MOTHERBOARD

2008-03-08T14:19:00.008+07:00

THE MOTHERBOARD

After the CPU chip, the mainboard or "motherboard" is the most important component of any personal computer. Intel makes a small number of its own boards, but most systems use motherboards from companies such as Abit, Asus, MSI, SuperMicro, Tyan, …

Mainboards come in sizes. A typical full sized computer uses an ATX mainboard which has room for 4 memory sticks and 7 PCI or PCI-e adapter cards. A smaller size board and case supports the MATX standard, which typically has only two memory slots and room for 4 adapter cards. Although the mainboard is smaller, MATX vendors typically find room for integrated video on the mainboard so you don’t necessarily need to use up an adapter card slot. There are oversized boards, but they are only used in servers. There are tiny boards used in specialty devices.

The mainboard is attached to a tray in the bottom or side of the case by nine screws that screw into metal “standoffs” that keep the bottom of the mainboard a safe distance from the metal of the case. Everything else plugs into the mainboard:

* The CPU drops into the mainboard socket.
o A mainboard for Intel CPUs has an LGA 775 socket, but the speed of the clock generated by the mainboard to run the CPU has to be fast enough to support newer CPU models.
o AMD Athlon 64 CPUs come in versions for Socket 939 and AM2. The difference is that 939 CPUs support older DDR memory and AM2 CPUs support DDR2 memory.
o Server boards support a different Intel Athlon or AMD Opteron socket, but ordinary users will typically not encounter them. However, some Opteron chips are made for the 939 and AM2 sockets. They are equivalent to Althlon 64 processors, but with a larger 1 megabyte of cache.
* DDR and DDR2 memory is rated by speed. A mainboard will be rated for a certain maximum speed, but it will slow down to support slower memory. Memory will be rated for a maximum speed, but it will also slow down if plugged into a slower board. So the only compatibility issue is to put DDR memory into a DDR mainboard, and DDR2 memory into a DDR2 mainboard.
* Memory is rated for a certain speed, and the mainboard is rated for a certain maximum speed. However, in some cases the combination of a particular brand of low cost memory plus a particular brand of mainboard will cause trouble. The mainboard will try to run at the rated top speed, but occasionally the data will be corrupted. The problem can be solved by entering the BIOS configuration panels at power up and manually setting the memory speed to the next slower setting. There is no message telling you that you have the problem, and until you realize it the computer will crash in many different ways at different times. In order for the computer to detect a memory problem, it needs an extra memory feature called ECC. All servers use ECC. Microsoft would love computer makers to put ECC memory in every computer, because they get blamed for all the failures that are really caused by memory problems. However, ECC costs a bit more and computer makers unwisely shave a few bucks off the cost of a system by using cheaper unchecked memory. If you can find a combination of mainboard, CPU, and memory that supports ECC, it is the single most valuable upgrade you can consider.
* A modern mainboard has some combination of old flat “parallel” ATA connectors and new, small Serial ATA (SATA) connectors. SATA is better, but until recently you needed the old flat cable for DVD drives. During 2007 we may see a transition to all SATA.
* The two leading makers of video chips are Nvidia and ATI. AMD bought ATI last year, and Nvidia makes a very popular and powerful set of chips for controlling mainboards. As a result, the quality and capability of mainboards that come with integrated graphics is improving. Anyone playing video games still wants a separate video card. Integrated video typically uses some of the computer’s main memory, and contention for memory between ordinary programs running on the CPU and video requirements has an impact on overall system performance. However, business users and adults who just want to run Windows, Office, and view TV or DVDs may be quite happy with the video that comes on a mainboard. If you need more, you can always buy a video card later on.
* Mainboards also have integrated audio. If your tastes are simple, this will be perfectly adequate. However, games may require computer generated sounds, and when you have the power, computer processing of even recorded sound can add impressive effects that make ordinary headphones sound richer. An add-on audio card from companies like Creative will be able to do far more sound processing, if you need it.
* All mainboards have USB capability. However, to run external disks at their full speed, a external form of SATA called “eSATA” is becoming popular. New mainboards may have one or two eSATA slots on the back panel next to the USB and Ethernet.
* Modern mainboards have some combination of modern PCI Express (PCI-e) slots and older PCI slots. PCI-e card slots come in sizes. Video always uses a long “x16” slot. Other types of cards can fit into smaller x1 and x4 slots. PCI-e cards have a size, but they can always be plugged into a larger mainboard slot. An x1 card will also plug into an x4 or x16 slot. However, a larger card will not fit into a smaller size slot. Other than video, PCI-e cards are still rather exotic devices. There are a few disk controllers and TV tuners. There is currently no PCI-e add-in sound card. The high end boards sold to people who play video games have room for two oversize video cards, but then they can support only two old PCI cards. Less expensive boards with one PCI-e video slot and two PCI-e x1 or x4 slots leave room for up to four old PCI slots and may be more useful to mainstream users.

2008-03-08T13:48:00.007+07:00

BIOS FLASH

IOS is an important component of your computer, with out which your computer won’t run at all. Many motherboard manufacturer often issue BIOS updates to fix bugs, minor enhancements, support for newer processors (CPU) and RAM. Many people end screwing up their computer’s motherboard because they don’t take proper precautions when flashing their motherboard’s BIOS. Remember most motherboard manufacturers do not offer warranty for bad flash.

Tips to prevent bad BIOS flash (Motherboard)

1. Check your Power Supply before you start flashing: The most common cause for screwed up BIOS is power failure during the flashing process. Before you start flashing make sure to connect your computer to a UPS. In event of power failure the UPS would be able to provide power to your computer.

2. If you use UPS make sure that its battery has got enough juice: If the battery of your UPS does not have enough charge, then your computer would go down when there is a power failure or surge. I suggest you plan your BIOS flashing process in advance; you can check your UPS’s battery by putting in battery mode. By doing this you would also come to know how long your UPS would last in event of a power failure. Also make sure you charge your UPS properly so that the battery charge is full when start flashing you motherboard.

3. Correctly identify your motherboard model and current BIOS version: To flash your motherboards BIOS you require the correct BIOS flash file, if you flash your motherboard with wrong BIOS then your motherboard is dead. Though you can identify the your motherboard model using software utilities but I usually do not rely on them. I open up the computers cabinet and find out the motherboard model from there, remember your motherboard model number is always printed on your motherboard. Once you know the motherboard model can head to your manufacturers website and download the latest BIOS update. All of today’s modern BIOS flash utility that manufacturers provide have inbuilt mechanism that prevents you from flashing the wrong BIOS version. This is for people who flash in DOS mode.

4. Close unnecessary programs when you flash within Windows: As you all know sometimes Windows may behave strangely or become unstable so to avoid all this, you better close all programs. My sincere advise would be avoid flashing from within Windows, instead flash from a USB Flash drive in DOS mode.

5. When flashing in DOS mode prefer USB flash drive instead of a Floppy: A floppy disk is very sensitive to environment when compared to a USB flash drive and can get corrupted very soon. So I would suggest you to use USB flash drive instead of a floppy disk.

6. Scan your USB flash disk or Floppy disk for errors or bad sectors before flashing: If your USB flash disk or floppy disk has bad sectors then the BIOS file would get corrupted and probably you would end up with a bad flash. So scanning your USB flash disk or floppy disk makes lot of sense.

7. Read the manufacturer’s instructions carefully before flashing: Each manufacturer provides various ways of flashing your BIOS so before flashing read the instructions for the method that you plan to use carefully and proceed further.

2008-03-08T13:04:00.002+07:00

Pointer Graphic for FingerlinksRead about 5 Tech Mistakes to Avoid

The one thing to take away from this article is that failure doesn't always mean the worst possible case. I thought there was an internal problem in my wife's notebook, which would have to be replaced in its entirety, but it was just a wire in a cable that was causing the trouble. You might think your hard drive is fried, only to discover your PC was trying to boot a non-bootable eSATA drive.

When failure occurs, keep your head. Don't panic, just think. Think the problem through and remember: The simplest explanation is usually the right one.

Sometimes, even walking away from a problem for a few minutes, or even overnight, can clear your head and ideas will start flowing. The human mind is a funny thing, so patience is often better than trying to come up with an answer under pressure. Of course, there are times when you have to come up with an answer quickly. Even then, a little patience may pay off in a big way.

2008-03-08T12:59:00.005+07:00

The Case of the Broken Wire and the Kicker

This one was a stumper. My wife's notebook battery died. It was pretty old, so that's not really surprising. Yes, I did check the contacts.

Whenever she used it, she had to do so with the power cord plugged in. Suddenly, however, the notebook started to shut off without warning. At first, I tried to trace a pattern in its behavior, but there wasn't any rhyme or reason to the occurrences. It would shut down at any given time, when she was playing Spider Solitaire, or when she was working on a school project, or when she was surfing the Web, and so on.

