Chapter 4 All About Motherboards Part 1

A+ Guide to Managing & Maintaining Your PC, 8th Edition

Chapter 4 All About Motherboards Objectives

• Learn about the different types and features of motherboards • Learn how to use setup BIOS and physical jumpers to configure a motherboard • Learn how to maintain a motherboard • Learn how to select, install, and replace a motherboard

A+ Guide to Managing & Maintaining 2 Your PC, 8th Edition © Cengage Learning 2014 Motherboard Types and Features • Motherboard – Most complicated computer component – One of the first items to consider when building a computer – A motherboard (sometimes alternatively known as the mainboard, system board, planar board or logic board, or colloquially, a mobo) is the main printed circuit board (PCB) found in computers and other expandable systems. It holds many of the crucial electronic components of the system, such as the central processing unit (CPU) and memory, and provides connectors for other peripherals. The motherboard contains significant sub-systems such as the processor and other components.

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Consider the following when purchasing a motherboard:

• Form factor • Processor socket (for CPU) and chipset • Buses and number of bus slots (Speed) • Other power connectors, slots, and ports on the motherboard

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• Determines motherboard size, features – Compatible with power supplies, cases, processors, expansion cards • Most popular – ATX, MicroATX, and Mini-ITX • Mini-ITX is smaller than MicroATX and is also known as ITX • MicroATX is backward compatible with ATX case mounting point and the screws in every place that you would use to put it into the case are exactly the same as an ATX motherboard. • The following slides show examples of form factors and comparisons of sizes and hold positions of several form factors

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A+ Guide to Managing & Maintaining 7 Your PC, 8th Edition © Cengage Learning 2014 Table 3-1 Sockets for Intel processors used for desktop computers

A+ Guide to Managing & Maintaining 8 Your PC, 8th Edition © Cengage Learning 2014 Intel Full Tower, desktop, mid-tower… ATX 1996 A standard proposed by Intel as a successor to ATX in the early 2000s, according to Intel the layout has better cooling. BTX Boards are flipped in comparison to ATX Boards, so a Intel BTX or MicroBTX Board needs a BTX case, while an ATX style board fits in an ATX case. BTX 2004 The RAM slots and the PCI slots are parallel to each other. Processor is placed closest to the fan. May contain a CNR board.

A smaller variant of the ATX form factor (about 25% shorter). Compatible with most ATX 9.6 × 9.6 in microATX 1996 cases, but has fewer slots than ATX, for a smaller power supply unit. Very popular for 244 × 244 mm desktop and small form factor computers as of 2007 Mini-ATX is slightly smaller than Micro-ITX. Mini-ATX motherboards were design with AOpen 5.9 × 5.9 in Mini-ATX MoDT (Mobile on Desktop Technology) which adapt mobile CPUs for lower power 2005 150 × 150 mm requirement, less heat generation and better application capability. 6.7 × 6.7 in VIA A small, highly-integrated form factor, designed for small devices such as thin clients and Mini-ITX 170 × 170 mm 2001 set-top boxes. max. VIA 4.7 × 4.7 in Targeted at smart digital entertainment devices such as PVRs, set-top boxes, media Nano-ITX 2003 120 × 120 mm centers and Car PCs, and thin devices. VIA 3.9 × 2.8 in Pico-ITX 2007 100 × 72 mm max.

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Specifications •Form Factor : ATX . • Processor Socket: Intel •Processor interface : socket 775 • Processors Supported:  Intel Pentium D  Intel Pentium EE Intel Core 2 Duo  Intel Core 2 Extreme  Intel Core 2 Quad  Intel Pentium Dual Core  Intel Penryn

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Specifications Form Factor: Micro ATX, uATX Processor Socket: Intel Processor Interface: LGA1156 Processors Supported:  Intel Core i7 Intel Core i5

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• The CPU socket or slot is the connector that interfaces between the motherboard and the processor itself. • Processor socket – determines which processors a board can support – Socket holds Intel or AMD processor • Sockets for Intel processors – Intel makes several Itanium and Xeon processors designed for servers

