The southbridge is one of the two chips in the core logic chipset on a personal computer (PC)

motherboard, the other being the northbridge. The southbridge typically implements the slower
capabilities of the motherboard in a northbridge/southbridge chipset computer architecture. In
systems with Intel chipsets, the southbridge is named I/O Controller Hub (ICH), while AMD has
named its southbridge Fusion Controller Hub (FCH) since the introduction of its Fusion APUs.
The southbridge can usually be distinguished from the northbridge by not being directly
connected to the CPU. Rather, the northbridge ties the southbridge to the CPU. Through the use
of controller integrated channel circuitry, the northbridge can directly link signals from the I/O
units to the CPU for data control and access.

Cmos battery
CMOS batteries power code that runs before the operating system is
loaded in a computer. Common tasks completed before your operating system
loads are activating the keyboard, loading the system drives and setting the system
clock. Because the system clock is controlled by a CMOS battery, one of the most
common methods of identifying CMOS battery problem is noticing that your
computer has a problem maintaining the correct time

Full Answer
Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor batteries power basic input-output system settings.
BIOS settings control things such as loading your operating system, managing system memory
and operating the keyboard.
Every action that is completed by the computer before your operating system loads is
accomplished by the BIOS. Some functions controlled by the BIOS include verifying that all the
computer hardware is working properly, managing communications between the computer and
its peripherals, such as the printer and monitor, and making sure the system clock and computer
drives are working properly.
Most CMOS batteries are made out of lithium. Lithium batteries, also called CR2032 cell
batteries, are similar to the types of batteries that are found in watches. To replace a CMOS
battery, turn off and unplug the computer, remove any cables, and open the computer case. The
CMOS battery is on the computers motherboard. Follow the computer manufacturer's directions
for removing the battery.

Other than problems maintaining the correct time, other signs of CMOS battery problems are
error messages that appear computer start-up. Common errors include CMOS checksum errors,
CMOS battery failure errors and CMOS read error messages.

PCI
Short for Peripheral Component Interconnect, PCI was introduced by Intel in 1992. The PCI
bus came in both 32-bit (133MBps) and 64-bit versions and was used to attach hardware to a
computer. Although commonly used in computers from the late 1990s to the early 2000s, PCI
has since been replaced with PCI Express.
Revisions came in 1993 to version 2.0, and in 1995 to PCI 2.1, as an expansion to the ISA bus.
Unlike ISA and other earlier expansion cards, PCI follows the PnP specification and therefore
did not require any jumpers or dip switches. The picture below shows an example of what PCI
slots look like on a motherboard. As you can see, there are three PCI slots: PCI4, PCI5, and
PCI6.

BIOS
1. Short for Basic Input/Output System, the BIOS (pronounced bye-oss) is a ROM chip located
on all motherboards that allows you to access and set up your computer system at the most basic
level. In the picture below, is an example of what a BIOS chip may look like on your computer
motherboard. In this example, this is a picture of an early AMIBIOS, a type of BIOS
manufactured by the AMI. Another good example of a BIOS manufacturer is Phoenix.

The BIOS includes instructions on how to load basic computer hardware and includes a test
referred to as a POST (Power On Self Test) that helps verify the computer meets requirements to
boot up properly. If the computer does not pass the POST, you will receive a combination of
beeps indicating what is malfunctioning within the computer.

A computer fan is any fan inside, or attached to, a computer case used for active
cooling, and may refer to fans that draw cooler air into the case from the outside,
expel warm air from inside, or move air across a heat sink to cool a particular
component. Generally these are found in axial and sometimes centrifugal forms.
The former is sometimes called a "muffin" fan, while the latter may be called a
"biscuit blower" in some product literature.

IDE
1. Short for Integrated Drive Electronics or IBM Disc Electronics, IDE is more commonly
known as ATA or Parallel ATA (PATA). It is a standard interface for IBM compatible hard
drives and CD or DVD drives. IDE is different than SCSI and Enhanced Small Device Interface
(ESDI) because its controllers are on each drive, meaning the drive can connect directly to the
motherboard or controller. IDE and its updated successor, Enhanced IDE (EIDE), are common
drive interfaces found in IBM compatible computers. Below is a picture of the IDE connector on

the back of a hard drive, a picture of what an IDE cable looks like, and the IDE channels it
connects to on the motherboard.

SATA

Short for SerialATA, SATA 1.0 was first released in August 2001
and is a replacement for the Parallel ATA interface used in IBM compatible computers.
SerialATA is capable of delivering 1.5 Gbps (1500 MBps) of performance to each drive within a
disk array. It has the benefit of being backwards-compatible with ATA and ATAPI devices, and
offers a thin, small cable solution, as seen in the photo on the right. This cable helps make a
much easier cable routing and offers better airflow in the computer when compared to the earlier
ribbon cables used with ATA drives.

SATA also supports external drives through External SATA more

commonly known as eSATA. eSATA offers many more advantages when compared to other
solutions. For example, it is hot-swappable, supports faster transfer speeds with no bottleneck
issues like USB and FireWire, and supports disk drive technologies such as S.M.A.R.T..
However, eSATA does have some disadvantages such as not distributing power through the cable
like USB, which means drives require an external power source. The eSATA cable also supports
a maximum length of up to 2m. Because of these disadvantages don't plan on eSATA becoming
the only external solution for computers.

Southbridge
The southbridge is an IC on the motherboard responsible for the hard drive controller, I/O
controller and integrated hardware. Integrated hardware can include the sound card and video
card if on the motherboard, USB, PCI, ISA, IDE, BIOS, and Ethernet.
The southbridge gets its name for commonly being South of the PCI bus. Below is a graphic
illustration of the ASUS P5AD2-E motherboard and some basic explanations of each of the
major portions of the motherboard including the southbridge. As shown in the picture below, it is
common for the northbridge and southbridge to have a heat sink; in addition, the northbridge is
usually slightly larger than the southbridge.

Although the southbridge handles most of the I/O devices, less prominent input/output devices,
such as a serial port, keyboard, and non-USB mouse are handled by the super input/output (SIO).