Old Computer

Knowing she kept it plugged in, I couldn't figure out why it would do that. Ready to conclude that it was either a thermal problem or an electrical problem within its own, internal power circuitry, I then noticed that it usually happened when she moved.

I immediately grabbed the power cable and, using my multi-meter to ohm it, I determined that a wire within the cable was broken. It showed contact unless I wiggled it just right, then contact would fail. Power was lost. Without a working battery, the laptop simply shut down.

I could have stripped the insulation off the cable, located the broken wire, soldered it together and taped it up, but the break was on the very edge of the terminator on the notebook side. Since the cable and the power brick were proprietary to the notebook, I had to get a replacement; thankfully, a dude on eBay was selling exactly what I needed for far less money than the laptop manufacturer wanted.

The Kicker

Now I have to take my own advice and go replace a power supply. That's right, those of us who write the stuff you read here at ExtremeTech are just as susceptible to PC and gadget failures as anyone else. I think I toasted the PSU when I tried to SLI a pair of GeForce 8800 GTX cards with the quad-core CPU overclocked from 2.93GHz up to 3.40GHz, and the memory running at 850MHz up from 800MHz. Oops.

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2008-03-08T12:57:00.002+07:00

Don't Cry over Spilt Milk or the Red Ring of Death

Kids and computers don't always mix. In fact, even grownups do dumb things like set a beer right next to the keyboard, forget about it, and knock it over so that it pours onto the poor input device.

Isopropyl alcohol

This solution works better the sooner you get to it. It's also not limited to keyboard, but pretty much any electronic device with gaps in it that liquid can seep into, including remotes, notebook computers, and PDAs.

Cut power to the device (remove any batteries if necessary) and take the thing apart as fast as you can. Many particles in many beverages are conductive. If the liquid shorts something, the device can be permanently damaged.

You can rinse the electronics of the device clean with several liquids. Hydrogen peroxide will dissolve any sugar that makes its way to the circuitry and so will distilled water. Don't use tap water; it contains minerals that make it electrically conductive, and when it dries they will remain on the circuit boards. In a pinch, you can use rubbing alcohol to rinse the device thoroughly, but distilled water tends to be more effective. Better than both is reagent grade isopropyl alcohol or a true degreasing solvent, which you can find at a local electronics shop.

Allow the device to dry completely before you reassemble it. I mean, give it a few days, especially if you can't get it fully apart. Make sure there's absolutely no more liquid on or inside it, and then replace its power source or connect it back to the PC. When you try to use it again, test every function, or key, or what have you, thoroughly before you declare the emergency measure a success.

Red Ring Might Not Mean Death

If you're an Xbox 360 enthusiast, you might live in fear of what's called the Red Ring of Death. Each red-lit segment in the normally-green ring around a 360's power button indicates a different symptom. The dreaded Red Ring of Death is indicated by three of the four segments glowing red—all but the upper-right quadrant.

xbox360 red ring

Before you cry out in pain, turn the 360 off, disconnect all of its cables, reconnect them, and turn it back on. If you still see the evil red lights, turn it off again, disconnect the hard drive, and turn it back on. If the 360 acts normal, the hard drive might be toast.

Alternately, you might not even see the Red Ring of Death even when you see red ring segments. For instance, if all four segments glow red, there's an A/V problem; check the seating of the audio-video cable and be sure the switch on the cable is in the correct position for your A/V needs.

If you do see any red ring segments when you turn on your 360, and you've tried the above steps, call 1-800-4MY-XBOX to get tech help. The worst-case scenario is that they'll send you a "coffin," in other words a shipping container in which you can send the 360 to the repair center.

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2008-03-08T12:55:00.005+07:00

Crysis

As new big-name titles come out, both ATI and Nvidia tend to react quickly. ATI will sometimes release a hotfix for its current set of Catalyst drivers, whereas, Nvidia will release beta ForceWare drivers with optimizations for the new game. Download and install them as necessary.

If you do install new drivers, make sure to properly uninstall old ones first. Today's drivers uninstall cleanly, so you don't need special driver uninstallers these days. But it's still safest to uninstall old drivers before installing new ones.

Meanwhile, it's important to keep up with game patches for all of your games. This is no longer a curse specific to PC gaming; even console games are afflicted with patchable bugs these days. Check each of your games' support sites regularly for patches, and keep an eye on game news sites like Blues News for patch announcements.

Out of Contact

Everything that has electrical contacts is subject to some sort of failure caused by dust, dirt, corrosion, or wear and tear. This includes everything from expansion cards to flash memory cards, from batteries to USB peripherals. I was reminded of this recently when my PlayStation Portable suddenly stopped seeing its inserted Memory Stick Duo. I turned the unit on one day, and it couldn't find any of my litany of photographs, saved games, or movies.

I did what any normal person would do: I broke into a sweat and panicked because I hadn't backed up the thing in ages. I'm halfway through Jeanne D'Arc, for Heaven's sake, and I really don't want to start over.

PsP Memory Stick

Then I thought about it for a moment, turned off the PSP, and popped out the Memory Stick Duo. Although I couldn't see any sign of corrosion on its contacts, I cleaned them anyway.

You can get a special contact cleaner from an electronics store, or you can use a simple, clean pencil eraser to work off any gunk, corrosion, finger oils, or whatever else might have built up on the gold electrical contacts. Then I reinserted it, powered up the PSP, and everything was right with the world.

I don't know why it hiccupped, but cleaning the contacts never hurts. Contact failure can result in all kinds of symptoms, depending on the electronics in question. For instance, a graphics card in poor contact with the motherboard might not allow the computer to POST, or it might behave oddly and cause visual artifacts. Poor battery contact can cause a device to stop working altogether.

To ensure good electrical contact, never touch the (usually gold) contact plates or pins on anything, ever. And don't get anything on them. This includes memory modules, batteries, and, yes, Memory Stick Duos

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2008-03-08T12:53:00.004+07:00

PSU Issues

When a power supply goes bad, the symptoms can be mysterious and confusing. The computer might hang. It might shut off all by itself. It might suddenly reboot. If your PC starts randomly partaking in such annoying activities, you might have to replace the power supply.

Enermax manual control PSU

Before you do, consider what you've done in the recent past. Have you been overclocking the CPU or chipset? Doing so can quickly eat up precious wattage and overtax the poor PSU. Have you added lots of stuff to your computer, such as a beefier graphics card, a bunch of bus-powered USB peripherals, a discreet sound card, multiple hard drives, or anything of that nature? Try removing or disconnecting some of that stuff and see if the computer's behavior smoothes out.

If, by chance, you're running in SLI a pair of Nvidia-based cards that require not one, but two PCI Express power leads, try this: Disconnect the PCI-E leads from the inner connector on each of your two graphics cards. With power coming only from the outermost connectors (those nearest the front of the PC), the computer should still boot an operating system—it just won't have the muscle to crank out demanding 3D graphics. If the computer stops rebooting, handing, shutting down, or whatever it was doing, you've just diagnosed a weak power supply.

What to do? Grab a higher-wattage PSU (or one from a trusted manufacturer)—if you're currently using a generic one. Trusted manufacturers include Cooler Master, PC Power and Cooling (now part of OCZ), Antec, Thermaltake, and a number of others. Or cut down the power demand in your PC. Lose one of the graphics cards if you're rocking an SLI or CrossFire system; replace high-demand parts with lower-wattage parts; stop overclocking.

That Game Looks Funny and Clean Those Contacts

We're not talking a Sam and Max comedy; maybe Crysis or Company of Heroes or Call of Duty 4 is showing bizarre or missing textures, running in fits and starts, or otherwise being weird.

Almost every time a PC game acts like this, it can be traced to one of two issues: The graphics card is overheating (either stop overclocking it or see read about thermal problems on the previous page), or you need a software fix. The software repair can be in the form of newer graphics drivers or a patch for the game.

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2008-03-08T12:50:00.005+07:00

Installing Hard Drives

If it is, and you're still getting that message, make sure the internal drive is alive. Today's hard drives spin very quietly, so you might have to open the case and listen closely to be sure it's humming. Sometimes, a noise can give away a defective drive; if the drive is clattering in a repetitive pattern (click-click-clack-click-click-clack-etc.) the drive head might have given up on life, or it might not be able to find the boot sector.

If the drive sounds okay, the MBR might have gone belly up. Troubleshoot this by booting your operating system CD or DVD and running a repair setup (both XP and Vista offer this option). If that doesn't render the drive bootable, you might have to boot off a floppy disk or another bootable, removable medium and see if you can access the hard drive from a command prompt. If your data seems to be intact, consider getting a new drive and copying everything over to it.

If the drive doesn't show any signs of life, or it sounds like a mechanical failure, try this: Remove the hard drive from the computer, stick it in an antistatic bag, and put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes. When it's good and cold, reinstall it and try to access it, either by booting off it or by booting off removable media. If you see your data, copy everything you can to another drive as quickly as possible; freezing the drive might only make it work for a few minutes

Thermal Problems and PSU Issues

The scenario: Your computer has been working fine for a long time. One day, it just randomly locks up, requiring a hard reboot. You hit the reset button, and things go smoothly for another few hours (or even days), then it locks up again. The hangs become more frequent over time.

