The motherboard serves to connect all of the parts of a computer together. The CPU, memory, hard drives, optical drives, video card, sound card and other ports and expansion cards all connect to the motherboard directly or via cables.
The motherboard is the piece of computer hardware that can be thought of as the "back bone" of the PC.
In a desktop, the
motherboard is mounted inside the case, opposite the most easily accessible
side. It is securely attached via small screws through pre-drilled holes.
The front of the motherboard
contains ports that all of the internal components connect to.
A single socket/slot houses the CPU.
Multiple slots allow for one or more memory modules to be attached. Other ports
reside on the motherboard which allow the hard drive and optical drive (and floppy drive
if present) to connect via data cables.
Small wires from the front of the
computer case connect to the motherboard to allow the power, reset and LED
lights to function. Power from the power supply is delivered to the motherboard
by use of a specially designed port.
Also on the front of the motherboard
are a number of peripheral card slots. These slots are where most video cards,
sound cards and other expansion cards are connected to the motherboard.
On the left side of the motherboard
(the side that faces the back end of the desktop case) are a number of ports.
These ports allow most of the computer's external peripherals to connect such
as the monitor,
keyboard,
mouse,
speakers, network cable and more.
All modern motherboards also include
USB ports here,
and increasingly other ports like HDMI and FireWire, that allow compatible
devices to connect to your computer when you need them - devices like digital
cameras, printers, etc.
The desktop motherboard and case are
designed so that when peripheral cards are used, the sides of the cards fit
just outside the back end, making their ports available for use.
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