Chapter 3. Motherboards
The motherboard is the heart of a PC. Some
manufacturers use the terms system board,
planar board, baseboard, or
main board, and Intel calls its motherboards
desktop boards. No matter what you call it, the
motherboard defines the PC. It provides the common link to all other
components inside the PC, including the CPU, memory, disk drives,
video and sound adapters, keyboard, mouse, and other peripheral
components. If you are building a PC, choosing the motherboard is the
most important decision you make and can be one of the most
difficult. If you are upgrading a PC, replacing the motherboard is
often the best and most cost-efficient means of doing so. If you are
buying a PC, the motherboard it uses determines its functionality and
future upgradability. This chapter describes the characteristics of
motherboards, provides purchasing guidelines, and explains how to
install and configure a motherboard.
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