Motherboard Terminology

A
• AC ’97 (Audio Codec ‘97):
This is the audio standard/architecture developed by Intel in 1997. It delivers multi-channel
16-bit, 48 KHz recording and playback, with optional support of 18-bit and 20-bit resolution
and up to 96 KHz sampling frequency (stereo). AC ’97 is widely used in on-board audio,
modems and sound cards.
• Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP):
The AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) slot on the computer motherboard is designed
specifically for AGP graphics cards. AGP 8X can provide 16 times the bandwidth of the
common 32-bit PCI slot. AGP is currently being phased out in favor of PCI Express on PC
systems. This is an expansion slot specially for graphics cards, offering high bandwith.
• Advanced Communication Riser (ACR):
This is a new slot for audio/modem riser developed by VIA and AMD, similar to intel's CNR.
• Advanced Technology Extended (ATX):
Developed by Intel in 1995, ATX (Advanced Technology Extended) was designed to replace
the AT/Baby AT form factor. An ATX motherboard is essentially a Baby AT motherboard
rotated 90 degrees within the case with a new mounting configuration for the power supply
so that the IDE connectors are closer to the drive bays and the CPU is closer to the power
supply and cooling fan. There are many variants of the ATX form factor for smaller boards
(such as microATX and Flex ATX), usually providing the basic rear layout but reducing the
board size and the number of expansion slots.
• Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA):
ATA is the acronym for Advanced Technology Attachment, and it has become an industry
standard hard drive interface for 15 years. ATA uses a 16-bit parallel connection to make the
link between storage devices and motherboards, and is also called PATA (Parallel ATA) to
distinguish it from the newer SATA standard. In additional, ATA is also known as IDE or EIDE
(Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics). Currently the two most popular standards for ATA
hard drives are the ATA-6 (which is also known as Ultra ATA 100 or Ultra DMA 100) and ATA
133. The maximum bandwidth for the former is 100MB/s, and 133 MB/s for the latter.
 • Audio Modem Riser (AMR):
This is an expansion slot for audio/modem riser or modem riser cards.
• AGP Pro:
The AGP Pro is an extension to the AGP interface specification; it is designed to meet the
increasing power requirement of workstation level graphics cards by delivering additional
electrical power. AGP Pro graphics cards and slots are often longer than their standard AGP
counterparts.

B
• Basic Input Output System (BIOS):
The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) refers to the program/software code residing in a
ROM chip. It provides the basic instructions for booting up your computer and controlling
computer hardware so other software programs such as the operating systems can be loaded
and executed. It allows communication between the hardware and OS. This is where all the
system settings are configured and stored. A BIOS can be upgraded if new features arrive.
• Balanced Technology Extended (BTX):
As the next-generation successor to the ATX form factor, the BTX (Balanced Technology
Extended) form factor specifies a new layout for heat-generating components on the
motherboard, to allow in-line airflow for system cooling, reducing the number of fans needed,
offering thermal headroom for future high power components, and enabling a broader range
of standards-based system designs. There are smaller-sized BTX form factors as well, such as
microBTX and picoBTX.
• Bus:
The bus often refers to a data pathway (sometimes called the power pathway) which
transfers data (or power) between computer components inside a computer system or
between different computers. For example, there is a front side bus to connect the CPU to the
chipset, and there is the PCI bus to connect the chipset to PCI devices.

