Motherboards

Introduction

The motherboard is the most important component of a system. It is a Pinter Circuit Board (PCB) where all the components of a system are connected. The Central Processing Unit (CPU), hard drives, memory and every other part of a system is connected to the motherboard by means of slots, connectors, and sockets. The motherboard chipset is a series of chips that are a part of the motherboard.The chipset is very important to the system.

Types of Motherboards

Motherboards and the capacity and efficiency of motherboards differ according to the type of system you use. Motherboards acre classified as Integrated and Non-integrated devices depending on the devices on support. Motherboards which have all the ports for connecting various devices on board are known as integrated motherboards. All the latest desktop, server and laptop boards are oh the integrated type. Motherboards which do not support connecting devices are known as Non-integrated motherboards. Older boards were of non-integrated types.\

Non-Integrated Motherboards

Integrated motherboards have RAM slots integrated on the board. All the input-output ports for devices such as the serial and parallel port connectors, other controllers such as connectors for the hard drive and floppy disk drives are attached to the system using expansion boards. Expansion boards use more spaces of the cabinet. If any one of the expansion boards fails, only Those particular expansion boards need to be replaced and not the whole board. This type of board is more costly as compared to the integrated board as all the devices and ports, and other connectors for the devices need to be installed individually.

Integrated Motherboards

Integrated motherboards have all the peripheral devices slots, input output ports, are mounted on the board. The connectors for the various devices such as the hard drive connector and floppy disk drive connector are installed directly on to the motherboard. This arrangement saves a lot of spaces inside the system. Integrated boards are cheaper in cost as compared to non-integrated motherboards. The major disadvantage of these types of motherboards is that if an individual component of the motherboard fails, the whole board may need to be replaced

Desktop Motherboards

Desktop motherboards are used in personal computers and desktops. As it is used for applications at home and in the office this type of motherboard is the most basic type.

Server Motherboards

Server motherboards are more advanced than desktop motherboards and are designed to offer high-end services. These motherboards support expansion and future upgrades and can handle major applications. Server motherboards also offer improved graphics and can support different types of memory technology.

Laptop Motherboards

Laptop motherboard is connected to different parts of a laptop system. It is most important part of a laptop. These motherboards generally have very advanced features as compared to the desktop motherboards.

Form Factors of Motherboard

The form factor of motherboard refers to its physical shape, layout, and positioning of components on it. It also determines the types of system case it will fit into. Some motherboards that have the same functionality can be packaged in different form factors. The only major difference between such motherboards will be the form factor. Motherboards are available in the different forms.

Obsolete Form Factor

Obsolete form factors consist of Advanced Technology (AT), Baby AT and Low Profile Extended (LPX) form factors. IBM computers used the AT form factor motherboard and the LPX form factor was mostly used by Western Digital. The size of these motherboards was very large and was used in the earlier days. Nowadays this form factor is not used and is replaced by the ATX and micro ATX form factors.

Baby AT Form Factor  

Baby AT Form Factor is very much similar to the original IBM XT motherboard structure. The baby AT form factor fits into most of the system cases. A baby AT motherboard is 8.5 inches wide and about 13 inches long. The length of baby AT motherboards is not fixed. It supports a maximum of 8 slots.

Advanced Technology (AT) Form Factor

AT Form Factor is also known as the full-size
AT form factor. This form factor matches the original IBM AT motherboard in structure and layout. This type of motherboard is very large and is about 12 inches wide and 13.8 inches long. The AT form factor is not used much by present-day motherboard manufacturers. This type of motherboard does not fit into most of the popular system cases and its size also makes installation and troubleshooting difficult. It supports a maximum of 7 slots.