PARTS OF THE COMPUTER
MOTHERBOARD
is also called the "System Board,"
it is the main printed circuit board
in an electronic device,
which contains sockets
or slots that accept additional boards.
POWER SUPPLY UNIT
is also called as power supply or PSU.
This is the device that supplies power to your
personal computer.
The power supply then pulls
the required amount
of electricity and converts the
AC current to DC current
and it also regulates the voltage
to eliminate spikes and surges
common in most electrical systems.
Hard Disk Drive
(HDD) is also known as hard drive.
This is the computer's
main storage device
used to store all
data on the computer permanently.
Commonly, hard drives
are permanently place in an
internal drive bay at the front
of the system case and are
connected with either
ATA, SCSI, or a SATA cable and power cable.
Optical Disc Drive
The Optical Disc Drive
is used to read or
write data on a disc.
Random Access Memory ( Memory card )
also known as Random Access Memory (RAM)
is a piece of hardware that
allows stored data to be accessed randomly.
Its main function is to store the data temporarily
CPU, or the Central Processing Unit
The CPU, or the Central Processing Unit,
is the brain of the computer
and one of the most important chip in the computer.
New CPUs are small
and square and contain multiple metallic
connectors or pins on the underside.
The CPU is inserted directly
into a CPU socket, pin side down, on the motherboard.
CPU Fan and Heatsink
CPU Fan and Heatsink helps
in reducing the heat from
the processor so it will
not shutdown automatically.
EIDE (Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics
The EIDE (Enhanced Integrated
Drive Electronics
data cable is used to connect
EIDE type Hard Disk Drive
to the motherboard.
S-ATA data cable
The S-ATA data cable is used
to connect S-ATA t
ype Hard Disk Drive to motherboard.
VIDEO CARD is commonly known as
graphics accelerator card, display
adapter, or graphics card.
This is a hardware component
whose main function is to generate
and display the output images
to a computer monitor
Network Interface Card (NIC)
is used to connect computers
to a computer network.
SOUND CARD is also called as audio card adapter.
This is a computer expansion card
used for the input and output of audio
signals from a computer using a specific
computer programs. New motherboard
comes with built in audio adapter
A COMPUTER CASE also known as a
computer chassis,tower, system unit, CPU
(when referring to the case
as a whole rather than the
processor), or cabinet, is the
enclosure that containsmost
of the components of a personal
computer(usually excluding the display,
keyboard, and mouse).
What are the Different Motherboard Components and Their Functions?
PCIEXPRESS ATX12V CONNECTOR
X1
NORTHBRIDGE
PCI SLOT CPUSOCKET
PCIEXPRESS
X16
[Link] Connectors & Connectors and ports for connecting the
Ports computer to external devices such as
display ports,audio ports,USB
ports,Ethernet ports,PS/2 [Link]
image below for a close-up
view.
Vga port
2. PCISlots PCI: Peripheral Component Interconnect
Slot for older expansion cards such as sound
cards,network cards,connector [Link] image below
for a close-upview.
Have been largely replaced by
PCI-Expressx1 slots(see
motherboard parts#3 below).
[Link] Expressx1 Slots
Slot for modern expansion cards
suchas sound cards, network
cards(Wi-
Fi,Ethernet,Bluetooth),connect or
[Link] Expressx16 Slot cards (USB,FireWire,eSATA) and
certain low-end graphics cards. See
image below fora close-up view.
Slot for discrete graphic cards and
[Link]
high bandwidth devices such as
top-end solid state [Link]
image below fora close-up view.
Also known as Memory Controller
Hub (MCH).
Chipset that allows the CPU to communicate with
the RAM and graphics card.
Beginning from Intel Sandy Bridge
in2011,this motherboard componentis
no longer present as it has been
integrated withinthe CPU itself.
[Link] Socket
Insert CPU [Link] learn how to install a
7.ATX12VPower Connector CPU,
Connects to the 4-pin power cable
of a power supply unit which
supplies power to the CPU.
[Link] Panel USB2.0
Connectors [Link] Battery
[Link] Panel Connectors
[Link] Connector
Connects to USB 2.0 portsat the [Link] image above fora close-
frontor top ofa computer [Link] up view.
image above for a close-upview.
Connects to the power switch,reset Have been replaced over by
switch,powerLED,hard drive LED and SATA connectors (see
front audio ports of a computer motherboard component#13
[Link] image above fora close-up below).
view. Supplies power to store BIOS settings
Connects to older hard drive disks and keep the real-time clock
and optical drives for data [Link] image above for a close-
up view.
ComplementaryMetal Oxide Semi-Conductor (CMOS)
The CMOS battery found on
most motherboards is the
CR2032 lithium coin cell.
[Link]
Also known as the
Input/OutputControllerHub(ICH).