C
• Cable Set:
One or more interface cables (typically, in relation to a motherboard, includes cables for a
floppy drive, hard drive, and CD-ROM drive; may include cables between an internal
connector header and a bracket or other opening at the front of rear of the system; may
include cables for both IDE/ATAPI and SCSI devices).
• Communication Network Riser (CNR):
This is an expansion slot for communications/network riser similar to AMR but also supporting
LAN connectivity.
• Connector Header:
It is a series of two or more metal pins on the motherboard or other PCB; used to attach a
cable to indicator lights, switches, and/or other devices in the computer
• Chipset:
The term “chipset” (sometimes called core logic) often refers to the two main chips on the
motherboard: the Northbridge and the Southbridge. The Northbridge and Southbridge are
sometimes combined. This is called single-chip design.
• Codec:
In motherboards, the “codec” (Compressor-Decompressor or Coder-Decoder) or “audio
codec” refers to the combined audio AD/DA (analog to digital/digital to analog) converter,
which is a required hardware for most onboard audio solutions.
• Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductors (CMOS):
In motherboards the CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductors) refers to the chips
that contains the basic start-up information for the BIOS (aka BIOS settings).
 • CPU Socket, Socket A/478/754/939/940, LGA775:
The CPU socket or slot is the interface of both the processor and the motherboard. The
processor’s socket type must match the motherboard’s CPU socket to be installed properly.
For example, an LGA775 processor must be installed on an LGA775 motherboard.

D
• Digital Video Interface (DVI):
DVI (Digital Video Interface) is a display/monitor interface standard. There are three types
DVI: DVI-I (digital and analog), DVI-D (digital only) and DVI-A (analog only). Many current
display devices use DVI to receive video signals, such as LCD monitors and projectors. For
compatibility with these display devices, most video cards today equip the DVI port as a
standard output port.
• Double Data Rate (DDR):
DDR (Double Data Rate) SDRAM sends and receives data twice as often as common SDRAM.
This is achieved by transferring data on both the rising edge and the falling edge of a clock
cycle.
• Double Data Rate version 2 (DDR2):
Second generation DDR memory provides greater bandwidth and other new features such as
On-Chip Termination (OCT). 4 bits of data are moved from the memory array to the I/O
buffers (per data line) each core cycle. This can be described as 4-bit prefetch, as opposed to
the single-bit fetch in SDRAM and 2-bit prefetch with DDR SDRAM.
• Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (DDR SDRAM):
The latest generation of SDRAM, which reads and writes data at both the rising and the falling
edge of the system clock and thus doubles the data throughput, hence the name DDR
(Double Data Rate).
• Driver:
It is the software that defines the characteristics of a device for use by another device or
other software
• Dual-Channel:
In the memory system, this describes a motherboard/memory controller with two 64-bit wide
channels. When memory is used in dual channel mode, the bandwidth doubles - for instance,
dual channel DDR400 provides 6400MB/s (or 6.4GB/s) bandwidth as opposed to 3200MB/s
for single channel DDR400.
• Dual In-Line Memory Module (DIMM):
The most common type of memory module is the DIMM (Dual In-Line Memory Module), which
is capable of transferring 64 bits of data per cycle.
• Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM):
The memory cells of DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) memory modules require
constant refreshing because they utilize both transistors and capacitors. Capacitors lose the
values they store as time elapses without refreshing.

E
• Enhanced Integrated Device Electronics (EIDE):
The new generation EIDE (Enhanced-IDE), supports hard drives with over 50 GB of data and
allows for data transfer rates that are over twice as fast as the original IDE.
• Error Checking and Correction (ECC):
ECC can be accomplished through a variety of methods. The most popular method utilized by
memory modules is single bit error correction, which is capable of detecting and correcting
single-bit errors. It will also detect two-bit and some multiple bit errors, but is unable to
correct them.
 • Enhanced Integrated Device Electronics (EIDE):
The standard used for most hard disks and other storage devices. Most boards can support
four EIDE devices, although some can handle eight.
• Enhanced Integrated Device Electronics Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks
(EIDE RAID):
Many new motherboards feature an additional EIDE controller which has built-in functionality
for RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) - this allows several EIDE drives to be
connected together for faster performance or data security.

F
• Form Factor:
In computing, form factor is an industry term for the size, shape and format of computer
motherboards, power supplies, cases, add-in cards and so on. The ATX and BTX form factors
are the most prevalent form factors today.
• Front-Side Bus (FSB):
This is the speed at which the CPU communicates with the system memory, faster the better.