DustyComputer

What you're experiencing might be a computer allergy. At least, that's what we used to call it in the shop I worked in. Computers, it seems, are allergic to dust.

Dust buildup, or even constant use, can lead to heat-related, or thermal, failures. You should take a good look at the computer, inside and out, and eliminate any and all dust you find.

If your computer's case has dust covers over its fans, unplug the PC and use a Shop-Vac to clean them. You can also use the Vac, assisted by a can of compressed air, to suck all the dust out of the inside of the case. Use the air to blast the dust free, and hold the nozzle of the Vac close to the tip of the air can's blaster. Be careful not to get the Vac nozzle too close to the PC's internals, as you might accidentally suck up a jumper or, if the Vac isn't grounded, cause a discharge of static and blow a chip.

With your can of air, pay special attention to fans on the graphics card, the CPU cooler, and the chipset (if any). If air alone can't clean the parts, you might have to remove them and flush them clean with an aerosol can of electronics cleaner (available at most self-respecting electronics stores).

If you do remove the CPU cooler, take care to clean all of the thermal compound from the top of the CPU and the contact plate of the cooler. Apply a new glob of thermal compound to the top of the CPU and spread it around evenly before replacing the cooler.

If that solves your lockups, you're all set. If not, keep reading.

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2008-03-08T12:47:00.005+07:00

Computer components

(Before joining the tech journalism industry, I worked for a PC repair shop. I cannot tell you the number of times I went on service calls where I ended up solving the problem by plugging in a computer or a printer, and then, as I had to, charge an ungodly sum of money for the pleasure. It's actually not a stupid question.)

If it is, make sure the switch on the power supply is in the on position; then check the power strip, surge protector, uninterruptable power supply (UPS), or wall outlet the computer's plugged into. Is there power coming from the source? Is the middleman plugged in and switched on? Check the breaker or the fuse if necessary.

If there's definitely power getting to the computer, look inside (take off the side panel if it's not windowed). A great deal of motherboards have some sort of ambient lighting in the form of various LEDs even when the computer is turned off, but plugged in with the PSU switched on. If there's no sign of life, your power supply might have died.

Check it with a multi-meter, if you have one. Set the meter to detect DC voltage, and find a spare 4-pin Molex connector from the power supply. Push the multi-meter's red probe into the Molex hole corresponding to the yellow or red wire, and the black probe into one of the holes that lines up with a black wire. Then, press the PC's power button while watching the meter. If nothing happens, your power supply may have to be replaced.

On the other hand, if the motherboard LEDs are on when you peer into the case, there might be a problem with the case power button. Check the front panel connectors and be sure the one labeled something like PWR ON or PWR SW is connected to the corresponding pins on the motherboard's front panel header. If your motherboard has a separate on/off button for troubleshooting, press it and see if the computer shows signs of life. If it does, you might have to do some surgery on the case power button—or replace the case's entire front bezel, if you're not inclined to take it apart.

No, Not the Hard Drive!

If the computer enters the power-on self test, but won't boot after that, you can be fairly sure it's not a power problem. One of the most frightening things you'll ever see is a message that appears right after the POST, white letters on a black screen: BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISC.

Don't panic. Sure, it could be that your hard drive has gone to the Great RAID Array in the Sky, but there are other possibilities.

A likely cause is that the BIOS is trying to boot off the wrong device. Is there a USB flash drive inserted somewhere, or have you recently added an external hard drive? Enter the BIOS setup program and make sure the BIOS is pointed to your PC's internal hard drive or RAID array.

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2008-03-08T12:43:00.007+07:00

TROUBLESHOOTING

We're a busy lot, here at the ExtremeTech laboratories, and we can't always personally answer your email. We certainly do hear you, however, especially when you write in with PC and tech conundrums that have you stumped.
Gremlins

The emails keep coming. Your computer won't boot. Your roommate's PC ingloriously shuts off at random intervals. The game your sister is trying to play doesn't look like it should. Your daughter spilled milk into your keyboard.

The troubles don't stop with PCs, either. Your Xbox 360 is flashing the dreaded Read Rings of Death. Your PlayStation Portable can't read its Memory Stick anymore. What gives?

There are times we swear that our technology is haunted. We've had problems that induced us to check every cable, every connection, and every slot and socket, and conclude that the problem must be gremlins. Even the harshest of stumpers, however, can almost always be explained—or at least worked around through brute force.

Stroll with us through ten scenarios and what just might be the solutions you're looking for. Even if we don't figure out your particular dilemma, remember one thing: Gremlins are best killed with a big hamme

Computer Won't Boot, Jim

It happens to all of us eventually. You power up your PC and, for one reason or another, it won't boot into its operating system.

The most frightening scenario is when you press the power button and nothing happens at all. No lights illuminate, no fans spin up, and you don't hear the familiar chatter of the hard discs. It's as if there's simply no power at all.

That could very well be the case. Many times in the past we've come across this very situation, and most of the time the solution is fairly simple. The first thing to do is to check outside the computer. This may sound like a stupid question, but… is the computer plugged in?

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2008-03-08T11:43:00.003+07:00

Tip 6: Remove All Hardware

Most PC cases have limited space inside. We've seen numerous cases where, for example, the hard drives overlap the motherboard edge slightly—or sometimes by a lot. In other cases, you can't really fold the power supply cable completely out of the way.

When you go to install the new motherboard, you discover that you have to angle the board in a funny way to slip it in. In some cases, you may even have to bend the board slightly.

This is a really bad idea.

Just remove everything that obstructs the motherboard compartment—hard drives or drive bays and power supplies (if the main power cable can't be folded out of the way). Some cases have a large metal bar over the motherboard area to add rigidity to the case. If you can, take this out, too, though in some cases it may not be removable

Tip 7: Don't Forget CPU Fan Power!

It's amazing how easy it is to overlook this vital step.

So you've got a really killer heat sink. You've set up CMOS, and Windows setup is running. Suddenly, your PC sounds like a submarine klaxon sounding general quarters. A few seconds later, your PC shuts down.

You've forgotten to plug in the power connector for the heat-sink fan.

The good news is that today's motherboards and CPUs work together to prevent damage from overheating. Intel CPUs will first throttle back the clock rate, and then shut down if they get too hot. Athlon 64 motherboards will simply shut down after sounding a warning. Still, it's preferable not to risk frying something vital, so be sure to plug in the CPU fan

Tip 8: First Boot and Settings

You should try booting the system with just the CPU, memory, and graphics card installed before attaching other peripherals. This way, you can go into the BIOS setup program and tweak the motherboard settings. For example, if you're using a PCI sound card, make sure you disable the onboard audio.

This is also where you want to set the time and date of the system initially. Otherwise, you may get strange error messages from the Windows update site. You'll want to change the boot order so you can boot from the operating system CD at this point, too.

Sometimes, you may buy a used motherboard, or the reseller may actually test the board before shipping it out. If you start to boot the system, but nothing displays, clear the CMOS memory before you get too worried. Resetting to basic operating parameters often cures a non-boot problem. Then you can set the CMOS to your heart's content

Tip 9: Prepare the F6 Floppy

If you're a Windows XP user, you can pretty much live without the floppy disk drive—except when actually installing Windows.

Note that if you're simply attaching all IDE hard drives and optical drives, you won't need a floppy. But you will need the floppy if you

* want to set up a RAID array;
* use a PCI or PCIe disk controller (RAID or not);
* want to take advantage of NCQ (native command queuing) on an Intel motherboard, so need to install the AHCI driver.

If you want to use a Serial ATA drive but don't care about NCQ or RAID, you shouldn't need an F6 floppy. Most motherboard SATA controllers effectively look like an IDE drive to Windows. Note that you may have to check your BIOS Setup and ensure that the SATA controller is set up as an IDE drive

Tip 10: Perform a Repair Install of Windows

If you're installing Windows, and you want to retain your existing system, you'll want to perform a repair installation of Windows.

Note that this is different from running the recovery console, so ignore the "Press F2 to run the recovery console" message when you run Windows setup. Instead, you follow the normal steps to setting up Windows, including using the F6 floppy, if you need one. Eventually, you'll get to the point where Windows will detect an existing version of Windows on your hard drive.

Pointer Graphic for FingerlinksClick here for more How-To articles on ExtremeTech.

If Windows does not detect an existing operating system and instead offers to reformat your drive, stop the installation. What's probably happened is that you need an F6 floppy to install a custom disk controller or RAID driver. Another cause could be that you're trying to install to a SATA drive, but the BIOS setup has the SATA drive configured in Enhanced or RAID mode. In this case, you should check the BIOS setup to make sure the SATA parameters are set to "compatible" or "IDE."