Chipset thatallows the CPU to
communicate with PCIslots, PCI-
Expressx1 slots(expansion
[Link] cards),SATA connectors (hard
drives,optical drives),USBports(USB
devices), Ethernet ports and on-
board audio.
14. Fan Headers
Connects to modern hard
diskdrives,solid state drives and
[Link] Slots optical drives fordata [Link]
[Link] Power Connector image above for a close-up view.
Supplies power to the CPU
heatsinkfan and computer case
[Link] image above for a close-up
17.m SATA Connector
view.
Insert RAM [Link] learn how to install
RAM,
18. Front Panel USB 3.0 Connects to the 24-pin ATX power
Connector cable of a power
[Link]&ResetButton supply unit which supplies power to
the motherboard.
Connects to a mSATAsolid state
[Link] most cases,this SSD is used
as cache to speed up hard disk
drives,but it's possible to re-
purpose it as a regular hard drive.
Connects to USB 3.0 ports at the front
or top of the computer case.
On board button to turn on,turn off
and reboot the computer.
Computer Cable Connections- How to Connect Computer Cables
Learn how to identify computer cable connections and hook up your computer
in minutes today...with our computer cable guide(with pictures).
Let's begin with [Link] are four types of computer cable
connections to a monitor:VGA,DVI,HDMI and Display Port.
If your monitor accepts two or more cables types ([Link] DVI),you should
just connect a single display cable to [Link] this example,you can hook up your
monitor to either a VGA cable or DVI cable (but not both).
If your CPU has integrated graphics and you install a discrete graphics card,you'll
end up with two sets of display [Link] this case,ALWAYS connect your display
cable to your graphics card and not the motherboard.
[Link]
Also known as D-sub cable,analog video cable
Connect one end to:computer
monitor,television (PC
inputport) Connect other end
to:VGA porton computer
[Link] Cable
Connect one end
to:computer monitor
Connect other end to:DVI
port on computer
(seeimagebelow)
[Link] Cable
Connect one end
to:computer
monitor,television
Connect other end to:HDMI
port on computer(see image
below) Note: If you're
hooking up a television to
your computer,then
we would recommend that you use a HDMI cable as
your PC
cable connection since it is able to transmit both display and sound-So you can
not onl yuse your TV screen as a monitor,but also make use of your TV speakers
to play PC audio.
[Link]/2 Cable
Connect one end to:PS/2
keyboard,PS/2 mouse
Connect other end to:PS/2 ports on
computer (see image below)
PurplePS/2 port:
keyboard Green
PS/2port:mouse
[Link]
Also known as RJ-45 cable
Connect one end
to:router,network switch
Connectother end
to:Ethernetport on
computer (see image
below)
LAN port– Local Area Network
6.3.5mmAudio Cable–Audio Port
Also known as phone connector (since 3.5mmjacksare
often found on mobile phones too)
Connectone endto:computer
speakers, 3.5mmheadphones,
3.5mmmicrophone Connect
other end to:audio ports on
computer (see image below)
Green audio port:computer
speakers or headphones
Pink audio port:microphone
Blue audio port:MP3 player,CD player,DVD player, turntable,electric guitar
etc(line-in portto playand record sounds from the above devices)
[Link]
For USBcomputer
cable
connections,there
are two popular
formats:USB2.0
andthe
newerUSB3.0How
to tell USB2.0 and
3.0
cables apart:USB3.0
cables have a blue
tip,and
sometimesyoucan
find a SS
"Super Speed" label on it. See image below:
Since USB was intended to be the one
computer cable connection to replace the
mall,it's no surprise that the possible uses fora
USB port are [Link] this
computer cable guide,we have listed itsmore
common uses below:
Connect one end to:USB device
Storage devices:USB flash drive,external
hard drive, external optical drive
Input devices:USB keyboard (wired and wireless),USB
mouse(wired and wireless),webcam,scanner,game
pad Output devices:printer,all-in-one office
machine,USB speaker.
[Link]-Connect one end to:AC power
socket Connect other end to:power supply
unit(see image below), computer monitor
Note:Always turn off your power supply unit(with
the 1-0 switch at the back)before connecting a
powercord to it.
WEEK N0 5: COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND MOTHERBOARD
ACTIVITY SHEET 1.1
1. Examples of Input devices
2. Examples of Output devices
3. Basic Parts of the System Unit
Give the meaning of the following Acronyms:
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
7.I/O
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
WEEK N0 5: PARTS OF THE MOTHERBOARD
Direction: Identify the parts of the given motherboard below, Write your answers to the given
space before the number.
1.___________ 6.___________ 11.___________
2.___________ 7.___________ 12.___________
3.___________ 8.___________ 13.___________
4.___________ 9.___________ 14.___________
5.___________ 10.__________ 15. ___________