02-09-2017, 10:07 AM
A motherboard (sometimes alternatively known as the motherboard, motherboard, motherboard, planar board or logic board, or colloquially, a mobo) is the main printed circuit board (PCB) found in general purpose microcomputers and other expandable systems. It supports and enables communication between many of the crucial electronic components of a system, such as the central processing unit (CPU) and memory, and provides connectors for other peripherals. Unlike a backplane, a motherboard usually contains significant subsystems such as the central processor, chipset I / O and memory controllers, interface connectors, and other general purpose built-in components.
The motherboard specifically refers to an expansion-capable PCB and, as the name implies, this motherboard is often referred to as the "mother" of all components connected to it, often including peripherals, interface cards, and cards secondary: sound cards, network cards, hard drives or other forms of persistent storage; TV tuner cards, cards that provide additional USB or FireWire slots, and a variety of other custom components.
Similarly, the term "motherboard" applies to devices with a single card and without additional expansions or capacities, such as control cards in laser printers, televisions, washing machines and other embedded systems with limited expansion capabilities.
Prior to the invention of the microprocessor, a digital computer consisted of multiple printed circuit boards in a cardboard box with components connected by a backplane, a set of interconnected connectors. In very old designs, copper cables were the discrete connections between the pins of the card connector, but printed circuit boards soon became standard practice. The central processing unit (CPU), memory and peripherals were housed on individual printed circuit boards, which were plugged into the backplane. The ubiquitous S-100 bus of the 1970s is an example of this type of backplane system.
The most popular computers of the 1980s, such as the Apple II and the IBM PC, had published schematic diagrams and other documentation that allowed for rapid reverse engineering and third party replacement motherboards. Generally designed for the construction of new computer-compatible computers, many motherboards offer additional performance or other features and were used to upgrade the manufacturer's original equipment.
During the late 1980s and 1990s, it became economical to move an increasing number of peripheral functions on the motherboard. In the late 1980s, personal computer motherboards began to include integrated circuits (also called Super I / O chips) capable of supporting a set of low-speed peripherals: keyboard, mouse, floppy drive, serial ports and parallel ports. In the late 1990s, many of the personal computer motherboards included consumer-grade audio, video, storage, and built-in networking without the need for expansion cards; high-end systems for 3D gaming and computer graphics typically only retained the graphics card as a separate component. Business PCs, workstations, and servers were more likely to need expansion cards, either for more robust features or for higher speeds; these systems often had fewer embedded components.
Laptops and laptops that were developed in the 1990s integrated the most common peripherals. This even included motherboards without upgradeable components, a trend that would continue as smaller systems were introduced after the turn of the century (such as the tablet and netbook). Memory, processors, network drivers, power supply and storage would be integrated into some systems.
The motherboard specifically refers to an expansion-capable PCB and, as the name implies, this motherboard is often referred to as the "mother" of all components connected to it, often including peripherals, interface cards, and cards secondary: sound cards, network cards, hard drives or other forms of persistent storage; TV tuner cards, cards that provide additional USB or FireWire slots, and a variety of other custom components.
Similarly, the term "motherboard" applies to devices with a single card and without additional expansions or capacities, such as control cards in laser printers, televisions, washing machines and other embedded systems with limited expansion capabilities.
Prior to the invention of the microprocessor, a digital computer consisted of multiple printed circuit boards in a cardboard box with components connected by a backplane, a set of interconnected connectors. In very old designs, copper cables were the discrete connections between the pins of the card connector, but printed circuit boards soon became standard practice. The central processing unit (CPU), memory and peripherals were housed on individual printed circuit boards, which were plugged into the backplane. The ubiquitous S-100 bus of the 1970s is an example of this type of backplane system.
The most popular computers of the 1980s, such as the Apple II and the IBM PC, had published schematic diagrams and other documentation that allowed for rapid reverse engineering and third party replacement motherboards. Generally designed for the construction of new computer-compatible computers, many motherboards offer additional performance or other features and were used to upgrade the manufacturer's original equipment.
During the late 1980s and 1990s, it became economical to move an increasing number of peripheral functions on the motherboard. In the late 1980s, personal computer motherboards began to include integrated circuits (also called Super I / O chips) capable of supporting a set of low-speed peripherals: keyboard, mouse, floppy drive, serial ports and parallel ports. In the late 1990s, many of the personal computer motherboards included consumer-grade audio, video, storage, and built-in networking without the need for expansion cards; high-end systems for 3D gaming and computer graphics typically only retained the graphics card as a separate component. Business PCs, workstations, and servers were more likely to need expansion cards, either for more robust features or for higher speeds; these systems often had fewer embedded components.
Laptops and laptops that were developed in the 1990s integrated the most common peripherals. This even included motherboards without upgradeable components, a trend that would continue as smaller systems were introduced after the turn of the century (such as the tablet and netbook). Memory, processors, network drivers, power supply and storage would be integrated into some systems.