Once Windows setup does see the existing Windows installation, you'll want to press the R key to perform a repair installation. What then happens looks pretty much like any Windows install; you'll still need to enter the CD key.

Once you boot, you'll find all your existing drivers and applications installed, but you're not quite done: You still need to install the chipset drivers and run Windows Update to download all the service packs and updates. At that point, you should be good to go.

2008-03-08T11:40:00.004+07:00

Tip 3: Prepare the Work Area

You'll be removing all your internal hardware: It has to go somewhere. So you'll need a spacious work area. If you have them, gather up several of those antistatic bags that are used to store motherboards. They're very handy to as mats on which you can lay any expansion cards or drives. At the very least, have enough antistatic bags to store delicate expansion cards.
Milwaukee screwdriver
The Milwaukee screwdriver gets the job done...fast.

You should also be aware of static electricity issues. Modern semiconductors are much more resistant to static discharge than they used to be, but it's still possible to fry a chip with a high-voltage static spark. If you must work on carpet, try to do it barefoot. If you are working in an exceptionally dry climate—the desert, or somewhere very cold—consider using a humidifier or vaporizer to cut down the chance of static discharge.

You'll also need tools. You'll need a Number 2 Philips screwdriver at a minimum, and possibly a flat-blade screwdriver. A pair of fine needle-nose pliers or locking laboratory tongs (also commonly called forceps or hemostats) can be very useful when you're inserting jumpers or retrieving dropped screws.

If you decide to use an electric screwdriver, use a real electric screwdriver, such as the Milwaukee 6546. Don't use a power drill. Make sure your electric screwdriver has a clutch, and set that to the minimum setting to avoid stripping screws and mounting nuts.

Tip 4: Don't Overlook the Power Supply

You may be in for a rude shock when installing a new motherboard: You may need a new power supply.

Many older boards use an older version of the ATX 2.0 power supply. These older units have 20-pin connectors, plus the 4-pin ATX12V connector for the CPU. Most of today's motherboards adhere to the ATX 2.2 standard, which uses a 24-pin connector. A few now even have EPS12V connectors for the CPU, which have eight pins instead of four.
ATX Power Connectors
click on image for full view

In theory, you can plug in a 20-pin connector into the 24-pin connector. It only goes in one way. But you risk delivering inadequate power to your peripherals and the processor. So if you're running an older ATX power supply with a 20-pin connector, it's best to get a new power supply.

What if your motherboard has an EPS12V 8-pin connector instead of a 4-pin, ATX12V connector? You can plug the 4-pin connector into the 8-pin socket. In this case, you should actually be okay, unless you're running an Intel dual-core CPU that's 3.0GHz or faster. Then you might consider getting a power supply with an EPS12V connector, such as one of the new Antec NeoHE (500W or larger)

Tip 5: Disconnect and Remove All Cables and Wires

Last year, we were swapping out a motherboard. When we finished removing all the screws, we pulled out the board, neglecting to actually disconnect all the little wires. The result was about a half-hour with a soldering iron, re-attaching the power switch and reset jumpers that had pulled out of the chassis switch block.

The big connectors are easy to notice. An IDE connector, or 24-pin power supply connector, is pretty obvious. Less obvious are the small connectors, like the power switch, serial ATA connectors or front panel USB blocks. Check and double-check to make sure you remove every connector that's attached to the motherboard. Many motherboards now have floppy or IDE connectors mounted on the edge of the printed circuit board facing out.

Read more

2008-03-08T11:38:00.005+07:00

Norton Ghost
Norton Ghost is a handy utility to back up your data before you lose it.
If you can afford it, buy a hard drive image backup tool, like Norton Ghost or Acronis' True Image. Then perform an image backup of your boot drive, either to another hard drive or to optical media. These utilities allow you to create bootable CDs, too, which can be a lifesaver.
* Once the image backup is done, use the Windows File Settings and Transfer Wizard to save key settings. The File Settings and Transfer Wizard is launched from Accessories --> System Tools. Just back up all your settings, as a safety measure. That way, if you run into major problems and are forced to perform a clean reinstall of Windows, then you'll at least have preserved your system settings.
* Now back up all critical data. That should include:
o Internet favorites/bookmarks
o ISP information
o Document templates
o Game save files
o The My Documents and Shared Documents folder
o Serial numbers for software if you've bought software via download rather than on CD.
Note that it's worth browsing the entire Documents and Settings folder on your primary drive. But you should use Tools > Folder Options on any folder window to enable the viewing of hidden folders and files or you may miss something critical.
* Back up software you've bought online. If you've downloaded software you use daily, back it up to optical media or some other system.
* Back up to external media. By this, we mean anything other than the boot drive. However, don't back up to a secondary partition that's on the same physical drive as the boot drive. You can back up to a secondary physical drive in your system, however

Tip 2: Gather Software Serial Numbers and CD Keys

In the era of the modern, broadband Internet, we often buy software online, and download it to our systems. We mentioned earlier that you should back up your downloaded software. But be sure to gather up any needed serial numbers. These often show up in emails after you've purchased the application. One strategy is to keep a spreadsheet or text file of all software serial numbers and periodically print it out.

The most critical software serial number is the Windows CD key. It's amazing how often we've spoken to readers who have tried to reinstall Windows, only to discover that they've lost or misplaced the CD key. The same goes true for any application that requires online activation to work.

A corollary to this is to deactivate any applications that are normally activated. Many applications that require activation also allow for a deactivation or uninstallation process that allows you to reactivate on another system. A motherboard swap will often trigger the reactivation process. It's always easier to reactivate over the Internet, and deactivating first allows you to do this. You'll save yourself a phone call to the application's provider explaining why you want to reactivate something that's already been activated.

Our experience is that Microsoft software is generally forgiving. If it's been a few months since the last reactivation, you can usually just reactivate over the Internet. You'll need to do this for Windows and Microsoft Office. Adobe applications are more sensitive, but Adobe allows you to easily transfer activation via the Help menu of current Adobe applications. Online games are usually no problem, since most login info is kept on the server. However, some downloaded games, such as Wild Tangent titles, should be uninstalled first, then reinstalled.

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2008-03-08T11:30:00.010+07:00

MOTHERBOARD UPGRADES

Technology often marches asymmetrically. CPUs, graphics cards, and chipsets follow different development and shipping schedules. One example of this is Socket 939 Athlon 64 CPUs. When those shipped last year, many were installed into AGP motherboards using either VIA K8T800 or Nvidia Nforce3 chipsets. That meant users were limited to AGP graphics and Serial ATA 150-only—or more often, IDE hard drives. As newer graphics hardware emerged, some users wanted to upgrade their 3D hardware, which meant swapping in a new motherboard.

In some cases, you may simply want to retain most of your existing hardware but swap in a new CPU, motherboard, and possibly memory. Intel users wanting to move to dual core may be switching from a motherboard with an Intel 915 chipset using DDR400 memory to a 945 or 975 chipset board running DDR2, for example.

Whatever the reason, motherboard upgrades can be either difficult or straightforward. It all depends on how you approach it and how you prepare. We've upgraded motherboards quite often over the years, so we've learned a few lessons along the way. We'd like to share our knowledge, so that when you tackle this, you encounter minimal hassles. Our pain over the years is now your gain.

To Format or Not to Format?

This is not one of our ten tips, but it's worth thinking about. You should consider whether or not to reformat your boot drive and reinstall Windows.

For most of this article, we're assuming you want to retain your existing Windows installation. After all, you've invested lots of time adding new software, updating Windows, setting up your favorites, and so on. But if Windows has been getting slow and cranky, it may be time to reformat and reinstall Windows.

If you want to retain some of your key settings, use the Windows File Settings and Transfer Wizard to save key settings. The File Settings and Transfer Wizard is launched from Accessories > System Tools. But instead of just backing up every setting and system file, back up only those that are most useful. You may not need every single registry key or font that the Wizard wants to back up. This tool is an easy way to bring over passwords, network settings and other key systems settings that can be a pain.

Tip 1: Back Up All of Your Data

This may seem obvious. In fact, most people who plan on upgrading a motherboard think they do this before they begin. In one case, one user we know carefully backed up the My Documents folder and all his game save files. He forgot about browser bookmarks, document templates, passwords, ISP information and software serial numbers. When you sit down to back up the data on your old system, there are a number of steps you should consider:

Read more

2008-03-08T08:43:00.005+07:00

HISTORY MOTHERBOARD

1924

The Tabulating Machine Company is renamed to IBM.

1939

Hewlett Packard is founded.

1947

The first transistor is invented.

1957

DEC is founded.

1966

MoboCop was born.

1967

IBM creates the first floppy disk.

1968

Intel Corp is founded.

1969

AMD is founded.
AT&T Bell Laboratories develop Unix.
Compuserve is founded.

1970

Intel releases the first microprocessor - the 4004.
Intel announces the 1103, the first random-access memory (RAM).