H
• High Definition (HD) Audio:
Developed and released by Intel in 2004, the HD Audio (High Definition Audio) specification
replaced the AC ’97 specification. HD Audio based hardware can deliver up to eight sound
channels at 192 kHz/32-bit quality, which is far better than AC ’97. In addition, HD Audio
prevents the occasional glitches or pops sometimes present in other audio solutions by using
dedicated system bandwidth for critical audio functions.

I
• IDE (Integrated Device Electronics):
It is the most widely-used hard drive interface on the market. The fancy name refers to how
the IDE technology "integrates" the electronics controller into the drive itself. The original IDE
standard could only support hard drives containing up to 540 MB of data. The new standard,
EIDE (Enhanced-IDE), supports hard drives with over 50 GB of data and allows for data
transfer rates that are over twice as fast as the original IDE.
• IEEE 1394:
Also known by the trademarked names of FireWire and i.LINK, IEEE 1394 is a standard for
high-speed transfer of digital information. It is one of the most popular standards for
connecting computers and other digital devices to various components and peripherals, such
as external hard disk drives, scanners and digital video camcorders.
• Input / Output (I/O):
I/O (Input / Output) often refers to the connection or interface between your computer
system and other internal or peripheral hardware devices.
• Industry Standard Architecture (ISA):
ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) is a standard system bus which was introduced as an 8-
bit bus with the original IBM PC in 1981. This was later expanded to 16-bit with the IBM
PC/AT in 1984. ISA slots have been phased out. This is a 16bit expansion slot that's now
almost extinct. Very few new cards are available in this format. Usually 386, 486, and PI
motherboard have these slots.

J
• Jumper:
It is a small block (approx .250" wide x .312" long x .125" thick with two holes running
lengthwise which are connected with a metal structure), or the functionally equivalent
electronic "interconnect"; used to enable, disable, or select operating parameter on a
 motherboard or other PCB by either electrically connecting two pins on the PCB (closed) or
separating them (open - only one pin is covered or the jumper is removed).
• Jumper Header:
it is a two pins or a series of two-pin groups where jumpers are used.

L
• Level 1:
Mirroring and Duplexing: Provides disk mirroring. Level 1 provides twice the read transaction
rate of single disks and the same write transaction rate as single disks.
• Local-Area Network (LAN):
A LAN (Local-Area Network) is a computer network that connects PCs, workstations or other
LANs and networks to enable data and device access and sharing. It is used to cover a small
local area such as a home, office or small group of buildings. Current LANs are most likely to
be Ethernet (wired) or Wi-Fi (wireless) based.

M
• Motherboard:
The principle printed circuit board assembly in a computer; includes core logic (chipset),
interface sockets and/or slots, and input/output (I/O) ports. Printed circuit board (PCB) - a
thin, laminated sheet composed of a series of epoxy resin and copper layers and etched
electronic circuits (signal, ground and power)

N
• Northbridge:
The Northbridge (MCH or Memory Controller Hub in Intel applications) often refers to the chip
that handles communications between the CPU, and the AGP or PCI Express bus and the
Southbridge. The Northbridge often includes the memory controller if the memory controller
is not integrated into the CPU, and certain Northbridge chips feature integrated graphics units
(Intel calls these Northbridge chips the GMCH or Graphics & Memory Controller Hub).

