Motherboard

Computer components are attached to a large circuit board called the motherboard. The motherboard holds the CPU, hard drive, CD-ROM drive, floppy drive, video cards, memory and other card devices. They all fit or attach to the motherboard. On the motherboard itself, the places that the components attach to are called slots and sockets. The motherboard is dependent on the type and speed of the central processing unit (CPU). This is important since the circuitry of the motherboard needs to handle the directions of the CPU.

The different components that are found on the motherboard are as follows:

• Data Bus : The data bus is the multi-lane electrical highway of connections that link the CPU to the other chips on the motherboard, such as the RAM memory and I/O controllers. It is also called the front side bus (FSB). The word size of the data bus determines how many bits can be moved simultaneously along it.  A bus is a subsystem that transfers data between computer components inside a computer or between computers. Each bus defines its set of connectors to physically plug devices, cards or cables together.
• In/Out : The motherboard contains circuits that allow data to travel electronically along pathways. This data needs some system or way to control the communication ports, fixed drives, floppy drives, parallel port, and other devices. This is managed through the I/O or in/out. Sometimes a computer has an I/O onboard, which means that it is already on the motherboard.
• Cache Memory : The speed of CPU is extremely high compared to the access time of main memory. Therefore the performance of CPU decreases due to the slow speed of main memory. To decrease the mismatch in operating speed, a small memory chip is attached between CPU and Main memory whose access time is very close to the processing speed of CPU. It is called CACHE memory. CACHE memories are accessed much faster than conventional RAM. It is used to store programs or data currently being executed or temporary data frequently used by the CPU. So each memory makes main memory to be faster and larger than it really is. It is also very expensive to have bigger size of cache memory and its size is normally kept small. In other words, a cache is a temporary storage area where frequently accessed data can be stored for rapid access. A cache also increases transfer performance. The standard cache uses four bytes of data transferred to the CPU in eight clock cycles.
• Memory : Computer memory is usually meant to refer to the semiconductor technology that is used to store information in electronic devices. Current primary computer memory makes use of integrated circuits consisting of silicon-based transistors. There are two main types of memory: Volatile and Non-volatile.
• Chipset : The chipset refers to the processing chip used on the motherboard. The board must support the type of chipset that is used on the motherboard. The electronic circuits need to be able to support the chip. The chipset helps to determine what type of bus, cache, power supply, memory, etc.
• BIOS (basic Input Output System) : The BIOS is a small chip on the motherboard that has the program instructions for start-up and testing of the computer when it is turned on. It contains a small amount of memory that is programmed to remember these instructions. The BIOS also is in charge of setting the new "Plug and Play" devices and also for handling the input and output of data. The BIOS is programmable and can be changed and updated. A computer diskette is usually supplied with the motherboard with this purpose in mind. The the most recent BIOS that can be found in computers is called Flash BIOS.