Motherboard

A motherboard (also called mainboard)has been an integral part of most personal computers for more than 20 years. It is a multi-layered printed circuit board. Copper circuit paths called tracesthat resemble a complicated roadmap carry signals and voltages across the motherboard. Layered fabrication techniques are used so that some layers of a board can carry data for the input/output, processor and memory buses while other layers can carry voltage and ground returns without circuit paths short-circuiting at intersections. The insulated layers are manufactured into one complete, complex "sandwich." The motherboard is the data and power infrastructure for the entire computer. Various circuit cards performing various functions all plug into many similar sockets on a common circuit board. Each circuit card performs a unique function in the computer and gets its power from the socket as well.

Different motherboards of different vintages typically have different form factors. Form factor essentially means the size and shape of the actual motherboard. There are more than a half-dozen form factors for motherboards, with the most recent ones having the designation of NLX. Right now, the designation ATXis the most prevalent. By buying a computer with a true ATX motherboard, you are assured that you will have the ability to upgrade by being able to re-use the personal computer case with a more recent replacement ATX board design. Motherboards have helped to keep the "personal" in personal computing since pluggable components allow the user to personalize the system depending on their applications and needs. For example: prolific collectors of digital camera images or video will want to add a SCSI hard disk drive to an open bay and use an empty socket on the motherboard for the SCSI controller card; serious game enthusiasts will want the fastest video card possible with as much memory on the card as possible.