5/5/25, 8:55 AM Components of Motherboard and Their Functions - Scientech Easy

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HOME COMPUTER COMPONENTS OF MOTHERBOARD AND THEIR FUNCTIONS

Components of Motherboard and Their

Functions
LAST UPDATED ON MARCH 29, 2025 / BY SCIENTECH EASY / IN COMPUTER / READ TIME 11 MINS

A motherboard (also called main board or system board) is a basic foundation

of a computer that connects all the crucial components or parts of a system. It
performs the following significant functions like:

Distributing power from the power supply to all hardware components.

Transferring of data and instructions between various hardware
components.
Providing various sockets and pads for mounting electronic
components.
Offering expansion slots to add other components, such as graphics
card, network cards, etc.

In older desktop computers, there had very few integrated components onto
the motherboard. It needs a large number of adapter cards for interfacing
videos, hard disk, and floppy disk. In contrast, as the technology advanced,
various interfaces have accommodated on the motherboard and fewer
adapters are needed.

Nowadays, almost all the electronic components, such as CPU, RAM,

expansion slots, heat sink/fan assembly, BIOS chip, etc. have integrated onto
the motherboard of all personal computers (PCs). It also holds the expansion
bus, Input/Output (I/O) interface, drive controllers, and system memory.

In this tutorial, we will understand different components of a computer

motherboard, what they do, and where they are located on the motherboard
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of a computer.

Hardware Components of Computer

Motherboard with Functions

A typical computer motherboard contains the following electronic

components or parts that are as:

Chipsets
CPU or processor sockets or slots
Memory slots
Expansion slots
BIOS chip
CMOS battery
Power connectors
Keyboard and mouse connectors
Onboard disk drive connectors
Peripheral ports and connectors
Jumpers and DIP switches
Case fan and Heat sink

Let’s understand each component of the motherboard in brief.

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Chipsets
A chipset is a set of semiconductor chips (or circuits) on the motherboard that
provides interfaces for memory, expansion cards, and other peripheral
devices. It is the foundation of the motherboard and made up of one or
several integrated circuit chips.

It works closely with the CPU processor to collectively control the memory,
buses on the motherboard, and some onboard peripheral devices. Therefore,
a chipset on the motherboard must be compatible with the processor that it
serves.

A chipset and socket determines what type of processor a board can support,
how fast it will run, how fast buses will run, and speed, type, and amount of
memory we can have. The original manufacturers such as Intel and AMD
usually give the name and model number to the chipsets.

We can divide the functions of a chipset into main categories – Northbridge

and Southbridge. Let’s take a brief look at both.

Northbridge
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A Northbridge is a chipset that establishes the communication among high-

speed peripherals, such as memory, PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect)
bus, AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus, and the Level 2 processor cache (L2
Cache memory).

It communicates with processor and memory using FSB (Front Side Bus) that
is a just set of signal pathways between the CPU and main memory. On the
other hand, the backside bus is a set of signal pathways between the CPU and
Level 2 cache memory, if present.

The real performance of a motherboard depends on the performance of

Northbridge chipset. It also manages the communication between the
Southbridge and the rest of computer.

Southbridge
Southbridge is a single semiconductor chipset that is responsible for
controlling all onboard Input/Output functions of a computer such as USB,
BIOS (FireWire), PS/2, Parallel, Series, wire-less LAN ports, IDE, audio, and so
on.

It also manages the communications with the other expansion buses, such as
PCI, USB, and legacy buses. The below diagram shows an example of a typical
computer motherboard chipset (including both Northbridge and Southbridge)
and components they interface with.

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Processor Sockets or Slots

The central processing unit (CPU), or simply a processor, is the brain of the
computer. This electrical component performs all the mathematical
calculations and 90 percent of all the functions of a computer.

There are various types of processors available for computers in the market. In
today’s computers, the processor is the easiest component that we can
identify on the motherboard. It is installed in either a socket or slot,
depending on the type of chip.

The CPU socket or slot on the motherboard is basically flat in shape. It has
several rows and columns of holes (pins) arranged in the square, as shown in
the below figure.

