14
C3
Interfaces and peripheral handling
When selecting a motherboard, considerations include processor and processor
package support, system bus speed (Front Side BUS or FSB), chipset features such
as memory and graphics support, disk drive interface (ATA/100), RAID support,
USB ports (number of ports, speed and location), I/O bandwidth, audio and
networking options, general board layout and form factor (which relates to the
number of PCI slots). So basically the mainboard defines the whole system and the
components it can exist off. Besides the visible components of the mainboard there
are also the invisible but highly important system resources. The system resources
can cause severe stability problems or can cause devices to fail to function if they
are not assigned properly.
Basic components:
• Chipset (see below)
• BIOS chip (see below)
• CPU Interface - In slot or socket format. There are different kinds of slots and
sockets for different kinds of processors.
• Memory sockets - for plugging in memory modules. There are different kinds
of sockets for different kinds of memory.
• PS/2 keyboard connector (1x) - For connecting a PS/2 keyboard.
• PS/2 mouse connectors (1x) - For connecting a PS/2 mouse.
• Serial (COM) port connectors (2x) - Usually for connecting modems or mice
but there are also other hardware devices that can be connected to it or it
can be used to connect to another computer directly with a serial port link
cable.
• Parallel port connector (1x) - Usually for connecting printers but there are
also other hardware devices that can be connected to it or it can be used to
connect to another computer directly with a parallel port link cable. BIOS
setting for this port should be EPP, ECP or EPP+ECP for most parallel port
devices since SPP is usually too old for the devices to function with.
• Floppy Disk Drive connector (1x) - The one thing that ALL mainboards have
universally in common and of which the functionality has not changed in
years is the Floppy Disk Drive (FDD) connector for connecting the almost
always present standard 3.5" floppy drive.
• IDE connector (2x) - For connecting up to 4x IDE devices like for example
Hard Disk Drives, CD and DVD devices.
(96 paginas)
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