MOTHERBOARD TYPES AND FEATURES
A motherboard is the most complicated component in a computer. When you put together a
computer from parts, generally you start with deciding on which processor and motherboard
you will use. Everything else follows those decisions. Take a look at the details of Figure 3-1,
which shows a motherboard designed with gamers in mind. If you were shopping for a moth-
erboard for a gaming system, you’d have to compare many features among numerous boards.
Generally, you’d need to pay attention to form factor, processor sockets, chipsets, buses and
number of bus slots, and other connectors, slots, and ports. In this part of the chapter, we’ll
look at the details of each of these features so that in the future you’ll be able to read a mobo
ad with the knowledge of a pro. We’ll also look at how configuration information is stored on
a motherboard and the best strategies to use when selecting a motherboard.
MOTHERBOARD FORM FACTORS
You learned about motherboard form factors in the last chapter, so we won’t repeat
that here. To summarize, recall that a motherboard form factor determines the size
of the board and its features that make it compatible with power supplies, cases,
processors, and expansion cards. The most popular motherboard form factors are
ATX, MicroATX, FlexATX, BTX, and NLX, in that order. ATX motherboards have
been around for a long time and have seen many improvements. Figure 3-1 shows an
ATX motherboard and Figure 3-2 shows a MicroATX board. A BTX motherboard is
shown in Figure 3-3. Each form factor has several sizes for motherboards which are
listed in Table 2-1 in Chapter 2. In addition to these form factors, you might encounter
the ITX form factor. It’s smaller than a MicroATX and sometimes used in home
theatre systems.
CHAPTER 3
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All About Motherboards
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