The term “motherboard” really arose with the advent of printed circuit boards and microprocessors. A motherboard allows additional devices and additional capacity to be added to a computer by means of plug-in modules, and the term expansion is commonly used when referring to the capacity of a motherboard.

Before the invention of microprocessors, most computers were mainframe computers that had powerful central processing units that were typically housed in large cabinets. A back plate consisting of a series of interconnected slots creating a bus was used to easily connect additional peripherals and capabilities. The term “backplane” is also used with modern personal computers.

A motherboard acts as a backplane by allowing additional components to be added to the overall computer system to add different capabilities.

Dual In-Line Memory Modules, or DIMMs as they are known, provide the computer’s main memory in the form of DRAM (dynamic random access memory). Dynamic memory requires frequent charging, so when power is lost, information is lost quickly. These DIMMs are connected to the motherboard through dedicated slots on the motherboard itself.

A chipset built into the motherboard provides communications between the main processor and other external devices, such as memory and graphics controllers, as well as some lower-speed devices, such as Ethernet, wireless controllers, and USB devices.

A computer system must include a form of non-volatile memory to store crucial information, such as BIOS or firmware. This type of memory is often in the form of Flash ROM, which for technical reasons is not really suitable as a main memory system. Another variation of this type of memory is NVRAM (non-volatile random access memory) which is used with some computer networking devices such as routers and data switches. With non-volatile memory, information is retained after a main power outage.

Expansion slots on the motherboard allow for additional capacity that is not possible directly from the main board itself. Devices such as graphics cards, network cards, storage area network (SAN) cards, and modem cards. A hard drive controller is also needed to provide communication and data transfer to the attached hard drive, so a slot will normally be required for this as well. Since computer system manufacturers are always trying to make products that take up less space, low-profile cards have been developed to take up less space with the computer system chassis.

Each area of ​​the overall system, such as DRAM, CPU, expansion cards, and non-volatile memory, require power and must be connected to the computer’s power supply through connectors on the motherboard.

All the subsystems and components of the computer system must be synchronized from a common source if they are to function as a single overall system, so they require some type of clock signal for this purpose. Most low-end systems use a single phase clock from a single clock generator that produces a square wave signal at a constant frequency. Single phase refers to the fact that the signal is carried on a single copper wire. Some more complex systems will use a 2 or even 4 phase clock signal in order to synchronize multiple subsystems or components.

The motherboard is an essential component in a modern personal computer and is the catalyst for providing connectivity and enabling collaboration among a growing number of additional components, subsystems, and peripherals. Many manufacturers produce the motherboards themselves, but ATX is by far the most popular and there are fewer manufacturers specializing in chipsets, the main ones being AMD, Intel and Nvidia.

If you’re building a PC from scratch or upgrading a PC and need a motherboard, here are some simple tips:

Make sure the motherboard actually fits into the case. Case manufacturers will most often specify the type, such as ATX.

Hard drive controllers are usually integrated with the motherboard, just make sure the controller’s speed rating matches that of the hard drive you select.

Be sure to adhere to the maximum amount of RAM specified by the motherboard manufacturer.

Make sure the board has enough expansion slots for any proposed card you have in mind, or choose a board with several built-in features, such as USB, Ethernet, Firewire, and sound.

Bus speed determines overall system performance and since it determines how quickly data is sent to the Central Processing Unit, care should be taken to select a board with sufficient bus speed to meet your performance needs. .