ACRONYMS

CPU CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT

RAM RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY
ROM READ ONLY MEMORY

PCI PERIPHERAL COMPONENT INTERCONNECT

SATA SERIAL ADVANCE TECHNOLY ATTACHMENT
ICH INPUT OUTPUT CONTROLLER HUB
MCH MEMORY CONTROLLER HUB
BIOS BASIC INPUT OUTPUT SYSTEM
AGP ACCELERATED GRAPHICS PORT
CMOS COMPLEMENTARY METAL OXIDE SEMI-CONDUCTOR
 CPU (Central Processing Unit) Socket
• A CPU socket or CPU slot is a
mechanical component(s) that
provides mechanical and electrical
connections between a
microprocessor and a printed circuit
board (PCB). This allows the CPU to be
placed and replaced without soldering.
Northbridge
• Responsible for
communications between
the CPU interface, AGP,
and the RAM slots.
• Also known as (MCH).
• Memory Controller Hub
Chipset that allows the
CPU to communicate with
the RAM and graphics
card.
Southbridge
• Also known as the (ICH).
Input/output Controller Hub
• Chipset that allows the CPU to
communicate with PCI slots,
PCI Express x 1 slots
(expansion cards), SATA
connectors (hard drives,
optical drives), USB ports (USB
devices), Ethernet ports and
on-board audio.
RAM (Random Access Memory) slots
• Allows computer memory (RAM) to
be inserted into the computer.
Power Socket
•This is where the power
supply’s main connector gets
attached, providing power to
the motherboard and all the
other components.
IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) Socket
•used to provide
connectivity for the
storage devices and
optical drives.
PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Slots
•provide a medium to
expand the
capabilities of the PC,
by adding like
modems cards, audio
cards, Ethernet cards.
AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) Slots
•advanced port designed for Video
cards and 3D accelerators.
BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)
•Contains the basic code
needed to take your
computer through the boot
process, up to the point
where the operating system
takes over.
CMOS (Complimentary Metal Oxide
Semiconductor) Battery
• keep the BIOS powered when the
computer is unplugged.
• Supplies power to store BIOS
settings and keep the real-time clock
running.
• The CMOS battery found on most
motherboards is the CR2032 lithium
coin cell.