Motherboard

The motherboard is the backbone of the computer: every component either plugs into it or communicates through it. Grade 11 looks deeper at its parts and how they cooperate.

• CPU socket, chipset, RAM slots, storage connectors (SATA/M.2), expansion slots (PCIe) and I/O ports.
• The chipset controls how data flows between CPU, memory and peripherals.
• Buses: the address bus says WHERE, the data bus carries WHAT, the control bus says WHEN/HOW.
• Form factors (ATX, micro-ATX) determine size and expansion options.
• Firmware (UEFI/BIOS) configures hardware and boots the OS.

• Chipset — support chips that manage communication on the board.
• M.2 — a compact slot used for very fast SSDs.