A Computer Motherboard Diagram

Once you know what you are looking at, you can recognize the components on any motherboard layout. A computer motherboard diagram is very useful for when you need to replace motherboard, do motherboard upgrades, troubleshoot motherboard, or build your own computer.
A. PCI Slot - This board has 2 PCI slots. These can be used for components such as

Ethernet cards, sound cards, and modems. B. PCI-E 16x Slot - There are 2 of them on this motherboard diagram, both are blue. These are used for your graphics card. With two of them onboard, you can run 2 graphics cards in SLI. You would only need this if you are a gamer, or working with high end video / graphics editing. These are the 16x speed versions, which are currently the fastest. C. PCI-E 1x Slot - Single slot - In the PCIe 1.x generation, each lane (1x) carries 250 MB/s compared to 133 MB/s for the PCI slots. These can be used for expansion cards such as Sound Cards, or Ethernet Cards. D. Northbridge - This is the Northbridge for this motherboard. This allows communication between the CPU and the system memory and PCI-E slots.

E. ATX 12V 2X and 4 Pin Power Connection Power Connection - This is one of two

F.

G. H.

I. J.

K. L. M.

N. O. P.

power connections that supply power to the motherboard. This connection will come from your Power Supply. CPU-Fan Connection - This is where your CPU fan will connect. Using this connection over one from your power supply will allow the motherboard to control the speed of your fan, based on the CPU temperature. Socket - This is where your CPU will plug in. The orange bracket that is surrounding it is used for high end heat sinks. It helps to support the weight of the heat sink. Memory Slots - These are the slots for your RAM. Most boards will have 4 slots, but some will only have 2. The color coding you see on the motherboard diagram is used to match up RAM for Dual-Channel. Using them this way will give your memory a speed boost. ATX Power Connector - This is the second of two power connections. This is the main power connection for the motherboard, and comes from the Power Supply. IDE Connection - The IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) is the connection for your hard drive or CD / DVD drive. Most drives today come with SATA connections, so you may not use this. Southbridge - This is the controller for components such as the PCI slots, onboard audio, and USB connections. SATA Connections - These are 4 of the 6 SATA connections on the motherboard. These will be used for hard drives, and CD / DVD drives. Front Panel Connections - this is where you will hook in the connections from your case. These are mostly the different lights on your case, such as power on, hard drive activity etc. FDD Connection - The FDD is the Floppy Disk controller. If you have a floppy disk drive in your computer, this is where you will hook it up. External USB Connections - This is where you will plug in external USB connections for your case or USB bracket. CMOS battery - This is the motherboard's battery. This is used to allow the CMOS to keep its settings.

The computer power supply is the component that, yes, you guessed it, supplies power to the computer. The power supply converts 100V - 120V or 200V - 220V power to low voltage DC power that is usable by a computer. Power supplies will typically supply 3 voltages to the computer: 3.3, 5, and 12 volts. These voltage values are known as "rails". The 3.3 and 5 volt rails are used normally to power digital circuits, while the 12V rail will normally power hard drives, fans, and graphic cards.

Power supplies have pretty much standardized to conform with the ATX form factor. This allows power units to be interchangable between computers. So when you decide to upgrade that old Dell computer, you don't have to worry about the power supply not fitting. The computer power supply is measured in watts, abbreviated "W". Their rating is based on the maximum power output, which typically ranges from 300W for lower end desktops, to 2000W for multiple core servers. There are a number of good power supply reviews that can help when selecting a power supply. You want to make sure that you match up your power needs with your power supply. Using a power supply that outputs too much power is a waste of energy, while using one that does not output enough power will cause problems with your computer.

Power Supply Connections

A power supply will normally have multiple types of connections...

