The motherboard is, in many ways, the most important component in your
computer (not the processor, even though the processor gets much more attention.) As
mentioned earlier, if the processor is the brain of the computer, then the motherboard
and its major components (the chipset, BIOS, cache, etc.) are the major systems that
this brain uses to control the rest of the computer. Having a good understanding of how
the motherboard and its contained subsystems works is probably the most critical part
of getting a good understanding of how PCs work in general.
The motherboard plays an important role in the following important aspects of your
computer system:
· Organization: In one way or another, everything is eventually connected to the
motherboard. The way that the motherboard is designed and laid out dictates
how the entire computer is going to be organized.
· Control: The motherboard contains the chipset and BIOS program, which
between them control most of the data flow within the computer.
· Communication: Almost all communication between the PC and its peripherals,
other PCs, and you, the user, goes through the motherboard.
· Processor Support: The motherboard dictates directly your choice of processor
for use in the system.
· Peripheral Support: The motherboard determines, in large part, what types of
peripherals you can use in your PC. For example, the type of video card your
system will use (ISA, VLB, PCI) is dependent on what system buses your
motherboard uses.
· Performance: The motherboard is a major determining factor in your system's
performance, for two main reasons. First and foremost, the motherboard
determines what types of processors, memory, system buses, and hard disk
interface speed your system can have, and these components dictate directly
your system's performance. Second, the quality of the motherboard circuitry and
chipset themselves have an impact on performance.
· Upgradability: The capabilities of your motherboard dictate to what extent you
will be able to upgrade your machine. For example, there are some
motherboards that will accept regular Pentiums of up to 133 MHz speed only,
while others will go to 200 MHz. Obviously, the second one will give you more
room to upgrade if you are starting with a P133.