Motherboard
All the components that made up every PC are connected
to the motherboard, so it's no surprise many magazines and
websites regularly test and review these boards. Though we
have come a long way since the early days, a motherboard's
design haven't changed that much. Here, you will find a
processor socket, several DIMM slots for the memory
modules, several expansion slots for add-on cards and I / 0
(input / output) ports for the mouse, keyboard, floppy,
hard drive(s) and CD / DVD-ROM. You might also find some
integrated components such as LAN / network adapter,
graphics card, additional storage controller and of course,
sound cards.We have learned that the motherboard is running at a fraction the speed of the processor. Let's rephrase this: it is actually the chipset on the motherboard we're talking about, not the entire motherboard. Chipsets acts as a traffic controller of sorts in a busy street, passing on data and data request from one component to the other. In the old days, chipsets comes as a pair of chipsets: a north bridge and a south bridge. Advancements in technology have made it possible to put them into one package, so not every motherboard has two chipsets.
Bus speed:
Processor and Memory
Since processor comes in all kinds of speed and uses
several bus speed, your motherboard's chipset have to
support them. If not, you would have to run the processor
at a bus speed the chipset supports. For example, if you're
using a Pentium 4 with a 800 MHz FSB on a motherboard that
only supports up to 533 MHz FSB, you will have to use the
533 MHz FSB. Of course, you'll end up with a slower PC
since your processor will run not only on a slower bus but
also slower overall speed as well. Why? Remember that your
processor runs at a certain multiplier so a Pentium 4 2.4
GHz that uses 800 MHz FSB (2.4 GHz is 16 times the actual
200 MHz FSB) will only run 1.6 GHz when using 533 MHz FSB
(the FSB is actually running at 133 MHz). So pick your
processor and motherboard wisely.Chipset manufacturers continually update their chipsets to keep up with processor and bus speed changes. Unfortunately, you can't change the chipsets on your motherboard. If you want to use the new chipsets, for example to use the new bus speed, you will have to buy a new motherboard. This is what happens when you 'upgrade' your PC, where you change the processor and the motherboard as well. You don't have to change the motherboard if the motherboard still supports the bus speed of your new processor. So, again remember before you buy the motherboard, check what processors and bus speed does the motherboard supports. Make sure it supports your processor and (at least) that processor's bus speed.
You also have to consider the memory as well. Remember, for the processor to run at its optimal performance, we have to use memory modules that run as fast or faster than your processor's bus speed. In addition to that, if you're going to use than one memory module, check how many banks of memory modules the motherboard (chipsets) can use when using the specified memory module. Remember, banks don't necessarily equal slots. You don't have to do this for Athlon 64 processors and motherboard, since the memory controller is integrated in the processor. Again, try to use single sided (single bank) memory modules when possible.
Expansion Slots
for Add-On Cards
Expansion slots are just that, they make it possible
for you to expand the capabilities and features of your PC
with add-on cards. There are several types add-on cards,
the most common are graphics cards, sound cards, network /
LAN adapter, internal fax / modem adapter, storage
controllers either RAID IDE or RAID SCSI, and TV tuner /
video capture cards. There are others such as additional
USB or Firewire ports, Wi-Fi adapter, satellite broadcast
receiver and so many more. Nowadays, expansion slots come
in two types: AGP (used only for graphics card) / PCI (for
all others) and PCI Express. Check your motherboard's
manual to see how many of either are available on the
motherboard. Needless to say, they uses different physical
connectors so you can only put PCI add-on cards on PCI
slots and the same with PCI Express.Having lots of slots can be good, but not necessarily so. If you don't use many expansion cards or are not planning to use them, you don't need more than two expansion slots. Sound cards and network adapter are usually integrated into the motherboard these days. Your motherboard may also come with IDE or SATA controller that's RAID capable. Most users only use the expansion slots either for an internal fax/modem, TV tuner / video capture cards or sound cards if they want to use a separate sound card. You might ask why use an additional sound card if the motherboard already comes with one? First of all, integrated sounds card vary much in quality so many users that want or need better audio quality still opt to use an add-on solution. Second, there is usually a little performance hit with integrated sound cards when playing games. With an add-on sound card that's geared for gaming, this performance hit is less and often they support additional features that the integrated solution lacks.
If you're not going to use expansion slots, you can opt to choose a motherboard that has all the features integrated. These are usually cheaper and come in a smaller factor form. Just remember to have at least two expansion slots on the motherboard: one for graphics card (AGP or PCI Express x16 slot) and an additional PCI or PCI Express x1 or x4 slot.
When choosing a motherboard, keep these things in mind:
- Bus speed: the motherboard must support the bus speed the processor uses. More will be good, which means you can upgrade to a faster processor with a higher bus speed. Less means your processor will run slower.
- Memory type, speed and configuration:
-
- You will probably be using either a DDR or DDR2 equipped motherboard for Pentium 4. Choose one that supports DDR2-533 and 667 if possible. If you're using an Athlon 64, you will be using DDR equipped motherboard. You'll be using PC3200 DDR memory modules, since this is the maximum official rating for DDR memory. Both Athlon 64 and the memory will run on the same bus speed of 200 MHz.
- Make sure the motherboard and the chipset supports memory with the same or faster than the bus speed (100, 133, 200, 266 MHz for Pentium 4 and Celeron, 100, 133, 166, 200 MHz for Athlon XP / Athlon 64 and Duron / Sempron).
- For optimal performance, choose a motherboard with dual channel memory controller equipped chipsets for Pentium 4. Socket 939 Athlon 64 comes with dual channel memory controller inside the processor, while socket 754 Athlon 64 only comes with single channel memory controller. Install two modules, each on a different channel.
- For most people, two DIMM slots is enough, if you want more then look for four DIMM slots. Remember that slots are not banks. Use single sided (single bank) memory if possible. Check how many banks of the specified memory the motherboard can use.
- Expansion slots and integrated features:
-
- In most cases only a single AGP and two PCI slots is enough. The same also applies to PCI Express: 1 x16 slot and 2 x1 or x4 slots.
- These integrated features usually work just as fast as add-on cards: network adapter, storage controller (either S-ATA or IDE with and without RAID support).
- You might consider choosing a motherboard with integrated graphics if you're going to use the PC only for office work and multimedia playback.
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