Skills

BTEC Unit 2 – Computer Systems
Part 1 of 3 -Understand the hardware components of computer systems

Motherboard
The main circuit board, the motherboard provides the base to which a number of other hardware devices are connected. Devices that connect to a motherboard include:
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The processor (CPU) Permanent memory (Hard disk) Temporary memory (RAM) Expansion cards (Video, Network or sound).

The Motherboard have “Buses”, these are used for communication between devices controlled by the “Chipset”. The bus is a set of parallel wires which data can flow. The System bus is made up of a number of such communications channels that connect the processor and memory and input and out devices together.

Motherboards
Motherboards are designed for a specific make and small model range of processors. Socket type defines processor support. Motherboards can be reviewed by their:
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expansion size Form Factor AT, ATX, Micro ATX Processor type and processor support

Expansion Buses
ISA (black /two part slots) (Obsolete) PCI Short (3inches) usually white Pentium processor and higher. (Becoming obsolete) AGP (accelerated graphics port) designed for direct connection between video and computer memory. (Becoming obsolete) PCIe (PCI express) black, replacement for AGP and PCI.

Motherboard Task
The motherboard task can be found in the following location: Stud share\BTEC\Level3\Unit2\2010 Spec\Lesson 2\Motherboard Task

Microprocessor (CPU)
Programmable integrated circuit Millions of transistors (RI video) Silicon chip embedded on a ceramic plate Size of an individual transistor measured in nanometres (nm), currently 65 or 45 nm Smaller sizes allow lower voltages, higher speeds, less heat and more function, such as on die cache and multiple CPUs.

CPU specifications
• Processor Number
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E8500 Intel 6 MB L2 Cache Yes 1333 MHz

• Manufacturer
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• Cache Memory
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• Type
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• 64-bit Computing
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• Bus Speed
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Clock Speed 3.16 GHz • Compatible Processor Socket LGA775...