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The Importance of Motherboards Explained
Understanding the Role of the Motherboard
Motherboards, often referred to as 'mobos,' serve as the central printed circuit board (PCB) that connects all internal components within a computer case, providing the foundation for a complete system. They house essential connectors for the CPU, graphics card, hard drives, speakers, fans, and more, determining what can be plugged into your PC and how many components you can integrate.
When examining a motherboard, you'll notice an array of components, including circuits, transistors, capacitors, slots, connectors, heatsinks, chips, and more. Each serves to transmit signals between various components and supply power to them. It's a complex piece of hardware, and we won't delve into its structure or operation in this article.
Both Intel and AMD are competing to develop more powerful CPUs, leading to the differentiation of motherboards for CPUs of the same brand based on the 'socket,' or simply put, the way the CPU fits into the motherboard. When choosing a motherboard, you'll need to select one with the correct socket for the CPU you want to use; otherwise, it won't fit.
However, sometimes even if you've chosen the correct socket and installed the CPU into the motherboard, it still won't run. That's because older motherboards may not support newer CPUs, even if they use the same socket. For example, older A320M motherboards without the latest BIOS update won't run the Ryzen 7 5800X3D CPU. So when buying a motherboard, pay attention to the 'CPU support list' to see if it supports the CPU you intend to use, and seek assistance from store technicians if needed.
Learn more: What do CPU terms mean?Expansion Options
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, when building a PC, the motherboard is the component that connects everything inside the case together, including RAM, graphics cards, sound cards, network cards, hard drives, fans, and more. The number of connection ports and slots on the motherboard determines how many of these components you can install in your computer, thereby affecting its power.
At the time this article was written by Mytour, the most notable connection standard on a motherboard is Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe), with the most common type being PCIe 4.0. It comes in 4 sizes: x1, x4, x8, and x16, with x4 and x16 being the most common. Motherboards have varying numbers of PCIe slots, and the positions can also vary, but there's usually at least one slot for a graphics card. You'll need to pay attention to whether the motherboard you choose has the slots you need and enough space to install your devices.
In recent years, there has been a surge in the integration of a new slot on motherboards called M.2. This slot is dedicated to high-speed SSD hard drives, enabling users to boot their machines much faster than traditional SATA SSDs. The M.2 slot is becoming increasingly common and has even appeared on budget motherboards, although sometimes you may still encounter products without this slot to reduce costs.
Rear Connectivity Ports
Apart from the internal components inside the computer case, the motherboard also plays a crucial role in connecting with external peripherals such as mice, speakers, webcams, and more. It accomplishes this through a plethora of connectivity ports located at the rear of the case, including USB, PS/2, DVI, VGA, LAN, 3.5mm, and more.
Motherboards typically come with enough ports to connect with the peripherals commonly owned by an average computer user. However, if you have higher demands (such as using both speakers and headphones, adding a wireless mouse and keyboard set, a webcam, a memory card reader, etc.), the quantity of ports could become a minor issue. While we have plenty of options to expand the number of ports on the motherboard, it's still worth considering before making a purchase to minimize future hassle.
Conclusion
And that concludes everything you need to consider when purchasing a motherboard for building your own PC. Don't hesitate, as this component is crucial and serves as the foundation for all the other components you'll install in your current PC as well as future upgrades. If you have any further questions, feel free to leave a comment at the end of this article, and the Mytour technical team will assist you as soon as possible. See you in the upcoming articles!
