.Video 1.04, Mother Boards

Video 1.04 talked about Mother Boards and how it dictates the type of CPU or the CPU dictates the size of the mother board. The size and shape of a mother board case is determined by the form factor of the mother board. The video mentions 3 form factors. First is the ATX, it replaced the older AT form. The ATX is also smaller and easier to work on and it has a soft power switch located on the front of a computer. The soft power switch allows normal OS shutdown unlike the back switch, which immediately cuts power. Second is the NLX, which is for low end personal computer, supports riser card which adds expansion slots. Third is the BTX which is compatible with all ATX functions but is designed for better airflow and cooling. By having an intake vent at the front and an exhaust vent on the back along with having the CPU and memory modules installed parallel to the direction of the airflow, the BTX achieves its cooling functions.
Communication buses are also explained. They are copper tracing on the bottom of the mother board and they make up the bus system. Often described as highways. Buses connect to various components and allows power and data between the CPU, Hard Drive, key board, mouse, USB devices, sound cards and any other components. System bus is the largest and fastest bus, it connects to the mother board and it carries data between the CPU and the mother board and vice versa.
There are various connectors on a mother board one of them is the power connector known as the p1 connector. P1 has a 20 pin connector or a 24 pin connector. The 40 pin IDE, 34 pin Floppy drive connector, SATA connectors and the 50 or 68 pin SCSI otherwise known as Scuzzy.
Today’s computers uses PCI, PCIX, PCIe(express) and AGP expansion slots to connect peripheral devices and system of buses.PCI is fast, PCIX is faster, PCIe is the newest, fastest and expected to replace AGP which was an alternative to PCI. A mother board may have several PCI slots and one AGP or several PCI slots and one PCIe slot, but not both AGP and PICe together. PCI and AGP slots are distinguished by their color. PCI is long and white, will have several slots and AGP is a single smaller brown slot.
Terms used. A. Mother Board: The motherboard is the main circuit board of your computer and is also known as the mainboard or logic board. B. Expansion Slots: An expansion slot is a socket on the motherboard that is used to insert an expansion card (or circuit board), which provides additional features to a computer such as video, sound, advanced graphics, Ethernet or memory. C. Wake on Lan Feature: Wake on LAN is a technology that allows a network professional to remotely power on a computer or to wake it up from sleep mode. D. Riser Cards: An expansion card that is used to physically extend a slot in order to make it easier to plug in the chip or card. E. Communication Bus: A device that transfers control, timing, and data signals between switching processor subsystems
The information presented was very insightful. I learned how the mother board is able to work with its components and how you can add more via expansion slots. I also learned about the different types of form factors and how they differentiate from one another. This information is very useful when building one’s own personal computers. References http://www.techterms.com/definition/motherboard http://www.techopedia.com/definition/2195/expansion-slot http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/Wake-on-LAN http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/50553/riser-card http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/communication+bus
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