P
• Parallel Port:
It is a port similar to the serial port but with faster bi-directional transfer. Usually used for
printers and scanners. Originally called LPT, the Parallel Port is an interface in a computer
system where data is transferred in parallel. It has been replaced by the USB port, and is
considered to be a legacy port.
• PCI Slot:
The PCI slot (not to be mistaken with the PCI bus) has fallen out of favor in the graphics
domain and has been replaced by the AGP and PCI Express connectors.
• Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI):
The PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus is a computer bus type used to connect
computer peripherals. Most PCI buses in a PC system work at 33MHz with a 32bit bit-width.
This allows it to deliver a bandwidth of 133MB/s. This is a 32-bit expansion slot used for the
majority of expansion cards other than graphics adapters. This is industry standard expansion
slot.
• PCI Express:
PCI Express is the latest computer bus following PCI and AGP. PCI Express can come in
several physical configurations to offer a variety of maximum bandwidths. For example, the
fastest PCI Express x16 configuration is used mainly for graphics card application and
provides up to 8GB/s (bi-directional) bandwidth, or 4 times the bandwidth of AGP 8X. At the
other end of the spectrum, PCI Express x1 is typically used for other types of peripherals and
offers up to 500MB/s (bi-directional) bandwidth.
 • PCI-X:
PCI-X was introduced to address the need for increased bandwidth of PCI devices. PCI-X
specification enables higher operating frequency (66MHz,133MHz, 266MHz and even 533MHz)
with up to 64-bit bit-width of the bus, so it is capable of delivering more than 1066MB/s of
bandwidth. The PCI-X protocol enhancements enable devices to operate at much higher
efficiency, providing more useable bandwidth at any given clock frequency.
• Power ON Self Test (POST):
This is the first operation that is executed when the system is switched on. It checks the
status of the memory, processor and other components.
• Personal System II (PS/2) Ports:
The Personal System/2 or PS/2 was the designation for IBM's second generation of personal
computers. The PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports were introduced with it. PS/2 ports connect
the keyboard and mouse to a computer and are usually color-coded on today’s systems -
purple for keyboards and green for mice. Most desktop motherboards still provide PS/2 ports,
but an increasing number of keyboards and mice are using USB ports.
• Processor Slot/Socket:
This is the slot or socket used to mount the system processor on the motherboard

R
• RAM (Random Access Memory):
Your computers memory; this is a volatile memory. All programs are stored in this memory
when they are running and will be wiped from memory when the computer is powered off.
• Redundant Array of Independent/Inexpensive Disks (RAID):
RAID (Redundant Array of Independent/Inexpensive Disks) is a method of using multiple hard
drives together for data storage. A RAID system with multiple hard drives appears as a single
drive to the operating system. Depending on the RAID level, the benefits provided by RAID is
one or more of the following: better throughput, fault-tolerance or capacity (or something
else) when compared to single hard drive.
○ 1. RAID level 0 (or RAID 0) is known as striping, where data is striped across multiple
hard drives. RAID 0 provides the most advanced throughput and capacity, but offers
no fault-tolerance.
○ 2. RAID level 1 (RAID 1) is known as mirroring, which stores the exact same data
within at least two hard drives, this method shows excellent fault-tolerance and
reliability, but delivers less capacity efficiency.
○ 3. RAID level 0+1 and RAID 1+0 are both striping and mirroring, providing good fault-
tolerance and throughput all at the same time.
○ 4. There are other RAID levels available too, such as RAID level 5 and RAID level 6.
• Registered/Unbuffered Memory:
Almost all system memory in today’s PCs is unbuffered memory. With increasing system
memory, the stability and performance deterioration of memory is inevitable since the
memory controller has to address each memory chip on all modules directly. To solve this
problem, higher density systems use registered memory instead which contains registers as
buffer to temporarily hold data for one clock cycle before it is transferred. This increases the
reliability of high-speed data access to high density memory. Registered memory modules are
typically used only in servers and other mission-critical systems where it is extremely
important that the data is properly handled.

