Identifying common parts of a motherboard. Hardware Forum FAQ

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Identifying common parts of a motherboard.

Identifying common parts of a motherboard.

1. PCI slots. Peripheral Component Interconnect. Usually color coded as white.
2. AGP slot. Advanced Graphics Port. As the name implies, this is used for graphic cards that run off the AGP bus.
3. ATX motherboard power connector (Power Supply).
4. ZIF Socket. Zero Insertion Force. Where the processor goes. There are many types of sockets. Some motherboards have two sockets, which is called a Dual Processor motherboard.
5. Memory banks. Length/# of pins vary on the type of RAM the motherboard can use.
6. Chipset. (VIA, Intel, SiS, etc..)
7. Onboard controllers. Blue is IDE and the black one is Floppy. The color may change depending on the manufacturer, but they are all in the same general location and have the name right by it.

got feedback?

I was just wondering, I used to be a computer technician no so long ago. I am very familiar with the ATX board that is on your site. But wait! All of a sudden I start to look around for a upgraded motherboard, only to find out the are no IDE slots, No floppy slots, no AGP slots. What is going on? Have I been away from computers that long. I feel like I just walked out of the dark ages. My suggestion is put one of these new motherboards on you site and explain what's going on. I'm sure I'm not the only one with this question. Thank you very much.

2010-09-29 13:39:27

by redxii edited by Cariad
last modified: 2002-10-17 20:33:39

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Identifying common parts of a motherboard.