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Most of the CPU sockets have pin grid array (PGA) architecture, in which pins
of the underside of the CPU processor are inserted into the socket, usually
with ZIF (zero insertion force).

ZIF refers to the amount of force required to install a CPU into the socket
mounted on the motherboard. It makes easy to insert and remove the
processor so that the processor pins are not damaged during the insertion.

Most of the processors installed on the CPU socket are attached along with a
heat sink or colling fan because they produce a lot of heat during the normal
operations.

The Intel company had designed the first standard CPU socket named Socket
1, originally called “OverDrive” socket. It is usually 17 * 17 pin grid array (PGA)
socket that contains 169 pins and needs 5 volt voltage. It supports the
processors like 486 SX/SX2, DX/DX2, and DX4 OD (OverDrive). Its successor
socket is Socket 2, Socket 3 and so on.

LGA1200 socket is the latest socket created by Intel to install10th generation

and 11th generation Intel® Desktop Processors. However, 9th, 8th, 7th, 6th
Generation Intel® Desktop Processors use LGA1151 socket.

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Memory Slots and External Cache

The main memory of a computer is random access memory (RAM), which
temporarily stores data during the normal operation of the computer. A
memory slot is a physical connector on a motherboard of the computer that
holds the main memory chip. It is very easy to identify on the computer
motherboard.

Memory slots are long and located very close to each other on the
motherboard. The number of slots of memory on the motherboard specifies
the maximum amount of RAM that we can install on a computer. However, it
may vary from motherboard to motherboard, but the appearance of different
slots is the same.

Today, most of the computer’s motherboard come with DIMM (Dual In-line
Memory Module) slots. They contain a series of dynamic random access
memory (DRAM) chips mounted on a printed circuit board. They are designed
in order to use in personal computers, workstations, printers, and servers.

Today, DIMMs come in a variety of sizes and speeds. They generally come in
two lengths – for PC, it is 133.35 mm (5.25 in) and SO-DIMM for laptop is
about half the size at 67.60 mm (2.66 in).

Variance of DIMMs support DDR, DDR2, DDR3, DDR4 and DDR5 RAM. DIMMs
come in different pin configuration that are as follows:

DIMM

100-pin, used for printer SDRAM

168-pin, used for SDRAM, FPM, EDO
184-pin, used for DDR SDRAM
200-pin, used for DRAM in some Sun workstations and servers.
240-pin, used for DDR2 SDRAM, and DDR3 SDRAM
240-pin, used for FB-DIMM
278-pin, used for HP high density SDRAM.
288-pin, used for DDR4 SDRAM and DDR5 SDRAM

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SO-DIMM or small outline DIMM

144-pin, used for SDR SDRAM

200-pin, used for DDR SDRAM and DDR2 SDRAM
204-pin, used for DDR3 SDRAM
260-pin, used for DDR4 SDRAM
260-pin, with different notch position, used for either DDR3 or DDR4
SDRAM
262-pin, used for DDR5 SDRAM

MiniDIMM

244-pin, used for DDR2 SDRAM

MicroDIMM

172-pin, used for DDR SDRAM

214-pin, used for DDR2 SDRAM

Note: The full form of DDR is double data rate. The full form of SDRAM is
synchronous dynamic random-access memory (synchronous dynamic RAM).

Expansion Slots
Expansion slots are the most visible components of any motherboard. We can
easily identify them on the motherboard, as they are generally located close
to each other and near the rare end of the case. Expansion slots are usually 3
to 11 inches long and approximately 1/2 inch wide.

These slots are especially used to install various devices to expand its
capabilities. We can install sound card, graphics cards, network card, etc on
these slots. Each type of expansion slot differs in appearance and functions.
The most common types of expansion slots on a typical motherboard of
today’s computer are as:

PCI
AGP

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PCIe

PCI Expansion Slots

Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) slots are found on the motherboard
of a computer. They are used to connecting various compatible expansion
cards or peripheral devices to the computer system.

