Computer Motherboard Block Diagram, Components, Architecture

A computer motherboard is a very important part of any computer or laptop. Not only computers even mobile phones, printers, or any programming or computing electronic device contains a motherboard. Anyway in this article, we are going to learn about the computer motherboard. The motherboard is a large Printed Circuit Board(PCB) where all the important electronic components are placed. All the internal and external part of the computer is connected to the motherboard. The motherboard consists of so many components, slots, ports, devices, etc. As the motherboard of a computer has so many components, it is divided or named with some words to easily identify and understand the different parts of the motherboard.

Computer Motherboard Block Diagram

Here, you can see the block diagram of Motherboard.

As you can see in the above block diagram, the Northbridge chipset is connected to memory, graphics card, and processor whereas the Southbridge chipset is connected to I/O controllers, External Ports, etc. The above block diagram properly shows all the Buses, Clock Generators, Slots, etc.

Motherboard Components and Their Function

The main important parts of components of the motherboard are,

1. CPU

CPU stands for Central Processing Unit. It is the heart of the motherboard or the whole computer. It performs arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication, and logical operations such as rotation, moves, and many others. The CPU does not communicate directly with the real world. There are so many peripheral and supporting devices connected to the input and output of the CPU.

2. Clock Generator

It is basically a pulse signal generation circuit. It generates a pulse signal and provides it to all the important devices of the motherboard such as the processor, RAM, and other devices. It makes synchronization between all the devices for communication, data transferring, etc. The speed of the clock generation is measured by Herth(Hz), Megahertz(MHz), or GigaHertz(GHz). All the components connected to the same pulse generator will work simultaneously with the same frequency.

3. Bus

Bus or Busbar is a pathway for data or signal transmission between different components of the motherboard. It is built with so many electrical conductors or conducting paths.

4. Chipset

It is built with different ICs, and devices that manage the data transmission between the processor and different components of the motherboard. Generally, the northbridge and southbridge chipset together are called the chipset.

5. Northbridge and SouthBridge

The northbridge and southbridge are the main two components of the chipset. The northbridge controls the memory units such as RAM, Processor, and the Accelerated Graphics Port(AGP). It is the controlling hub for the memory unit.

On the other hand, the southbridge controls all the Input/Output controls such as USB, IDE, SATA, Ethernet, Audio Codec, and other ports.

6. Slots

Slots are the arrangement for placing or interfacing different devices such as audio cards, RAM, graphics cards, network cards, modems, etc. Here, in the computer motherboard, you will see different types of slots such as PCI(Peripheral Component Interconnect) Slots, Graphic Card Slots, Memory Card Slots, etc. These slots help to connect and disconnect devices very easily.

7. RAM and ROM

RAM stands for Random Access Memory and ROM Stands for Read-Only Memory. RAM is a memory that is used during the program execution by the CPU. It is a temporary memory. CPU stores data temporarily in this RAM. On the other hand, ROM is a permanent memory. Once the data is stored in the ROM, it cannot be deleted. ROM is used to store the main program instructions, BIOS software, etc.

Read Also: 

• Practical Examples of Input and Output Devices and Their Function
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• Modem VS Router. The Actual Difference Explained
• What is Cache Memory? Explained in Easy Way
• Difference between Microprocessor and Microcontroller and CPU

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