Main Power Connection: this is the connection that provides the main power connection to your motherboard. Until recently this was a 20 pin power connection, but has recently been upgraded to a 24 pin connection. You may also encounter power supplies with a 20 pin connector in addition to a 4 pin connector that can be used side by side on a 24 pin motherboard connection. ATX12V: this is a 4 pin power connector, also known as the P4 power connection. Don't get this confused with the one that goes along with the 20 pin connector - they are two separate connectors. This is a second connection for power on the motherboard 4 Pin Peripheral: also known as a Molex connection (named after the company that created it), these are multiple use power connections that are used for case fans, hard drive, dvd drives and more. They are the general use power connections. Serial ATA: these are the computer power supply connections that are used for SATA drives, both hard drives and CD/DVD drives. 6 or 8 Pin Connector: a recent addition to computer power supplies. The 6 pin connections are used for PCI-E graphics cards but are being replaced by the 8 pin power connector for high end graphics cards.

The CPU is the brains of the whole operation. Sometimes referred to as the processor or microprocessor, it is where all the computer's calculations take place. The first microprocessor was the Intel 4004, which was created in 1971. What was significant about the 4004 was that it was all on one chip. Before that computers were a collection of chips.

There are 2 main parts to a processor. The ALU, or Arithmetic Logic Unit, and the Control Unit. The ALU is where all arithmetic and logic operations take place. The control unit extracts instructions from the system memory, decodes, and then executes them, calling on the ALU as necessary.

How Does A CPU Work

A processor will do 3 basic things:
1. Arithmetic - Add, subtract, multiply and divide using floating point numbers. A floating point number can be thought of like scientific notation, allowing multiple decimal places. 2. The processor can move data from one memory location to another. This is done by the Central Unit. 3. Finally, the processor can make the decision to jump to a different set of instructions based on input or calculations.

More Information on How A Processor Works

What's In A Name?
Processor naming can be quite confusing. What is an AMD 6000+? What is the difference between the Intel Core 2 Duo and the Dual Core? Processor speeds are important indicators of how fast a processor is, but only when compared with processors in the same series. L2 cache and front side bus also come into play here. In this section we'll take a look at processor architecture and how that goes into the naming and speed of the processor. I will help you make sense of how CPU's are named so that you can make an informed decision when buying.

Learn More About Processor Naming Conventions

The Big Two

There are 2 main players in the desktop computer processor market. Intel, and AMD (Advanced Micro Devices). They have been battling back and forth for years trying to gain an edge and more market share, and probably will for years to come. AMD usually ends up having the cheaper processors, but Intel will usually have the faster. This is not true 100% of the time, but overall this is how it has worked out. These articles will take a brief look at the history of each company.

Intel Processor History

AMD Processor History

Processor Recommendations
Whether you are looking for a high end gaming system, or a home business computer, take a look a these recommendations. Check out the tab up top for even more CPU reviews. CPU Recommendations

CPU Charts
When it comes to processor charts, you just can't compete with Tomshardware. You can find the most comprehensive processor charts on the web here. These CPU charts allow you to select specific processors and compare them head to head using a variety of benchmarks. Tom's charts cover pretty much every processor that you would want information on. From the old Pentium D's, all the way up through the new Extreme Edition Core 2 Quads, from AMD Semperons through the latest Phenoms, he covers them all.

Looking to pick up a new processor or upgrade an older one? The Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 is a great mid-range processor which should keep you happy for quite some time. Now, this processor isn't new, it was released in mid-late 2007. However, it has since come down in price which has greatly increased its price to performance ratio. Let's take a look in more detail at this little gem. Here are the specs for this processor:

2.66GHz Dual Core processor 1333MHz FSB (Front Side Bus) .65 Micron manufacture 4MB L2 cache shared LGA775 socket compatible 291 million transistors onboard

The Core 2 Duo E6750 has the Conroe core and will require a motherboard capable of supporting 1333MHz FSB. These include the P3X and G3X series of Intel chipsets or the Nvidia nForce 680 and up line. What makes the Core 2 style of processors stand out is their ability to multi-task using multiple cores. You can be downloading music, playing a game, and running a virus scan in the background all at the same time. The other plus of theCore 2 Duo line is its power saving features. Intel has built in technology that will control power transfer to only those areas that need it. This power control is achieved

through what Intel calls Thermal Monitor 2. Thermal Monitor 2 will limit the processor temperatures by reducing power within the processor. If a high temperature is detected the Thermal Control Circuit tells the processor to adjust its operating frequency and voltage. Once temperatures are back in normal range, the frequency and voltage are restored. In benchmarking tests the Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 compares closely with its predecessor the E6700 which runs with a FSB of 1066MHz. So if you are already running a Core 2 Duo processor, then upgrading to the E6750 is probably a waste of money. However, if you are still on an older Pentium 4 or a Celeron and are looking to upgrade, this CPU offers a great price to performance ratio and is priced extremely low for the performance that you get.