S
• Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA):
SATA (Serial ATA) is an interface standard for connecting hard drives to computer systems,
 and is based on serial signaling technology. The advantages over PATA include longer, thinner
cables for more efficient airflow within a computer chassis, fewer pin conductors for reduced
electromagnetic interference, and lower signal voltage to minimize noise margin. The
bandwidth of SATA is also far improved over today’s PATA - the SATA 1.0 can reach a
maximum of 1.5Gb/s (150MB/s), while the latest SATA 2.5 standard can support up to 3Gb/s
(300MB/s). As a result of so many advantages, the SATA interface is gradually replacing PATA
as the mainstream hard drive interface in the personal storage market.
• Serial Port:
Unlike parallel port, serial port (aka COM) is an interface on a computer system which
transfers information one bit at a time. Most serial ports of personal computer uses RS-232
standard, and RS-232 is still commonly used in industry devices. Serial port has also been
replaced by USB ports (and PS/2 ports). This is also known as COM ports, serial ports are
used to connect peripherals to your PC such as modems, PDA, and digital cameras.
• Slot 1:
This is the CPU connector for early Intel Pentium III processors.
• Small Computer System Interface (SCSI):
SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) is a standard interface for transferring data
between devices and computers. Thanks to its outstanding ability to compartmentalize
diverse operation, SCSI is very suitable for multitasking operating environments. Also, SCSI
enhances critical performance in situations where more than one device is connected. Before
serial signaling technology was applied into the SCSI field, all SCSI interface standards used
parallel technology to transfer data. This is similar to EIDE but catering to more corporate
market. Up to 15 devices can be connected and transfer rates are far superior to EIDE.
• Socket A:
This is the CPU connector for AMD Athlon and Duron processors.
• Socket 370:
This is the CPU connector for Intel Celeron and PIII processors.
• Socket 478:
This is the CPU connector for Intel Pentium 4 processors.
• Sony/Philips Digital Interface (S/PDIF):
S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) is a digital audio interface widely used in consumer
electronics and sound cards. There are several different types of cables and connectors for
S/PDIF:
○ 1. Coaxial or RCA jack, digital audio information is transferred in the form of an
electronic signal.
○ 2. Optical or “TOSLINK”, all information is transferred in optical signal form.
• Southbridge:
The Southbridge (Intel calls it the ICH or Input/Output Controller Hub) provides connections
to I/O devices, such as the PCI bus, USB, PATA, SATA and PCI Express devices. Other
Southbridge functions include interrupt controller, real time clock, power management (ACPI
and APM), SMBus and so on. Southbridge chips are usually connected to Northbridge chips.
• Symmetric MultiProcessing (SMP):
This is a multiprocessor configuration where two or more processors share the memory and
system bus.
• Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM):
SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory) has a synchronous interface. It
waits for a clock pulse before transferring data and is therefore synchronous with the
computer system bus and processor. This greatly improves performance over asynchronous
DRAM. It is a fast system memory that superseded EDO RAM.
U
• UltraDMA66:
This is an EIDE bus mastering standard that allows a burst transfer rate of up to
66Mbytes/sec.
• UltraDMA100:
This is the latest EIDE bus mastering standard that allows burst transfer rates of up to
100Mbytes/sec.
• UltraDMA133:
This is the latest EIDE bus mastering standard that allows burst transfer rates of up to
133Mbytes/sec. If you are buying new hard disk drive than buy only those HDD that supports
UltraDMA 100 or 133.
• Universal Serial Bus (USB):
The USB (Universal Serial Bus) port is a popular I/O interface used for connecting computers
and peripherals or other devices. It is capable of supporting up to 127 daisy-chained
peripheral devices simultaneously. The latest USB 2.0 specification can deliver 480Mbps data
transfer bandwidth. This is the successor to serial and parallel ports. USB offers 12Mbits/sec
transfer and the ability to hot swap. The latest version is USB 2.0

V
• Video Graphics Array (VGA) D-Sub:
This is the interface from your video card or integrated video connector and the system
display monitor. This 15-pin VGA (Video Graphics Array) output port (aka D-sub) finds
widespread usage and is used to connect a computer to CRT monitors and LCD monitors that
support analog input. Digital signals must go through RAMDAC conversion before being sent
through the D-Sub port as it is capable of only analog input.