Week 2 Posting - Genesis Perez

Getting to Know Their Mother  

There are currently a vast number of motherboards on the market, whether it is a AT, BTX, LPX and ATX motherboard. A rule of thumb is to buy and determine a CPU before purchasing a motherboard. The higher the tier, the more features it contains. On top of that, it gets more expensive with each additional and optional feature. After reading our CompTIA A+ certification book and this week’s required tutorial video, I gained an understanding of the basics and complexity that runs in a motherboard. Some motherboards contain features that the user does not need but is a bonus to increase user experience and computer performance. Those expenses can be used elsewhere, for example, a GPU, RAM, or video card upgrade.  

Most motherboards will have sockets, RAM slots, I/O slots, and PCI express slots. Regarding the CPU socket, only CPUs that match the size of the socket are going to fit in it. It is crucial to check the specs of the motherboard and size of the socket before purchasing a CPU. For example, a 2011-3 socket can only work with a 2011-3 socket size CPU. Each motherboard varies in RAM slots, whether they have 4, 6, or 8 slots. Each channel consists of 2 RAM slots. When it comes to the PCI express slots, it stores more of its crucial components such as graphics cards, SSDs, HDDs, etc. Motherboards have USB ports for connecting input and output devices. Lastly, SATA, which stands for serial advanced technology attachment, are slowly becoming obsolete since they are maxing out with transferring data at 6 Gbits/s. Optical drives such as CD drives, DVD drives and Blu-ray Disc drives can be connected through the SATA ports. For newer motherboards, SATA express ports are being featured as the new standard build.