Pros:

Fast multi-core CPU Very stable Great low price Widespread availability

Cons:

The newer chipsets that support the Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 consume more power Needs a newer motherboard that supports 1333MHz FSB

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Review

AMD Athlon Dual Core Processor
The AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ has been out for a couple of years. Now called the AMD Athlon X2; it fits into a series of AMD Dual Core processors. CPU reviews give the AMD Athlon processors good marks for budget and performance.

The AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Dual Core CPU is nothing new. It's been out for a couple years now.

But if you are looking for a budget CPU for a home office or non-gaming computer, then you can't go wrong with this AMD Athlon dual core processor. Available for around $75.00, it'll help keep the cost of a new computer down, and at the same time provide ample power for any office application, surfing the web, and pretty much anything you want to throw at it short of the latest games. Here are the specs for the AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+:

Operates at 2.5GHz Compatible with Socket AM2 Hyper Transport at 2000MHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Manufactured at 65 nm

The 4800 is a dual core processor, but is setup differently than the new Phenoms or the Core 2 Duo from Intel. This particular processor has 2 Prescott cores placed into a single chip. The communication between the cores is done via the system bus, the same way that 2 separate CPU's would communicate. This can lead to higher latencies when communicating with the system memory. However, when using this processor in an office type PC, this should not be an issue. (Remember to use an AMD CPU fan for this processor.)

Recently, AMD dropped the 64 label and calls this product AMD Athlon X2. Other AMD processors are the AMD Phenom II, AMD Phenom, AMD Athlon II, (the AMD X2 fits here in the line-up) AMD Athlon, and AMD Sempron.

Conclusion
There is not much else to say about the AMD Athlon X2. If you are looking for a gaming processor, then this is not for you. This is for the office computer, or home computer that is used for email, web surfing, photos, and music downloads. It's a great price for a great processor as long as it is used in the proper format. Pros:

Very low cost Great performance for the price Dual core Motherboards are very common for this processor

Cons:

Not good for gaming on today's games Cannot compete with newer processors

A Quick History Of Intel

The history of Intel is one of success. Intel was founded in 1968 by Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce. Both were physicists, with the claim to fame of inventing the microprocessor in 1971. Originally the company made SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) chips. Throughout the 1970's, Intel distinguished themselves with their various memory products. Their growth of memory products continued into the early 1980's. In 1983 the profitability of the memory market dropped considerably when Japanese companies entered the market. About this time, the success of the IBM personal computer was gaining momentum, and Andy Grove, the CEO of Intel, shifted their focus to microprocessors. This proved to be a very good decision for Intel, as history has shown. By the end of the 1980's, their business took off, and they pretty much dominated the microprocessor market through the 90's. Around 2000, the demand for the higher end processors started to fall, and competition for mid and low end processors grew, namely from AMD.

The History Of Intel Processors

The first microprocessor in the history of Intel was named the 4004. It was the first microprocessor to be on a single CPU. Up to this point, there had been separate processors for different tasks. You would typically have a processor that would control keyboard input, printer input, display control, etc. Intel saw that they could combine all these controls and operations onto a single chip. In the history of Intel, this decision has stood out as one that has propelled them to the top of the processor market. The 4004 was quite small, only around 3x4 mm. This area held around 2300 transistors, and was a 4 bit processor running at around 108 kilohertz. Intel followed this up the next year with an 8 bit processor, the 8008, which had 3300 transistors running at about 200 kilohertz. This led eventually to the