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Typically, the motherboard contains slots for the processor, BIOS, ROM chip, CMOS setup, mass storage
                 interfaces, serial and parallel ports, expansion slots and all the controllers required for standard peripheral
                 devices like monitor, keyboard, disc drives, etc. The chips that are attached to the motherboard are known as
                 the ‘Motherboard Chipset’.
                 SMPS (Switch Mode Power Supply)

                 SMPS  is  an electric regulator component that receives  electricity from
                 the main power  supply and then supplies appropriate power  to the other
                 components of the  computer.  It takes the  required  amount  of electricity
                 from mains or UPS and converts the AC current into DC current with the required
                 voltage.

                 It also regulates the voltage to eliminate spikes and surges inside the computer. It supplies power (i.e., +3V
                 to +5V) to different devices inside the computer.

                                              Processor

                                              It is the most important component of a computer system. It does all calculations
                                              and comparisons rapidly. Its speed is measured in higher units of hertz (Hz) i.e.,
                                              9 MHz. The processor is often referred to as the CPU.
                                              Some versions of processors are Pentium series, Dual Core, Core 2 Duo, Athlon,
                                              IBM Cyrix, Core-i3, Core-i5, Core-i7, AMD Ex Series, etc.
                 Ports

                 Ports are sockets that are used to connect external devices. Generally, a desktop computer’s motherboard
                 consists of USB ports, serial port, parallel port, audio port, network port, modem port, monitor port, etc.

                 Cards
                 Cards are the devices that enable the user to configure or customize a computer to perform specific tasks or
                 to enhance its performance. For example A TV tuner card enables the user to watch television/cable TV on a
                 computer. Such cards are attached to the motherboard’s PCI (Peripherals Connecting Interface) slots.

                   EXPANSION CARD

                 Expansion  boards or cards are  connected to  the  sockets of the  motherboard called expansion slots. The
                 expansion slot is a socket circuit that allows us to attach devices such as modems, sound cards, graphics
                 cards, network interface cards, etc. to the computer in order to expand its working capability & performance.
                 Expansion slots differ primarily in the speed at which they transfer information between the processor and the
                 expansion board. There are three types of expansion slots that are found in modern computers:
                   PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect)

                   ISA (Industry Standard Architecture)
                   AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port)

                 Kinds of Expansion Cards

                 Network Interface Card (NIC): A network interface card is an expansion board that enables the exchange of
                 data between the computer and a network.  ICs are designed to operate in a specific type of network, such
                 as Ethernet or Token Ring. Modern NICs are manufactured to be integrated into PCI expansion slots.



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