The motherboard contains all components a computer needs to execute basic operations.
Your computer's system board, or motherboard, has come a long way from the ancient days of computers run via vacuum tubes and punch cards. The system board is your computer's central hub; it contains the central processing unit, connections to all input and output devices, system memory and all other components required for basic system operations.
Central Processing Unit
The microprocessor, or central processing unit (CPU) chip, is one of the motherboard's central features. The CPU is the device that performs calculations that determine the actions of the rest of the computer system. The CPU serves as the medium for transmitting information between system memory, hard disk storage, and input and output devices. Modern motherboards may contain two CPU units, known as "dual-core" processors, or four CPU units, known as "quad-core" processors.
CPU Clock
Every system board contains a real-time CPU clock that regulates the transmission of data throughout the computer. Each time the clock pulses, the components of a computer system transmit data to the next step in the computer system. The number of pulses per second, or speed, of the CPU clock is rated in hertz; a 2-gigahertz CPU contains a clock that pulses two billion times per second, while a 100-megahertz CPU's clock pulses 100 million times per second.
Flash BIOS ROM chip
The Flash BIOS ROM chip, which is short for Basic Input/Output System Read Only Memory, contains the code for your computer system's most basic functions. The CPU uses the basic code contained in BIOS to execute higher-level system functions.
System Memory
Your computer's system memory, or random-access memory (RAM), is directly connected to your computer's system board. RAM is used for short-term, high-speed storage of information the computer system is using at the moment. Programs that are currently being executed on the computer are stored in RAM.
Port Headers
The system board also contains a variety of port headers that can be used to connect input and output devices. Standard port headers include serial ports, parallel ports, Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports and FireWire ports. Many motherboards also contain headers for PS/2 mouse ports and keyboard connections, although those specialized port types are being phased out in favor of standardized headers such as USB.
Device Slots
A system board contains several PCI or ISO slots that can be used to attach devices to the board. Devices can be attached to these slots via a pinned connector. Devices that may be attached to a motherboard via card slots include sound cards, video cards, TV tuner cards, network cards and cards that allow you to expand your computer's port capacity.
Tags: computer system, system board, input output, input output devices, output devices