These expansion slots allow us to add functionality and improve the

performance of your computer. Most computers made today contain PCI
slots. They can be easily identified because they are usually white and are
about 3 inches long.

PCI slots can accommodate various types of expansion cards and peripherals.
Here are some common devices that we can connect to PCI slots:

Graphics cards
Sound cards
Network Interface Cards (NIC)
Storage controllers
TV tuner cards
Wireless cards
Modems
USB expansion cards

AGP Expansion Slots

AGP stands for Accelerated Graphics Port or Advanced Graphics Port. It is a
high-speed point-to-point channel for adding a 3D graphics card or video
card to a computer’s motherboard. It allows the video card to communicate
directly with the CPU processor and memory.

AGP slots can be easily recognizable because they are usually brown, located
right next to the PCI slots on the motherboard. They are usually shorter than
PCI slots.

PCIe Exapansion Slots

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Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) is a high-speed serial bus

interface that we use to add various expansion cards to a motherboard of the
computer system. It is available on new computer motherboards. This slot is
designed to replace AGP and PCI slots, but most computer motherboards
have still PCI aw well as AGP slots.

A PCIe slot establishes a direct and faster connection between the

motherboard and peripherals, resulting in improved data transfer rates and
reduced latency compared to their predecessors. We can use these slots to
install graphics cards, network adapters, storage expansion, sound cards,
video capture cards, etc.

BIOS Chip
The Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) or firmware is the most important
semiconductor chip on the motherboard, aside from the processor. It is a
non-volatile memory chip containing BIOS software that stores firmware
instructions and data essential for the initial startup of a computer.

It basically tells the CPU processor how to interact with the rest of the
hardware components of the computer. BIOS memory chip is activated as
soon as the computer is powered on. When we turn on our computer, the
BIOS chip executes a series of firmware instructions stored in its memory.

These instructions perform several essential tasks, such as testing hardware

components, initializing system settings, and loading the operating system
into memory. This process is called booting up.

CMOS Chip
Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) is a type of memory chip
that stores certain computer settings, such as date and time, even when the
computer is powered off. It gets its power from the small cylindrical battery,
called CMOS battery, installed on the computer motherboard.

This battery comes in different shape and size, but they all perform similar
functions. CMOS technology is widely used in analog circuits, such as image
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sensors, data conversion, and highly integrated transceivers for the various
types of communication.

Cooling Systems
We know that electronic components produce heat. It is caused by the flow of
electric current within the components.The components of a computer works
better when kept cool. If heat is not removed, then it may run slower. The
computer components may damage if too much heat generated.

When air will flow inside the computer case, it will remove heat. More air will
flow, more will heat remove. To overcome this problem, a case fan is installed
in the computer case to make the cooling process more efficient.

Besides to this case fan, a heat sink exhausts the heat away from the core of
the processor. A case fan on the top of the heat sink does to remove the heat
from the CPU.

Power Supply Connectors

Power connectors play a significant role in distributing the necessary electrical
power to various components within a computer system. There is only one
main power supply connector on the computer motherboard. It also contains
a small 4-pin connector for CPU fan.

It can be easily recognisable because it is rectangular in shape and white in

color. ATX (Advanced Technology eXtended ) power connector is widely used
on the desktop computer and provides the electric power to the
motherboard.

The main function of power supply is to convert 110-volt or 220-volt AC

voltage into DC voltage for different components of the computer. These DC
voltages supply 3.3 volts, +5 volts, and -5 volts, +12 volts and -12 volts. The
rating of power supply unit is watts, that is a measure of power.

There are many different types of power supply connectors used on the
motherboard and peripherals. Some of the common types of types are as:

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24-pin ATX power connector

4/8-pin CPU power connector
PCIe power connector
SATA power connector
Molex power connector
Fan power connector

In this tutorial, you have known about the components of computer

motherboard and their functions in easy words. I hope that you will have
understood the basic points of motherboard components with figure and
enjoyed this tutorial. In the next, we will understand what is CPU (central
processing unit) and how does it works in a computer system.
Thanks for reading!!!

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