1972

The compact disc is invented.

1974

Intel releases the 8080 microprocessor.

1975

MITS ships one of the first PCs, the Altair 8800 with one kilobyte (KB) of memory: A mail-order kit for $397.00
Paul Allen and Bill Gates and found Microsoft.
Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs found Apple Computer.

1976

Intel introduces the 8086 microprocessor.
Xerox develops the widely used networking protocol Ethernet.

1977

Star Wars debuts.
ARCNET the first commercially network is developed.
The Apple II, the first personal computer with color graphics is demonstrated.

1978

The 5.25-inch floppy disk becomes an industry standard.
Epson introduces the TX-80

1979

The Motorola 6800 is released.
The Intel 8088 is released.
Phoenix is founded.
Texas Instruments releases the TI 99/4 personal computer.
Hayes markets its first modem.
Atari introduces coin-operated version of Asteroids.
3COM is founded.

1980

IBM hires Paul Allen and Bill Gates to create DOS.
Microsoft licenses Unix and starts to develop a PC version, XENIX.
The first Tandy Color computer is introduced.
AST is founded.

1981

Hewlett-Packard Superchip, the first 32-bit chip is introduced.
Intel ships the 8087 math coprocessor.
MS-DOS 1.0 was released.
IBM releases its IBM PC, which runs on DOS.
Commodore ships the VIC-20, which later becomes the world’s most popular computer costing only $299.95.
Logitech is founded.
Adaptec is founded.

1982

The Intel 80286 processor is announced.
Peter Norton creates Norton Utilities.
Sony releases its first Trinitron monitor.
Sun is incorporated.
Compaq Computer Corp. is founded.
MS-DOS version 1.25 is released.
Adobe is founded.

1983

The IBM XT is first introduced.
The Apple IIe is introduced.
MS-DOS 2.0 was released.
Microsoft Windows was announced November, 1983

1984

ISA is expanded to 16-bit
The 3.5-inch floppy diskette is introduced.
Dell Computer is founded
IBM develops EGA.
Microsoft introduces MS-DOS 3.0 for the IBM PC AT and MS-DOS 3.1 for networks.
The Tandy 1000 personal computer is introduced.
University of Southern California professor Fred Cohen creates alarm when he warns the public about computer viruses.
Kings Quest 1: Quest for the crown is released to the public.
MoboCop graduates from High School
Cirrus is founded.

1985

Intel introduces the 80386.
Microsoft and IBM begin collaboration on the next-generation operating system (OS/2).
Gateway 2000 is founded.
Microsoft Windows 1.0 is shipped.
ATI is founded.

1986

MS-DOS 3.2 was released.

1987

Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) is established.
The SPARC processor is introduced by Sun.
IBM introduces VGA.
IBM introduces MCA.
MS-DOS 3.3 was released.
Microsoft and IBM release OS/2 1.0.
IBM introduces the PS / 2 personal computer.
IBM sends clone manufactures letters demanding retroactive licensing fees.

1988

EISA is developed as an alternative to MCA.
Intel introduces the 16 MHz 80386SX microprocessor.
Creative Labs introduces the SoundBlaster
MS-DOS 4.0 was released.
MS-DOS 4.01 was released.

1989

Intel releases the 486DX processor.
Asus is founded.

1990

Intel releases the 80386SL processor.
Microsoft releases Windows 3.0
The World, the first commercial Internet dial-up access provider comes online.
Creative Labs introduces the SoundBlaster Pro.
Microsoft and IBM stop working together to develop operating systems.
IBM introduces XGA.

1991

Intel introduces the Intel 486SX
Advanced Micro Devices introduces the Am386DX.
The Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP) is developed by Intel, Xircom and Zenith Data Systems.
Linux is introduced.
World Wide Web is launched.
Microsoft changes the name of OS/2 to Windows NT.
MS-DOS 5.0 was released.

1992

Intel releases the 486DX2.
Intel introduces the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI).
VESA local bus is introduced.
Microsoft and Hewlett Packard develops ECP.

1993

Intel develops PPGA.
Intel releases the Pentium Processor.
IrDA is founded.
The EPA establishes Energy Star.
PowerPC processor for the Apple Power Mac is introduced.
DOOM by IdSoftware was released.
Myst is released.

1994

A mathematical flaw in the Intel Pentium is discovered.
Intel releases the IntelDX4 processor.
YAHOO is created
Netscape is founded.
Commodore computers files Bankruptcy.
Microsoft releases its beta for Windows 95.
Rasmus Lerdorf creates PHP.
MS-DOS 6.22 was released.
Microsoft releases Windows 3.11.

1995

Intel releases the new motherboard form factor ATX.
USB standard is released.
Microsoft Releases Windows 95.
Amazon.com is officially opened.

1996

Intel releases the 200 MHz Pentium.
Cyrix ships the 133 MHz Media GX processor.
NEC merges with Packard Bell.
Creative Labs introduces the 3D Blaster card.

1997

Intel introduces the MMX chip.
The Intel Pentium II 233 MHz processor is released.
AMD introduces the K6 processor.
Advanced Graphics Port or AGP design is released.
Cyrix is established.
DVDs go on sale.
Microsoft announces Windows 98.

1998

Intel releases the 266 MHzCeleron processor.
Intel releases the 333, 350, and 400 MHz Pentium II.
AMR is released
Award becomes part of Phoenix
Compaq purchases Digital Equipment Corporation
Hearings open between Microsoft and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Microsoft Windows 98 is officially released.
Apple introduces the iMac.

1999

Intel releases the Pentium III 500 MHz.
AMD releases the Athlon processor.
Cyrix releases the MII processor.
Intel announces the Pentium III processor.
VIA Technologies announces it will acquire Cyrix from National Semiconductor.
NVIDIA introduces the GPU.

2000

CNR is introduced.
AMD introduces the 850 MHz Athlon processor.
Intel begins shipping a 1 GHz processor.
Intel introduces the 400, 450, and 500 MHz mobile Celeron processors.
Intel announces the processor code-named "Willamette" will formally be called Pentium 4.
AMD releases the 1.1 GHz Athlon processor.
Microsoft Windows 2000 is released.

2001

Intel recalls its 1.13 GHz Pentium III processors.
Bill Gates unveils the Xbox.
Microsoft Windows XP home and professional editions are released.

2008-02-26T13:48:00.003+07:00

PROCESSOR HISTORY

Below is a listing of all known processor manufacturers made to date. In the below list is information about major processors listed by the date manufactured as well as a brief description of the technology and advances of each of the processors.

INTEL 4004 - Microprocessor introduced in 1970 with the speed of 108KHz was the worlds first microprocessor.

INTEL 8080 - Microprocessor introduced in 1974 running at the speed of 2 MHz was used in the world's first PC, the Altair.

INTEL 8086 (Code Name: P1)- Microprocessor first introduced in 1976. The 80086 had a 16-bit architecture that allowed it to work with 16-bit binary numbers and pass them through a 16-bit data bus. The 8086 was available in clock speeds of 5MHz, 8MHz, and 10MHz.

MOTOROLA 68000 - Microprocessor released in 1979 was later chosen by Apple for the Macintosh computer.

INTEL 8087 - Floating-point math compressor compliant with the 8086 / 8080 microprocessor family.

INTEL 8088 - Microprocessor released in 1979. The 8088 was the first Processor used in the original IBM PC and XT personal computers because it was less expensive than the 8086 microprocessor because of the availability of less expensive eight-bit data bus supporting chips made it the microprocessor for the IBM PC. The 8088 was available in speeds from 4.77 MHz and 8MHz.and used the 16-bit architecture allowing it to work internally with 16-digit numbers. The 8088 had the ability of addressing up to 1MB of RAM.

INTEL 80286 (Code Name: P2) - Microprocessor introduced by Intel in 1982 which commonly is referred to as the 286 processor. The 286 processor supported 16-bit architecture, supported virtual memory, and was available in clock speeds of 8MHz, 10MHz, and 12MHz. The 286 was around 20 times faster than the predecessor 8088.

INTEL 80287 - A compliant processor to the 286, a floating-point math coprocessor. Specially designed 286 chips have the capability of placing the optional 80287 processor on top of it, giving the computer a math coprocessor.

INTEL 80386DX (Code Name: P3) - Microprocessor manufactured in 1985 was the next generation of Intel processors. The 80386DX included the math compressor, unlike the 80386SX, and still featured the 32-bit architecture and built-in multitasking. The chip was available in clock speeds of 16MHz, 20MHz, 25MHz, and 33MHz.

SPARC - Released in 1987 is short for Scaleable Processor ARChiture by Sun - used RISC (Reduced Instruction Set) to speed up processing.

INTEL 80486DX (Code Name: P4) - Microprocessor released April 10th . The 486DX featured a built-in memory cache and 32-bit architecture. It had more than three times the computing power of the 386DX and was available in clock speeds of 25MHz, 33MHz, and 50MHz.

