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Ergonomics and Features

With all the craze of integrating more features into motherboards these days, the first thing manufacturers tend to compromise is space. This means installing and removing cables and other removable components can be very troublesome. On smaller and cheaper motherboards, you have to install the memory first and then the graphics card. Uninstalling them have to be done in reverse, and since these two are usually placed near the processor's socket, fan and power supply cables can get in the way. Sometimes IDE and floppy connectors are placed too close to other components, making installation and uninstallation more difficult.

Sacrificing ergonomics and cramming everything into so little space is not only making the installation and uninstallation process difficult, but can also hinder airflow when the PC's case is closed. If airflow is hindered, the cooler air outside can't get in and change the hot air inside. This will eventually lead to heat issues such as overheating or even worse, permanent damage. Needless to say, we don't want any of this to happen.

Fortunately, the ATX and BTX form factor standard have address much of these problems. Of course, using smaller boards still complicates things, but usually there are ways we can get around that. A motherboard's layout will affect much of its ergonomy, so choose a motherboard that uses a good layout.



Pay attention to these areas:

• Space between the graphics card and DIMM slot: Installing and removing modules doesn't require you to remove the graphics card first.
• Space between expansion slots: If possible, avoid having any connectors (or any tall components) between expansion slots. This means everything, manufacturers often place audio cables for aux, CD and fax / modem input here. They may also place USB cable headers and Wakeup On LAN or Wakeup On Ring headers near the expansion slots.
• Location of IDE and floppy connectors: installing and uninstalling cables should not be obstructed by other components. The cables should also not hinder airflow from the bottom front of the case. They should not be placed in front of any expansion slots, so that they will not can hinder installation of full length add-on cards.
• Space around the processor: There should not be any tall components near the processor's socket. Tall components (such as capacitors) can obstruct heatsink installation. This shouldn't be a problem for socket 478 / 775 / 754 / 939 motherboards (only for socket 462 / A).
• Color coded connectors, headers and jumpers: Using a color code simplifies installation greatly. Colored jumpers will also be easy to spot.
• CMOS clear jumper location and type: This should be very accessible and easy to use. Avoid motherboards using soldered contacts.
• Location of ATX or BTX power connectors : Due to their size, these power cables can easily hinder airflow. Make sure the cables are not place near the center of the board. They will still be easy to reach and still not hinder airflow when placed on top of the motherboard, near the power supply (when the motherboard is inside a case).
• External connectors: Some of these connectors will take the space of your expansion slot. If the motherboard is a full ATX form factor motherboard, you will have to choose one of them: either lose the connector(s) or don't use the expansion slot(s). Some motherboard place these external connectors on the ATX backplane or front panel, this is more preferable.
• Active / passive cooling elements: Having additional cooling for your parts is basically good. However, passive heatsink on some components may obstruct other components. Pay special attention to heatsinks or other cooling solutions on the south bridge and mosfet / capacitors.

BIOS

Of course, when talking about a motherboard's features, we are not only talking about hardware, but also the motherboard's BIOS. BIOS (short for Basic Input Output System) is software that allows you to turn on / off features and enhancements and set values to be used for those features and enhancements. All motherboard comes with their own BIOS, since they're usually flashed into a BIOS chip on your motherboard. BIOS are often updated, so it's a good idea to check the motherboard's manufacturer website to see whether or not a newer BIOS for the motherboard exist. You can see what's changed or what bugs are fixed in the readme file accompanying the new BIOS.

Motherboard uses BIOS from different manufacturers, so the menus and options shown may be different from motherboard to motherboard. Check the motherboard's manual, there's usually a short explanation about the BIOS and the settings that you can change. Some will have a default and recommended value. Just remember, if you're going to use integrated peripherals, you have to turn them off through the BIOS - usually in the 'Integrated Peripherals' sub menu.

Some manufacturers make it a habit to hide some options and features in the BIOS. They did it because they're afraid end users will try to tweak the BIOS and unknowingly cause a system instability or crash. However don't be afraid, if you changed something and it makes your PC unstable, just reset the BIOS by clearing the CMOS (using the clear CMOS jumper) or bypassing the BIOS values stored in CMOS by pressing and holding the 'Ins' key when booting up.

Ergonomy wise, some features we want and need is shown in the BIOS. In a perfect world, these settings should be on all motherboards. Sadly, we're not in a perfect world, so check whether or not your motherboard's BIOS shows these settings:

In the PC Health Status:

• your processor temperature and voltage
• your ambient temperature (the air inside your PC's casing)
• power supply rails' voltage (3.3, 5, and 12 volts)
• critical shutdown temperature

In the Advanced BIOS Features:

• S.M.A.R.T support

If the above settings exist, chances are you could monitor them using additional hardware or software. Monitoring software can be configured to display an alert and take immediate action when these values hit a certain point. So for example, we could minimize the damage to your processor by shutting your PC down when the processor's temperature gets over 50 degrees Celsius and / or the ambient temperature goes over 40 degrees. You can do the same thing to power supply rails (we'll talk later in the power supply section about power supply rails and voltages). S.M.A.R.T allows you to monitor the health of your hard drives so you would be warned when your hard drives are beginning to fail. These features are important. There are also several additional settings for advanced users. This settings will allow you to wrench more performance from the motherboard, but if you're not careful or know what you're doing, they may cause system instabilities. It's nice to have them, so you could have more control over your motherboard.

In the Advanced Chipset Features:

• Memory clock: you can choose the speed for your memory either manually or automatically (SPD)
• Memory timing: you can choose the timing for your memory either manually or automatically (SPD)

In the Frequency Control:

• Voltage selection: you can choose the voltage for your processor and memory either manually or automatically
• Multiplier selection: you can choose the multiplier (to set your processor's speed) either manually or automatically. Some Athlon 64 and Athlon XP / Duron / Sempron have their processor's multiplier unlocked so you could change their total speed when times with a certain bus speed.
• FSB selection: you can choose the bus speed for your processor, motherboard and memory either manually or automatically

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