What is Motherboard?
A motherboard is the underlying circuit board of a computer. The central processing
unit (CPU), Random Access Memory (RAM), hard drive(s), disk drives and optical
drives are all plugged into interfaces on the motherboard. A video interface
and sound card can be optionally built-in or added.
A motherboard can come in many configurations to fit different
needs and budgets. At its most basic, it comes with several interfaces for necessary
components and a BIOS chip set to control setup of the motherboard. Many computer
enthusiasts favor one type of BIOS over another and will choose a motherboard
partially based on the BIOS manufacturer. For example, many gamers prefer the
Nvidia BIOS as it is rated as one of the best for graphics applications.
An equally important feature of the motherboard is the type of CPU it will support.
Some motherboards support AMD CPUs, while others support Intel processors. Within
the manufacturer's categories, there are different grades of CPUs. An AMD 64-bit
processor requires a different CPU socket than an AMD 32-bit processor.
Another important consideration is the amount and type of RAM the motherboard
will support. It is always best to buy a board that supports more RAM than currently
needed.
The number of PCI slots varies from motherboard to motherboard,
as do other interfaces like the number of SATA ports, differing RAID abilities,
and USB and Firewire ports. As mentioned prior, sound and video capability might
be built-in, though purists generally prefer to disable internal video and sound
and add superior third party cards. A motherboard also comes in one of a few
standard footprints or sizes.