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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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