after you
turn it on. It also manages data flow between the computer's operating system and
attached devices such as the hard disk, video adapter, keyboard, mouse and printer.

N. IDE, an acronym for Integrated Drive Electronics, is a standard type of connection

for storage devices in a computer. Generally, IDE it refers to the types of cables
and ports used to connect some hard drives and optical drives to each other and to
the motherboard.