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• Sockets and processor use different methods to make contacts between them: – Pin grid array (PGA) socket • Pins aligned in uniform rows around socket – Land grid array (LGA) • Uses lands (pads) rather than pins • Examples of LGA sockets: LGA775 and LGA1366 – Flip-chip land grid array (FCLGA) socket • Chip is flipped over so that the top of the chip is on the bottom and makes contact with the socket

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A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining 18 your PC, 7e © Cengage Learning 2014 LGA Socket

Socket 775

A+ Guide to Managing & Maintaining LGA 1156 Socket 19 Your PC, 8th Edition © Cengage Learning 2014 PGA

A+ Guide to Managing & Maintaining 20 Your PC, 8th Edition © Cengage Learning 2014 Flip Chip LGA Flip Chip PGA

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• Sockets and processor use different methods to make contacts between them (cont’d): – Staggered pin grid array (SPGA) • Pins staggered over socket • Squeezes more pins into a small space • Easily bent – Ball grid array (BGA) • Not really a socket • Processor is soldered to the motherboard

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A+ Guide to Managing & Maintaining 23 Your PC, 8th Edition © Cengage Learning 2014 Figure 4-6 Socket LGA775 is the first Intel socket to use lands rather than pins

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• Zero insertion force (ZIF) sockets – All current processor sockets – Side lever lifts processor up and out of the socket • Sockets for AMD Processors – AMD uses the PGA socket architecture (desktops)

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Motherboard spcification : •Form Factor : ATX . Processors Supported: • Processor Socket: Intel Intel Pentium D , Intel Pentium EE •Processor interface : socket 775 Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Core 2 Extreme Intel Core 2 Quad , Intel Pentium Dual Core Intel Penryn A+ Guide to Managing & Maintaining 29 Your PC, 8th Edition © Cengage Learning 2014 Processor Sockets

• Match a processor to the socket and motherboard – Refer to motherboard, processor compatibility documentation

Figure 4-9 AMD Athlon 64 processor to be inserted into an AM2+ socket

A+ Guide to Managing & Maintaining 30 Your PC, 8th Edition © Cengage Learning 2014 The socket AM2 has 940 pin holes. 31 © Cengage Learning 2014 Intel LGA 1156

Supporting Intel’s Core i3-, i5-, and 800-series i7 microprocessors, LGA 1156 motherboards connect two channels of DDR3 memory and 16 full-speed (5.0 Gb/s) PCIe 2.0 lanes directly to the processor. Because all northbridge functions, including memory and primary PCIe control, have been moved onto the processor, additional PCIe connections are available only through the "southbridge" component that remains on the motherboard itself, a part Intel has renamed as its Platform Controller Hub (PCH). Using the slower DMI interface (traditional for Intel northbridge-to-southbridge connections), the PCH provides only 2.5 Gb/s per pathway, and is therefore unsuitable for high-bandwidth applications such as graphics cards.

PCIe limitations, LGA 1156 is generally best-suited for users who require very few high- bandwidth expansion cards, including some users who rely almost exclusively on CPU performance. An acceptable workaround for the PCIe limitation has also been found for certain motherboard and high-performance graphics configurations.

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Socket AM3 motherboards are nearly identical to similarly-named AM2+ models, but have DDR3 memory slots. Because Socket AM3 processors support both DDR2 and DDR3, AM3 processor users can choose between AM3 and AM2+ motherboards depending on memory preference. Current prices for DDR2 and DDR3 4GB dual-channel kits are similar, but we expect DDR3 will eventually be the better value as production of DDR2 declines.

