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The Motherboard
Welcome to the motherboard (aka mainboard or mobo).
You can have the best CPU, RAM, and graphics card in the world, but without a quality motherboard at the core of your system you won’t be getting anywhere fast.
The motherboard is the central hub of your computer. It is where processor, video card, hard drive, optical drives and memory all connect together. This is going to be one of the longest and most difficult pages to read because it’s a lot of technological jargon. Motherboards come in various form factors just like computer cases. A Mid ATX motherboard is designed to fit into a Mid Tower case. A Mini ATX motherboard is designed for a Mini ATX case and so on. You can always fit a smaller board into a larger case. This is the easy part to understand. Let’s get into the technological junk you will hopefully be able to understand.
CPU Compatability
When purchasing a motherboard you must pick a board that is designed for either an AMD processor or an Intel processor. AMD and Intel are the largest manufactures of commercial desktop processors. These processors are identified by their “socket.” Think of it as an electrical socket, it allows you to plug in a processor with out soldering it. Think of it like this… A european (AMD) plug wont fit in a american (Intel) outlet. Current AMD processors fit into the AM3+ Socket and Intel fits in the LGA 775, LGA 1155, LGA 1156, LGA 1366, LGA 2011. Definately keep an eye on your Intel selections!
You should know what type of system you are going to build. When it comes to a price to performance ratio an AMD backed system is the way to go. When you want raw power (at a high price of course) you want to go with Intel.
RAM Compatability (memory)
RAM is relatively easy to understand. Currently, the standard for system memory is DDR3. It is a 240pin device that stores all volatile (temporary) data. This data does not save when it loses power. What you need to look out for; however, is the frequency (speed) of the memory. A motherboard may only be able to accept memory that is 1866mhz or slower. If you insert faster memory it will not work or will be scaled down to an acceptable frequency. The “product description” of the motherboard will tell you how fast of memory it can accept.
Video Card Compatibility
The video card is also easy to understand now since there is only one standard. Before, AGP was the standard socket for video cards. When everything changed over from AGP to PCI-E there was a lot of confusion. Now, the standard socket is PCI-Express x16. All video cards now are produced using this format. Therefore, regardless of system type (AMD or Intel) they will both take a PCI-E x16 video card.
On-board Audio VS Dedicated Sound Card
Most motherboards will come with built-in audio so getting a dedicated sound card is completely optional. I would recommend investing in a sound card if you want the very best experience from your games, or if you want to take full advantage of high quality speakers or headphones. For music producers and those doing video and audio editing it’s a different story, and a sound card is necessary as the on-board sound provided by typical motherboards won’t cut it.
All sound cards will fit into your PCI slots.
Power Connector Compatibility
Current motherboards now require a 24 pin or (20+4 pin) connector. Previously motherboards only required a 20 pin connector, but with the increasing power consumption of systems more power was needed. Almost all power supplies come with a 24pin or a 20+4 pin connector.
SATA Conenctors
SATA is the standard connector used in motherboards to connect Hard-Drives and Optical Devices to the motherboard. Again, almost all motherboards use SATA.
Okay, hopefully by now you picked your case.
Now you need to decide if your going AMD or Intel (price/performance or raw power).
Once you know your case and processor pick you can pick a few motherboards to compare how much memory they can take and figure out what kind of AMD or Intel processor to buy.
SAMPLE BUILD:
Case: $68.99
Fans: $9.99
Motherboard: $138.99
Total: $217.97
I decided to go with an AMD based system. I am on a budget and I am going with a price/performance system. The most recent CPU’s require a socket AM3+ compatible board. This motherboard can accommodate up to 32GB of DDR3 1600mhz. It also has 2 slots for 2 PCI-E x16 video cards.