INTEL 80386SX - Microprocessor introduced in 1989 was the next generation of Intel processors. The 80386SX lacked a math coprocessor but still featured the 32-bit architecture and built-in multitasking. The chip was available in clock speeds of 16MHz, 20MHz, 25MHz, and 33MHz.

INTEL 80386SL - Microprocessor introduced in1990 which used low power consumption and was used mainly in portable computers.

INTEL 80486SX (Code Name: P45 / P23 ) - Microprocessor introduced in April 1991 which is a less expensive version of the 80486DX. It lacked the math coprocessor of the 80486DX and ran at lower clock speeds than the DX; it ran at 16MHz, 20MHz, 25MHz, or 33 MHz.

INTEL 80486DX2 (Code Name: P24 / P24S) - Microprocessor first introduced in March 2, 1992. It was based upon the popular 486DX; however, it featured internal clock speeds that doubled that of the system that operated it. Thus, a DX2 on a system with a 33MHz bus would run at 66MHz. Also known as the i486DX2.

INTEL 80486DX4 (Code Name: P24C / P24CT)- Microprocessor first introduced in 1994. The 486DX4 would triple that of the system that operated it.

INTEL PENTIUM (Code Name: P5 (Pentium 60 - 66MHz))- Microprocessor introduced March 22, 1993 designed to replace the 486 processors. The new Pentium had an additional 1.9 million transistors when compared to the 80486DX. The Pentium has a 32-bit address bus and a 64-bit data bus, and it can operate at speeds of 60MHz to 200MHz. The Pentium was released in three generations. The first-generation of Pentium processors was the Pentium 60 and 66 MHz. These chips used a 273-pin PGA form factor and ran on 5v power. Intel announced the release of a second-generation introduced March 7, 1994 included new processors from 75, 90, 100, 120, 133, 150, 166, and 200 MHz. The processors used 296-pin SPGA form factor that is physically incompatible with the first generation versions. The third-generation of Pentium processors, code named P55C, were introduced January 1997, which incorporated the new technology MMX. The Pentium MMX processors were available 166, 200, 233 MHz, and 266 MHz mobile version.

INTEL PENTIUM PRO (Code Name: P6) - Microprocessor which was designed for the corporate users and for high-end servers and workstations, preferably those using Windows NT. The Pentium Pro CPUs are extremely fast with 32-bit applications and 3-D image processing and rendering when compared to previous Intel processors. The chip runs at 166MHz and higher

INTEL PENTIUM II (Code Name: Klamath) - Initially the Pentium II 233MHz was released in 1997 and introduced a new physical architecture which encased a circuit board within a plastic case. With this new technology, this allowed the chip to be easily added and removed. However, previous owners of Pentium motherboard could not upgrade to this new type of chip unless the motherboard they had included a SLOT 1 technology. The Pentium II runs from 233MHz to 450MHz.

INTEL PENTIUM III - Initially the Pentium III 500 MHz was released in 1999; shortly after its release, Intel introduced the Pentium III 550 MHz processor. The Pentium III chip continued to use the SLOT 1 and could be used on previous Pentium II motherboards with BIOS support. Before its release, a big controversy concerning privacy. The Intel Pentium III chips have an ID for each chip helping to authenticate peoples' purchases over the Internet. However, many argued that this was another way for someone to find out personal information about the individual without their consent. Intel disabled this feature by default and allowed it to be enabled after releasing the chip.

2008-02-26T13:34:00.004+07:00

EXTRA FEATURES

Many motherboards now include features onboard that were once only available as expansion cards to be purchased separately. A typical motherboard will now include stereo sound capabilities, a 10/100 LAN connection, and a few USB 2.0 ports on the back panel connection. Depending on the budget and needs of the end user, many motherboards may also include other convenient features such as integrated Firewire ports, VGA connections, and onboard RAID controllers.

Although many of these items may be added later with expansion cards, if you know you want them upfront, a bit of installation hassle and expense can be eliminated by finding a board with just about everything you want included. That said, there aren’t many choices of onboard components, so it’s a case of take it or leave it. For example, you may want stereo sound included, but find most motherboards offer 5 channel, where you would prefer 8 channel. In that case, it may be a good thing that motherboards include expansion slots to add the sound card of your choice.

2008-02-26T13:27:00.004+07:00

CPU SOCKET

The major processor manufacturers, AMD and Intel, are constantly waging a battle to offer the fastest, most powerful processors available. Getting more speed and performance out of a relatively small chip generally requires a change to the physical dimensions as each new generation of processor is released. Therefore, motherboards need to evolve at the same pace in order to accept the new CPUs.

Back in the day, AMD and Intel processors shared a common CPU socket, but those days were short lived. AMD and Intel have since been traveling down their own, relatively parallel, paths of performance and speed increases, while using different designs. Selecting a motherboard for a modern AMD processor eliminates the use of any Intel processor, and vice versa.

AMD’s current offering for desktop processors includes the Athlon 64, which is available in and Socket 754 formats. The number in the names represents the number of pins present on the backside of the CPU that connect to the motherboard’s socket. The Socket 939 Athlon 64 therefore has a staggering array of nine hundred and thirty nine tiny pins to match up with the motherboard’s socket. The Chaintech VNF4 Ultra is an example of a Socket 939 motherboard based on Nvidia’s NForce4 Ultra chipset technology. In addition to these two sockets, many AMD processors, including Athlon XPs, Semprons, and Durons, share the Socket A format, also known as Socket 462 thanks to it having 462 pins for connecting to a motherboard.

Intel’s latest offering for their Pentium 4 and Celeron processors, LGA 775, doesn’t have pins at all and basically swaps the pins to the motherboard for the socket. Perhaps this design move puts the burden of bent pin warranty claims on someone else, but it is fairly unique. The Biostar P4m80 is an example of an LGA 775 motherboard based on the VIA P4M800 chipset. Other Intel processors still on the market utilize the Socket 478 format for Pentium 4 and Celeron processors.

Although most motherboards support just one CPU socket, some applications benefit from having more than one processor to tackle the tasks at hand. Servers and high end workstations are two examples where a dual processor system, such as could be run on the Tyan Thunder i7500 motherboard, might make light work of more advanced applications.

2008-02-26T10:55:00.002+07:00

DIFINITION MOTHERBOARD

A

AGP See Advanced Graphics Port

AIMM AGP inline memory module (See Advanced Graphics Port)

Access Time
The average time interval between a storage peripheral (usually a disk drive or semiconductor memory) receiving a request to read or write a certain location and returning the value read or completing the write.

Advanced Graphics Port
The advanced graphics port (AGP) bus allows the graphics controller to directly access texture map data from the main memory rather than having to move it to the graphic controllers' local memory first. This helps the system increase the speed of processing graphics and allows for a use of a larger portion of memory by "borrowing" storage for texture maps from main memory.

Array
The area of the RAM that stores the bits. The array consists of rows and columns, with a cell at each intersection that can store a bit.
Asynchronous Memory
Memory that is not synchronized with the system clock. EDO and FPM are examples of asynchronous memory.

Auto Precharge
A synchronous DRAM feature that allows the memory chip's circuitry to close a page automatically at the end of a burst.

B

BEDO
Burst EDO is a variant on EDO DRAM in which read or write cycles are batched in bursts of four. Burst EDO bus speeds range from 40MHz to 66MHz, as opposed to the 33MHz bus speeds that can be accomplished using fast page mode or EDO DRAM.

BGA
See Ball Grid Array

BIOS
Basic input/output system. Often referred to as CMOS, the BIOS provides an interface for a computer's hardware and software. The BIOS configuration determines how your hardware is accessed.

Ball Grid Array
A type of memory chip with solder balls on the underside for mounting. Use of BGA allows die package size to be reduced because there is more surface area for attachment. Smaller packaging allows more components to be mounted on a module, making greater densities available. The smaller package also improves heat dissipation for better performance. See CSP and FBGA.

Bandwidth
A measure of the capacity of data that can be moved between two points in a given period of time.
Bank
1. A slot or group of slots that must be populated with modules of like capacity in order to fulfill the data width requirement of the CPU
2. A segment of memory on a module, sometimes also referred to as a row. Modules are either single or dual banked
3. An internal logic segment in a memory component. For example, a 64Mb SDRAM has 4 banks.

Binary
Numbering system based on two digits: 0 and 1.

Bit
Binary digit. The smallest piece of data (a 1 or a 0) that a computer recognizes.

Block
A physical unit of information in a logical record. Block size is usually expressed in bytes.

Block Diagram
A circuit or system drawing concerned with major functions and interconnections between functions.

Buffered Memory
A buffer isolates the memory from the controller to minimize the load on the chip set. It is typically used when the system has a high density of memory and/or when a system has more than 3 memory module sockets.

