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The Motherboard is the backbone of the computer. the main circut board controling all the major aspects of the hardware attached to it, including the processor, memory, hard drives, and expansion cards. The bus communicates information between the processor and the other componants attached to the Mobo. For increased speed get a motherboard with a high bus speed (266mhz). The Bios (Basic Input/Output system) is in an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) chip on the Mobo. A reusable memory chip that can be programmed electrically and erased by exposure to ultraviolet light.(Also called Electrically Programmable ROM).

There are different types of motherboards wich accept different processor types

Socket A

Socket 478

Socket 423

Socket 370

Dual Socket A

Dual Socket 370

Which motherboard you buy will dictate which processor you will need.

Central Processing Unit.The CPU controls the operation of a computer.Units within the CPU perform arithmetic and logical operations and decode and execute instructions.In microcomputers, the entire CPU is on a single chip.

A video adapter (also called a display adapter or video board) is an integrated circuit card in a computer or, in some cases, a monitor that provides digital-to-analog conversion, video RAM, and a video controller so that data can be sent to a computer's display. Today, almost all displays and video adapters adhere to a common standard, Video Graphics Array (VGA). VGA describes how data - essentially red, green, blue data streams - is passed between the computer and the display. It also describes the frame refresh rates in hertz. It also specifies the number and width of horizontal lines, which essentially amounts to specifying the resolution of the pixels that are created. VGA supports four different resolution settings and two related image refresh rates.

In addition to VGA, most displays today adhere to one or more standards set by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA). VESA defines how software can determine what capabilities a display has. It also identifies resolutions setting beyond those of VGA. These resolutions include 800 by 600, 1024 by 768, 1280 by 1024, and 1600 by 1200 pixels.

Hard Drive - The primary computer storage device. Like tape, it is magnetically recorded and can be re-recorded over and over. Disks are rotating platters with a mechanical arm that moves a read/write head between the outer and inner edges of the platter's surface. It can take as long as one second to find a location on a floppy disk to as little as a couple of milliseconds on a fast hard disk. The disk surface is divided into concentric tracks (circles within circles). The thinner the tracks, the more storage. The data bits are recorded as tiny magnetic spots on the tracks. The tinier the spot, the more bits per inch and the greater the storage. Most disks hold the same number of bits on each track, even though the outer tracks are physically longer than the inner ones. Some disks pack the bits as tightly as possible within each track.
Tracks are further divided into sectors, which hold the least amount of data that can be read or written at one time

In a computer, the chassis houses the main electronic components, including the motherboard (with places to insert or replace microchips for the main and possibly specialized processors and random access memory (RAM) and places for adding optional adapters (for example, for audio or video capabilities). Typically, room is provided for a hard disk drive, CD-ROM drive and power supply.