Motherboard Basics

Inside your computer, nothing works without the motherboard. It's what connects each and every piece of hardware. Some things plug into it via cable; others plug directly in or use some sort of slot to connect. Either way you cut it, the motherboard runs the show. Every motherboard consists of loads and loads of different components and parts, but each one has a few important areas of concern when it comes to computer repair.

1. CPU slot - Where the processor plugs in

2. RAM Slot - Where the memory plugs in

3. Video/Peripherals Slots - Video cards, sounds cards, etc

4. Power Supply Connector - Where all the power comes from

5. Inputs Like SATA (and IDE, in some older computers)

Building a computer is really quite easy, thanks to the design of most motherboards. Almost everything is easy to plug in, color coded, and uniquely shaped. It's not like you could put the RAM in the CPU slot, or the CPU in the SATA connections. This is the very reason why once most people build their first computer, they realize it’s a lot easier than they thought.

As data flows around your computer, from the hard drive to the CPU, to the memory and so on, it travels over cables most of the time... until it gets to the motherboard, where everything is connected. In a lot of ways, the motherboard acts a lot like a highway for the information to travel over. The data needs to get to and from the brain of your computer (the processor), and that is what the motherboard is for. Every piece of hardware has different interfaces, and a motherboard brings them all together and gets them all working in harmony.

Below is a picture of a motherboard, with a brief explanation of most major components:

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Even as I post this image, it's most likely out of date. I began to scour the web for pictures of each piece of the motherboard, but when I came across this image, I felt it does a really good job laying everything out. As the years go by and technology changes, the overall layout may change a bit... but for the most part, this is how we have seen them laid out for the past ten years (with the exception of a few additions). You will notice this hardware has a lot of onboard components, like a sound card, network card, and more than likely a video card. Remember, even though something is onboard, you can still improve on your overall performance by using an aftermarket sound card or video card. For years, we would tell people to avoid onboard or built in hardware, in order to avoid having to replace the entire motherboard when one of the components failed. Now, since motherboards allow for aftermarket components to be installed and override the onboard version, having onboard components is a bonus.

Take some time looking around the web, getting familiar with the looks and layout of various motherboards. It's important to remember that not all motherboards are created equal - if you skimp on your motherboard and get a crummy one, it will limit your entire system. In our next lesson, we will teach you the basics of cleaning the inside of your computer. Keeping the inside of your computer clean is important as it helps to keep it running smoothly.