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Chapter 5
Motherboards
Objectives
Learn about the different types of motherboards and
how to select one
Learn how to support and configure a motherboard
Learn how to install or replace a motherboard
Learn how to troubleshoot a motherboard and
processor
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Introduction
Some topics covered:
The role of buses and expansion slots
How to configure components, such as buses
A+ Guide to Hardware, 4e
Motherboards
Connects all PC components
3 types of motherboard
Form factor, chipset, expansion slots,
components
XT (Extended Technology)
AT (Advanced Technology)
ATX (Advanced Technology Extended)
Intel vs. AMD
ZIF vs SEC
Selecting a Motherboard
Motherboard form factor
Determines the size of the board
Drives selection of power supply, case, CPU, cards
A+ Guide to Hardware, 4e
Types of Motherboards
Types of Motherboards
Figure 5-1 An ATX motherboard with PCI Express and Socket 775
A+ Guide to Hardware, 4e
XT Motherboard
1981 IBM PC
1 Mb RAM
8 bit bus
Configured using jumpers
Designed aroung 8088 processor
RAM SIMM
sockets
P8 and P9
AT Motherboard
IDE
Keyboard
FDD
COM 1+2
Printer
PCI slots
CPU ZIF
socket
ISA slots
AT Motherboard
CPU
16 bit address bus
Memory Controller
8 bit
Memory bus
Simm 1
(30 pin)
8 bits wide
Simm 2
(30 pin)
8 bits wide
Memory 80386/80486
386/486
CPU
32 bit address bus
Memory Controller
32 bit memory bus
Simm 1
(72 pin)
32 bits wide
ATX Motherboard
ATX Motherboard
AGP Slot
PCI Slots
P1 or ATX
power connector
Northbridge
Processor
zif socket
CMOS battery
RAM DIMM
sockets
Floppy Disk
Drive Controller
ATX Motherboard
Introduced in 1995
All I/O ports on the board
Single 20-pin P1 connector
Later ATX boards also use ATX 12v connector
3.3V/2.8V direct from PSU
Uses mini-din (PS/2) for keyboard/mouse
Soft power
MicroATX, FlexATX
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Bus evolution
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Internal connectors
EIDE, floppy drive connector, serial ATA, SCSI, 1394
Riser slots
Audio/modem riser (AMR)
Communication and networking riser (CNR)
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Motherboard Chipsets
Chipset = a group of microchips that together
control a major function of the motherboard
Northbridge show pic main pathway
between CPU, RAM and AGP
Southbridge show pic manages basic
input/output such as serial, USB, IDE and PCI
Super I/O chip
System Crystal
Determines speed of motherboard e.g. 133Mhz
All devices soldered to the motherboard run at this
speed
Pushes the CPU using multiplier
On a 133Mhz motherboard the Northbridge and
Southbridge operate at 133Mhz
Memory Pentium
Pentium
CPU
32 bit address bus
frontside bus
North Bridge
(Memory Controller)
Dimm 1
(168 pin)
64 bits wide
The Northbridge
chip connects all
intelligent
peripherals e.g.
CPU, RAM,
graphics
Pentium
CPU
North Bridge
RAM
frontside bus
L1 cache
(Memory Controller)
AGP
AGP bus
memory bus
HDD
scanner
EIDE
PCI
South Bridge
PCI bus
CD/DVD
sound
ISA bus
keyboard
mouse
FDD
ISA
modem
BIOS
Figure 5-10 How PCI Express connects to the chipset and processor
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Buying a motherboard
Hardware Configuration
Three ways to configure the motherboard:
DIP switches, jumpers, CMOS RAM
Jumpers
Retain setup or installation information
Are opened and closed using jumper covers
Typical setting: enabling/disabling keyboard power-up
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Figure 5-15 Setup information about the motherboard can be stored by setting
a jumper on (closed) or off (open). A jumper is closed if the cover is in place,
connecting the two pins that make up the jumper; a jumper is open if the cover
is not in place.
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Figure 5-24 The coin cell is the most common type of CMOS battery
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Motherboard Drivers
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Replacing a Motherboard
Overview of the replacement process
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Summary
Motherboard form factor drives selection of
motherboard
Configurable components: bus, expansion slots, other
connectors
Cargo carried by a computer bus: electrical power,
control signals, memory address, data
Bus types: local, local video, local I/O, expansion
The PCI bus was designed to replace the ISA bus
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Summary (continued)
Three tools for configuring a motherboard: DIP
switches, jumpers, CMOS setup program
The CMOS setup program is stored on a floppy disk
or ROM BIOS chip
Document configuration settings for recovery needs
Upgrade ROM BIOS using a technique called flashing
Use POST reporting to help diagnose problems
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