The motherboard is basically nervous system of your computer. It houses the processor, memory, video and audio, connects to all your peripherals and provides the BIOS (Basic Input Output System). In general, you select a motherboard to go with your processor, or sometimes vice-versa. For a pure cruncher, your choice might be much different than if you're looking for a MoBo to install in your high-end, primary machine.


Some other considerations are PCI or AGP video slots, the number of PCI slots for add-ons (like sound cards) and size. The motherboard must be designed to fit in the case, or the case large enough to accommodate the MoBo. Some boards have on-board sound, and some on-board video. Many have on-board NIC's (Network Interface Cards) as well as USB 2.0 ports, Firewire IEEE294 ports, etc.

You can always ask in the forums, see what others are using, and/or do some research on your own. Some good references are:
Motherboards.Org
NewEgg
PC Stats
Motherboardexpress.com

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by KeysCapt
last modified: 2008-01-28 21:25:45