Burn-in
The process of exercising an integrated circuit at elevated voltage and temperature. This process accelerates failures normally seen as "infant mortality" in a chip. (Those chips that would fail early during actual usage will fail during burn-in. Those that pass have a life expectancy much greater than that required for normal usage.)

Bus
Circuitry that is used to move data

Byte
A series of 8 bits.

C

CAS
Column address strobe is the signal which tells the DRAM to accept the given address as a column address. It is used with RAS and a row address to select a bit within the DRAM.

CAS-B4-RAS (CBR)
CAS before RAS. Column address strobe before row address strobe. A refresh technique in which the DRAM keeps track of the next row it needs to refresh.

COAST
Cache on a stick. Coast modules are used to upgrade a motherboard's L2 cache and Tag memory on some socket 7 and older motherboards.

COB
Chip on board. A system in which semiconductor dice are mounted directly on a PC board and connected with bonded wires or solder bumps. The dice are usually mechanically protected with epoxy.
CPU
Central processing unit. The computer chip primarily responsible for executing instructions.

C-RIMMTM
See Continuity RIMMTM

CSP
See Chip Scale Package.

Cache
A small, fast memory holding recently accessed data, designed to speed up subsequent access to the same data. Typically used between a processor and main memory.

Capacitance
The property of a circuit element that allows it to store an electrical charge.

Check Bits
Extra data bits provided by a module to support ECC.

Chip Scale Package
A type of ball grid array in which the package is roughly the size of the die.

Chip Set
One or more chips on a motherboard that control the data flow between the processor, memory, and the other components of the system.

Clock rate
The number of pulses emitted from a computer's clock in one second. It determines the rate at which logical or arithmetic gating is performed in a synchronous computer.

Column
Part of the memory array. A bit can be stored where a column and a row intersect.

Compact Flash
A small flash memory module. The memory chips are enclosed in a plastic case and retain data after they are removed from the system. The most common uses for these are in pagers, handheld computers, cell phones, digital cameras, and audio players.

Contacts
See Edge Contacts

Continuity RIMMTM
Modules that are used to fill all unused RIMMTM sockets in a system. Continuity-RIMMs do not use any active components; instead, they are used to continue the channel so that the signal can be properly terminated at the motherboard.

Controller
One of the major units in a computer that interprets and carries out the instructions in a program.

D

DDR
Double data rate is a type of SDRAM in which data is sent on both the rising and falling edges of clock cycles in a data burst. It is usually referred to as DDR as opposed to DDR SDRAM.

DIMM
Dual inline memory module. A module with signal and power pins on both sides of the board (front and back).

DRAM
Dynamic random access memory. A type of memory component used to store information in a computer system. "Dynamic" means the DRAMs need a constant "refresh" (pulse of current through all of the memory cells) to keep the stored information. (See also RAM and SRAM.)

Die
An individual rectangular pattern on a wafer that contains circuitry to perform a specific function. Die are encapsulated to form the black chips that are then placed on a module.

Dual Banked
A memory module with two banks or rows. See Bank.

Dynamic
Type of RAM (random access memory). To keep data in the DRAM, this data needs to be "refreshed" (recharged). The electric charge fades out of a DRAM like air seeps out of a balloon. Because of this change, it is called "dynamic."

E

ECC
Error correction code. Logic designed to detect and correct memory errors.

EDO
Extended data out. An asynchronous DRAM operating mode that improves access times compared to fast page mode (FPM) DRAMs.

EEPROM
Electrically erasable, programmable, read-only memory. EEPROMs differ from DRAMs in that the memory is saved even if electrical power is lost. Additionally, the memory can be erased and reprogrammed repeatedly.

Edge Contacts
See Edge Connector

Edge Connector
Metal tabs on the edge of a printed circuit board (PCB). The edge contacts are the interface between the PCB and the socket that allow the system to communicate with the memory module.

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)
The dissipation of electricity. (In layman's terms, a "shock.") ESD can easily destroy semiconductor products, even when the discharge is to small to be felt.

Ethernet
A local area network allowing several computers to transfer data over a communications cable.

F

FBGA
Fine pitch ball grid array is a die package with a fine pitch ball arrangement on the underside of the package (larger than CSP).

FPM
Fast page mode - A feature used to support faster sequential access to DRAM by allowing multiple accesses to the currently open row to be made after supplying the row address just once.

FSB
See Front Side Bus.

Flash Card
A small flash memory module. The memory chips are enclosed in a plastic case and retain data after they are removed from the system. The most common uses for these are in laptops, pagers, handheld computers, cell phones, digital cameras, and audio players. There are several different form factors of flash cards, including Compact Flash, SmartMedia, PCMCIA, and Small Form Factor Flash Card.

Flash Memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile memory device that retains its data after the power is removed.

Front Side Bus
The main highway for data in a PC. It connects the processor, chip set, DRAM, and AGP socket. FSB is described in terms of its width in bits and its speed in MHz.

G

Gigabit
Amount of memory equal to 1024 Megabits (1,073,741,824 bits) of information. Abbreviated Gb.

Gigabyte
Amount of memory equal to 1024 Megabytes (1,073,741,824 bytes) of information. Abbreviated GB.

H

HPM
Hyper page mode, also known as EDO.

I

I/O Port
Connection to a CPU that provides a data path between the CPU and external devices, such as a keyboard, display, or reader. It may provide input only, output only, or both input and output.

IC
Integrated circuit. A tiny complex of electronic components and their connections that is produced in or on a small slice of material (such as silicon).
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J

JEDEC
Joint Electron Device Engineering Council. The group that establishes the industry standards for memory operation, features, and packaging.

K

Keys
Notches on a memory module that help prevent it from being installed incorrectly or into an incompatible system.

L

L1 Cache
Level 1 cache. A small cache integrated in a processor that provides quick access to the most recently used data.
L2 Cache
Level 2 cache. L2 cache has the same purpose as L1 cache, but is usually not integrated into the processor. L2 cache is traditionally made of SRAM and in socket 7 and older motherboards was in some cases upgradeable. See COAST.

Latency (also called CAS Latency)
The amount of time in nanoseconds (often measured in clock cycles) between a request to read the memory, and when it is actually output. SDRAMs are typically referred to as CL2 or CL3, with CL2 parts being faster.

Lead
The official name for the metal "feet" on an IC. Also called "pins." The part of the lead assembly that is formed after a portion of the lead frame is cut away. The chip's connection to the outside world.

M

MHz
See Megahertz

MIPS
Millions of instructions per second. This measurement is generally used when describing the speed of computer systems.

MTBF
Mean time between failures.

MU
Memory unit. Usually a printed circuit board assembly populated with memory chips that stores a certain quantity of memory. Intel term for one of the types of cards in a memory system card set.

Megabit
Amount of memory equal to 1,048,576 bits of information. (Abbreviated Mb.)

Megabyte
Amount of memory equal to 1,048,576 bytes of information. (Abbreviated MB.)

Megahertz
A measurement of clock cycles in millions of cycles per second.

Memory Configuration
The amount of memory in an IC and how it is accessed.

Memory Cycle Time
Minimum amount of time required for a memory to complete a cycle such as read, write, read/write, or read/modify/write.

Memory Controller
The logic chip used to handle the I/O (input/output) of data going to and from memory. See Chipset.

Memory Types
Cache: static random access memory containing recently used information

DRAM : dynamic random access memory.
SDRAM : single data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory.
DDR SDRAM : double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory. Usually referred to as DDR.
SLDRAM : synchronous link dynamic random access memory.
RDRAM : Rambus dynamic random access memory.
RAM : random access memory.
ROM : read only memory (permanent memory that cannot be changed).
SRAM : static random access memory.

Micron
1. A unit of measure equivalent to one-millionth of a meter; synonymous with micrometer.

Motherboard
The main printed circuit board in a computer that carries the system buses. It is equipped with sockets to which all processors, memory modules, plug-in cards, daughterboards, or peripheral devices are connected.

N

Nanometer (nm)
One billionth of a meter.

Nanosecond(ns)
One billionth of a second; used to measure the speed of the parts

Nibble
Usually 4 bits (half a byte).

Nonvolatile Memory
A memory that retains information if power is removed and then reapplied. SRAM and flash are examples of nonvolatile memory

O

Operating system
Software controlling the overall operation of a multipurpose computer system, including such tasks as memory allocation, input and output distribution, interrupt processing, and job scheduling.

P

PCB
Printed circuit board. Board that contains layers of circuitry that is used to connect components to a system.

PC100
The PC100 specification defines the requirements for SDRAM modules used on 100MHz FSB motherboards.

PC133
The PC133 specification details the requirements for SDRAM modules used on 133MHz FSB motherboards. PC133 SDRAM can be used on 100MHz FSB motherboards but will not yield a performance advantage over PC100 memory at 100MHz.

PCMCIA
Personal Computer Memory Card International Association. An industry organization that helps to set standards for flash cards.

PD
See Presence Detect.

Page
The number of bits that can be accessed from one row address. This is also sometimes referred to as a row.

