What is a Motherboard?
A motherboard is also known as a main board, system board and logic board. A common abbreviation is ‘mobo’. They can be found in a variety of electrical devices, ranging from a TV to a computer. Generally, they will be referred to as a motherboard or a main board when associated with a complex device such as a computer, which is what we shall look at. Put simply, it is the central circuit board of your computer. All other components and peripherals plug into it, and the job of the motherboard is to relay information between them all. Despite the fact that a better motherboard will not add to the speed of your PC, it is none-the-less important to have one that is both stable and reliable, as its role is vital. A motherboard houses the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System), which is the simple software run by a computer when initially turned on. Other components attach directly to it, such as the memory, CPU (Central Processing Unit), graphics card, sound card, hard-drive, disk drives, along
The motherboard in any computer is the main circuit board inside the box. Whether you own a laptop or a desktop computer, the motherboard is essential to the function of the computer. The motherboard is a printed circuit board also known as a PCB. The PCB with all the components attached is the PCBA or PCB assembly. The typical components of a circuit board are present with capacitors, diodes and resistors. These components connect the electrical circuit within the board and each component has a specific function within the circuit. The capacitors store an electrical charge and can keep constant power present despite power surges and sudden drops in power. The diodes are silicon chips that allow current to only pass through the circuit in a single direction. The resistors do just what they sound like in providing a specified amount of resistance to the electrical current.
This board sits inside of your computer case, it is what many of your other computer devices plug into. It is called “main” or “mother” board because most of your computer’s devices (CPU, Memory Chips, Video Card and Modem) plug directly into it. Devices such as the ones mentioned above plug directly unto the motherboard via expansion slots. All signals used by the computer are processed by the motherboard. Memory chips, the central processor, expansion boards and cables to disk drives all attach to the motherboard.