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Supporting 900-series Core i7 processors, LGA 1366 provides the motherboard with three memory channels and a high-bandwidth QPI interface for its chipset. Originally home to several quad-core processors, most early LGA 1366 motherboards will also support six-core models via a BIOS update. Yet, the most common reason buyers choose LGA 1366 isn’t for the processors it supports, but for the high number of PCIe lanes supported by its accompanying X58 Express chipset. Thus, LGA 1366 is the best choice for users who need both top CPU performance and added support for high-bandwidth expansion cards. A+ Guide to Managing & Maintaining 34 Your PC, 8th Edition © Cengage Learning 2014 AMD Socket AM2+

AMD Socket AM2+ AM2+ motherboards bridge the gap between the company’s DDR2 and DDR3 products by supporting Socket AM3, AM2+, and AM2 processors. To enable cross-compatibility, AM2+ motherboards support the higher-speed HyperTransport 3.0 interconnect of AM2+ and AM3 processors as well as the slower HyperTransport interconnect of Socket AM2 processors. Because Socket AM2 and AM2+ processors support DDR2 exclusively, all AM2+ motherboards have DDR2 sockets. Because of its flexibility, Socket AM2+ is the best solution for anyone who wants to build an AMD-based personal computer using DDR2 memory.

AMD Socket AM2 AMD’s Socket AM2 processors are compatible with newer AM2+ motherboards, which in turn are also compatible with AM2+ and AM3 processors. Because of this, anyone concerned about upgrade or service replacement capability should skip this generation of motherboards entirely, even if they’ve chosen an AM2 processor.

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Intel's first “pinless socket” for desktop processors, its LGA 775 originally addressed the issue of high-speed Pentium 4 processors drawing too much power by increasing the number of connections. Intel credits the design for eliminating the lead-based solder formerly used for attaching socket pins. Unfortunately, flexible contacts within the socket can be very fragile and repeated rebuilds have left many testers with dead boards.

Currently being phased out in favor of its later LGA 1156 interface, the use of low-cost processors is the only reason to choose LGA 775 over its replacement. New LGA 775 motherboard models have supported Core 2- series processors since 2006, although newer processor models often require a revised motherboard BIOS just to get the system to boot. Most new purchases are not affected by these compatibility issues, but buyers should check the motherboard manufacturer’s CPU support list if the question of compatibility arises.

The maximum size of a microATX motherboard is 244 mm × 244 mm (9.6 in × 9.6 in), but some microATX boards can be as small as 171.45 mm × 171.45 mm (6.75 in × 6.75 in)

A BTX motherboard with an LGA 775 Land socket that supports an Intel processor

A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining 38 your PC, 7e © Cengage Learning 2014 The Chipset • Chipset: set of chips on motherboard that work with processor to collectively control: – Memory, motherboard buses, some peripherals • The chip set of a motherboard allows the CPU to communicate and interact with the other components of the computer, and to exchange data with system memory, or RAM, hard disk drives, video cards, and other output devices. • The chip set establishes how much memory can be added to a motherboard. The chip set also determines the type of connectors on the motherboard. • Manufacturers – Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, SiS, and VIA • Intel Chipsets – North Bridge and South Bridge - Uses hub interface • All I/O buses (input/output buses) connect to hub – Hub connects to system bus • North Bridge – fast end of hub: Controls access to the RAM, video card, and the speeds at which the CPU can communicate with them. The video card is sometimes integrated into the Northbridge.

• South Bridge – slow end of hub: In most cases, allows the CPU to communicate with the hard drives, sound card, USB ports, and other I/O ports.

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• Intel Chipsets (cont’d) – Core i7 and X58 chipset • Referred to by Intel as Nehalem chipset • Contain memory controller within processor housing • Memory connects directly to processor • Has QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) technology – Has 16 lanes for data packets – Sandy Bridge chipset • Memory and graphics controller in processor • Second Generation Core i7 processor is an example • Sandy Bridge motherboards use DDR3 memory

Southbridge

X58 chipset motherboard

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• Intel Chipsets (cont’d) – Ivy Bridge chipset – 3rd generation processors released in 2012 • Use less power • More transistors in a smaller place • Perform better than earlier products • Uses a single Platform Controller Hub

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• NVIDIA, SIS and VIA Chipsets – All make graphics processors and chipset for AMD and Intel processors – NVIDIA’s method of connecting multiple video cards is called SLI – If planning a gaming computer using two video cards: • Look for a motherboard that supports SLI and uses the nForce chipset