Page Mode
Mode in which if RAS is kept low and the DRAM is given a column address without being given a new row-address, the chip will remember which row it was on the last time and automatically stay on that row. It is like saying that all the bits along one row are all on the same page, and the part will assume the same page is intended until a different page is specified.

Parity
A bit added to a group of bits to detect the presence of an error. The parity bit looks at the other 8 bits and determines if they are even or odd and correspondingly is a 0 or 1. The system compares the 8 bits with the parity bit. If they both are even or odd, the data is assumed to be correct. If one is even and one is odd, there is an error, and typically the system will fail.

Passive Device
A device incapable of current gain or switching, such as a resistor or capacitor.

Pin
1. The metal extensions from an IC package or discrete component that connects the component to the PCB.
2. Another term for the Edge Contacts on a Memory Module

Populated Board
A PCB with components.

Power Down
To turn the system's power OFF.

Power up
To turn the system's power ON.

Presence Detect
Circuitry on certain memory modules that provides information to the system.

Processor
The primary chip of the system that oversees all the other components of the system.

Pull-up
A device or method used to keep the output voltage of a device at a high level, often a resistor network connected to a positive supply voltage.

Q

Quad Flat Pack (QFP)
A flat, rectangular, integrated circuit with its leads projecting from all four sides of the package without radius.

R

RAM
Random access memory. A data storage device for which the order of access to different locations does not affect the speed of access, except for bursts. Data is typically stored in RAM temporarily for use by the process or while the computer is operating. FPM, EDO, SDRAM, DDR, etc. are all types of RAM.

RAS
Row address strobe. The signal that tells the DRAM to accept the given address as a row address. Used with CAS and a column address to select a bit within the DRAM.

RDRAM
Rambus DRAM is a revolutionary type of DRAM that uses a 16-18 bit data path and is designed to operate with FSB speed of 800MHz, producing a burst transfer rate of 1.6 gigahertz.

RIMMTM
Rambus inline memory modules used for Rambus DRAM.

Read Time
The amount of time required for the output data to become valid once the read and address inputs have been enabled. Generally called access time.

Refresh
The process used to restore the charge in DRAM cells at specific intervals.

Refresh Rate
A count of the number of rows (in thousands) refreshed at a time in a refresh cycle. Common refresh rates are 1K, 2K, 4K, and 8K.

Registered Memory
Registers delay memory information for one clock cycle to ensure all communication from the chipset is collected by the clock edge, providing a controlled delay on heavily loaded memories.

Row
Part of the RAM array; a bit can be stored where a column and a row intersect. Sometimes also referred to as a page.

S

SDR
See SDRAM

SDRAM
Synchronous dynamic random access memory delivers bursts of data at high speeds using a synchronous interface. Its is actually SDR SDRAM (single data rate SDRAM) but is usually used to referred to as just "SDRAM."

SGRAM
Synchronous graphics RAM. A single port DRAM designed for graphics hardware that requires high-speed throughput such as 3-D rendering and full-motion video.

SIM
Single inline module. Same as SIP except with a connector edge instead of leads.

SIMM
Single inline memory module. A high-density DRAM package alternative consisting of several components connected to a single printed circuit board.

SIP
Single inline package. A component or module that has one row of leads along one side.

SLDRAM
Synchronous link dynamic random access memory. SLDRAM is a type of SDRAM that uses a multiplexed command bus allowing fewer pins to increase bandwidth and allow higher FSB speeds.

SODIMM
Small outline dual inline memory module. Smaller and thinner than standard DIMMs, SODIMMs are typically used in laptop computers.

SORIMMTM
Small outline Rambus inline memory module. SORIMMs have a smaller profile that standard RIMMs and are used in laptop computers and systems that have strict size requirements.

SOJ
Small outline J-lead package. A rectangular package with leads sticking out of the side of the package. The leads are formed in a J-bend profile, bending underneath and towards the bottom of the package.

SPD
Serial presence detect

SRAM
See static random access memory

Serial Presence Detect
An EEPROM on certain memory modules used to store and provide information to the system using the module.

Semiconductor
An element, such as silicon, that is intermediate in electrical conductivity between conductors and insulators, through which conduction takes place by means of holes and electrons.

Shrink
A reduction in die (chip) size. A reduction in the size of the circuit design resulting in smaller die sizes that increases the number of possible die per wafer.

Single Banked
A memory module with only one bank or row. See Bank.

Speed
The time it takes to put information into memory or get information out of memory. It is measured from the time that an address and proper control signals are given, until the information is stored or placed in the device's output(s). RAM speed is typically expressed in nanoseconds (lower is faster) for EDO and FPM, and in MHz (higher is faster) for SDR SDRAM, DDR, SDRAM, and RDRAM.

Static Random Access Memory
An integrated circuit similar to a DRAM (dynamic random access memory) with the exception that the memory does not need to be refreshed. Unlike volatile memory (ie, DRAM), SRAM retains its contents even when the main current is turned off.

Synchronous Memory
Memory that has its signals synchronized with the system clock. SDRAM and DDR are examples of synchronous memory types.

T

TAG
TAG memory acts as an index for the information stored in L2 cache. It is usually composed of SRAM.

TSOP
Thin small outline package. It is thinner and slightly smaller than an SOJ, with gullwing-shaped leads. A thin, rectangular package with leads sticking out the sides of the package.

U
Unbuffered memory
This is where the chip set controller deals directly with the memory. There is nothing between the chip set and the memory chips on the module as they communicate.
mm
A micron (or micrometer). A unit of length equal to one millionth of a meter.
ms
A microsecond: One millionth of a second.

V

VCM
See Virtual Channel Memory.

VRAM
Video RAM. DRAM with an on-board serial register/serial access memory designed for video applications.

Virtual Channel Memory
A memory architecture that is a variant of SDRAM, that has not been seen widespread adaptation.

Virtual Memory
This is system memory that is simulated by the hard drive. When all the RAM is being used (for example if there are many programs open at the same time) the computer will swap data to the hard drive and back to give the impression that there is slightly more memory.

W

Write time
Time expended from the moment data is entered for storage to the time it is actually stored in the memory cell.

2008-02-21T08:53:00.005+07:00

MOTHERBOARD CONNECTORS

The motherboard is the centre piece of you system it contains all the circuitry and components either directly on the board or via additional components which connect directly to it. The motherboard is also often referred to as the main board.

The motherboards many connectors and slots include a socket for the processor to be installed along with memory slots, a number of expansion slots, connectors to IDE/SATA devices and smaller connectors for USB, serial and printer connectors.

The motherboard plays an essential role in the following aspects of your computer system:

Organization of devices: Everything is eventually connected to the motherboard. The way that the motherboard is designed and laid out dictates how the entire computer is going to be organized.

Control of the devices: Built-in to the motherboard is the chipset and BIOS program, which between them control the majority of data flow throughout the different computer systems.

System Communication: Almost all communication between the PC and its peripherals, other PCs, and you, the user, goes through the motherboard.

Processor Support: The motherboard socket depicts which choice of processor you can use in your system.

Peripheral Support: The motherboards components determine what type of peripherals you can use in your PC. For example, you can not use AGP cards if you only have PCI slots.

System Performance: The motherboard is a major factor in your system's performance; it dictates which type of processors, memory, system buses, and hard disk interface speed your system can have via its connectors or BIOS settings. Often if you are upgrading after a number of years you will need to replace the board, CPU, and memory.

Upgradeability: As motherboards are developed newer processors may not be compatible with your hardware as limitations of the circuitry built-in to the board itself will not allow them to run. As a result you can look for any upgrades via your maker's website but may need to consider upgrading.

Expansion

The block of connectors on the motherboard which include the Ethernet, USB, serial, com and mouse/keyboard ports is often referred to as the I/O Panel, the often silver surround which sits between the panel and the outer edge of your system case is called the I/O shield.

Usually PCI to allow for other devices to be installed, AGP cards are used solely for video cards. Newer versions including PCI-Express functions still remain the same.

Processor socket

Here your processor (CPU) is connected to the motherboard. Usually they have a socket design with a lever on one edge once lifted you can insert the processor. Normally a small notch or marked corner indicates the only way that the processor can fit the socket. Once secured the heat sink and thermal paste is installed over the processor and secured into place.

Memory Slots

Also known as memory banks as each slot on the motherboard is termed a bank of memory. You will need to check that you are using the right type of memory for you board. They will only fit into the slots one way by noting the notch in the middle of the module and the number of pins on each side. Once the clips at either end have been opened the module can then be pressed firmly into the slot and the clips secured to hold the module in place.

IDE Connectors

These connect to your IDE devices of either hard drives or CD/DVD Drives or a combination of both. A smaller IDE connector is also used for Floppy disk drives.

PIN OUTS

Every switch on the front panel of your case including the power switch, reset, power led, hdd led, and any USB ports all need to be connected to the pin outs on the motherboard to function.