This is an extended definition of a computer's motheboard for beginners.

Computers are fine tools for work and a great sources of fun. Several parts make them work, but none are as important their motherboards which are, in essence, their backbones. The integrated circuit or silicon chip a motherboard is made of is long, flat, and green. Specifically, the motherboard is computer component which contains the CPU, RAM, and several slots that connect to every other part of the computer.

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is a chip on the motherboard which processes information or thinks for the computer. It is also the most important factor determining computing speed. The common socket seven style is a thin, flat, black square, about 2 square inches across, with close to a hundred tiny pins beneath it that connect it to the motherboard. Another common style is the Pentium II which consists of two processors in a case that stands up about the length of a pen and a couple inches tall.

A component that connects to the motherboard next to the CPU is the Random Access Memory (RAM). It holds currently used information like a desktop might hold files someone is working on. Most RAM is in the form of flat, green silicon boards about two and a half inches long and half an inch high. Each module has several small, black, rectangular chips, each attached by sixteen silver legs. These small RAM chips hold the actual data. Two common types are Dual Inline Memory Modules (DIMMS) which have RAM chips on each side and Single Inline Memory Modules (SIMMS) which have RAM chips on only one side.

All around both the RAM and CPU, the motherboard most importantly contains connectors called ports, expansion slots, and power supply slots. These connectors allow communication between components. First, ports let keyboards, mice, printers, and other "peripherals" connect from outside the computer’s case. Second, expansion slots inside on the motherboard let users add components on silicon chips (cards) like modems for the Internet and sound cards. Finally, power supply slots run from the computer’s internal energy converter through hundreds of tiny lines inside the motherboard. This way, vital energy is provided for other parts of the computer. In other words, the motherboard connects to everything.

This green board is one complex and wonderful invention. It cultivates the brain, the memory, and even every other part makes a computer whole. The term "Motherboard," therefore, fits, since without it a computer would be without life.

Version 4
Brandon Layne 2000

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