
Main components of a motherboard.
The image shows an ASUS motherboard. At the top on the right-hand side are the interfaces and connectors that stick out of the case at the back of an assembled computer. This board is designed for AMD Athlon and Duron processors. Socket A, as it's called, is labeled "CPU socket" in the picture. The expansion slots are to its left. The AGP slot is used exclusively for the graphics card. The PCI slots will hold network cards, ISDN, sound or video-editing boards. At the bottom left are the panel connectors for the on/ off button, the hard drive LED, the reset switch, and the operating LED. Take time to familiarize yourself with where they're located. By the way, LEDs that don't light up can generally be fixed by simply turning the plug around. The two IDE connectors (40-pin) are below in the middle, while the connector for the floppy drive (34-pin FDD connector) is in the left side of the image. We'll describe the cables and drive configurations on the next page.
Onboard Components

ATX connector panel
Keyboard, mouse, two serial connectors, a parallel port and two USB ports are on the ATX port panel. Some motherboards, like the one here, feature optional sound and joystick jacks. There are also models that have a monitor connection. That saves a slot and some money, but you'll have to deactivate the onboard chip if you plan to replace these cheap onboard modules with a higher-quality expansion card. It's generally impossible to run both chips at the same time. Once again, it can either be done in BIOS or with a jumper. Check your handbook to find out which method to use.
- Building A PC System
- Standard Components Of A PC System
- Standard Components Of A PC System, Continued
- Case And Power Supply
- Cases: More Questions For The Salesman
- This And That: Screws, Spacers & Jumpers
- Motherboard Overview
- Basic Motherboard Configuration
- Setting The Clock Speed
- Connecting The Floppy Drives
- Connecting Hard Drives And CD-ROM/DVD
- SCSI Drives - The Exception
- Safety Notice: The Destructive Potential Of Electrostatic
Create a new thread in the Reviews comments forum about this subject
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1 HideAnonymous , September 20, 2008 7:55 PMthanks,i hope my mum approves of my £700+ setup that i want lol
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1 HideMarco925 , May 6, 2010 3:44 PMSo Different compared to today's build it yourself article
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0 HideAnonymous , December 13, 2010 5:36 PMy is this so hard
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0 HideAnonymous , December 13, 2010 5:38 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0 HideAnonymous , December 13, 2010 5:43 PMThis is is so similar compared to today's build it yourself article
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0 HideAnonymous , March 31, 2011 7:45 AMThis is a pretty in depth guide on how to build a computer. I found How to Build a Computer pretty useful too.
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0 HideAnonymous , March 31, 2011 7:46 AMHow to Build a Computer is a pretty good guide too.
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0 HideAnonymous , August 11, 2011 12:57 AMMy son and his friend bought the components for a gaming pc. They had XP to put on the computer but it wont load. It has Linux on it. I don't know much about this sort of thing but could it be bc the XP is already been loaded on another computer? If I can find one of our op systems software that has an extra load on it will it load on the gaming pc with no problems? Just want to be sure in case I have to drop the money for the operating system.
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0 Hidejoeman99 , January 30, 2012 7:05 AMI always use this manual when building PCs, I never touch or buy any computer without it http://howtofixstuff.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-to-build-computer.html