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The
primary purpose of your computer is to process data,
called bytes, and then transfer this information to
its intended destination, such as your monitor, hard
drive, or printer. This processing and transferring of
information could not happen successfully without it
being managed and coordinated. This coordination is
the primary job of
The
Motherboard
The
motherboard, or ‘main board’ as it is also called,
is made from layers of a plastic substance called PCB,
and is coated with tiny strips of alloy metal
containing a percentage of gold. These strips enable
the electricity carrying data to be sent to all the
computer components. As its name suggests, the
motherboard mothers or looks after each component,
which are either directly plugged into the motherboard
or attached to it via cables. Electricity is the
carrier for PC data, and each component relies on the
motherboard to regulate its information.
Your
computer’s motherboard is designed specifically for
the components you have inside your computer. There
are many different types of configurations available
among computers, and therefore there are different
types of motherboards to suit, all with individual
capabilities. For example, if you have an Intel brand
processor, then you must have a motherboard capable of
supporting Intel processors. If you have an AMD brand
processor, you must have a motherboard capable of
supporting AMD processors. These different
technologies do not mix, and so you must check the
specifications of your particular motherboard when
considering an upgrade.
Another
issue with motherboards today is that of built-ins.
Built-ins refer to the practice by motherboard
manufacturers of building into the motherboard many
components previously used as plug-ins. The main
built-in thus changed by manufacturers and affecting
many of our customers, is the video card. To save
costs, the video card is now a chip molded into many
motherboards. This has several drawbacks. The main one
is that the built-in video card does not have the 3D
graphics accelerator function required by many games.
This presents the PC owner with no option but to
upgrade their video card, if they want to play these
games.
As
with all computer components, a motherboard must be
reliable and of a good quality. With these cold
mornings, as with anything electrical, if there is a
fault in the motherboard, it will show up when you go
to start your computer. All computers emit a short
beep shortly after starting, as a sign the internal
testing was completed successfully. This test checks
the major parts of the motherboard, and if successful
moves on to check the memory, processor, and video
card. If you do not hear this short beep, it is quite
likely your motherboard is at fault, and you should
call your computer technician.
For any of your PC
questions or problems, you are welcome to call us on
0419 790 071, or email us at info@mcsyarraman.com.au.
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