Motherboard and CPU components

Motherboard and CPU components

1. Power Connections

   • Main - 24 pins
   • CPU power - 4/8 pin
   • CPU fan - 3 or 4 pins
   • Legacy ATA - ATX P4 or 4-pin
   • SATA power
     • 15 pins
     • 3.3 V per pin
   • PCIe - 6/8 pin

2. Fan connectors

   • 3-pin Molex KK
     • connect directly to motherboard
   • 4-pin Molex KK
     • extra pin to control speed
   • 4-pin Molex
     • connect directly to power supply

3. Front and Top Panel Connectors

   • USB
     • directly to motherboard
     • 1 pin missing from 2nd row on end
   • Front panel header
     • power switch
     • Power LED
     • Reset Switch
     • Hard Drive LED
     • Speaker
   • Audio Header
     • Connect system audio cable to motherboard

4. CPU Socket Types

   • AM3+/AM3b
     • more efficient
     • less power
   • FM1
     • AMD's next gen
       • Fusion and Athlon 2 processors
   • FM2
     • with Athlon X2 and X4 processors
     • 904 pins
   • AM3
     • replace AM2+
     • not compatible with AM2 or AM2+
     • 941 pins
   • FM2+
     • not compatible with FM2
     • 906 pins

5. 32-bit vs 64-bit

   • 32-bit
     • 4GB physical memory
   • 64-bit
     • 16TB physical memory
     • extra use of RAM
     • decrease time spent using hard disk

6. x86 and x64

   • x86
     • most common
     • supports 32 bit/ might support 64-bit

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