What is a

Motherboard? Definition and How

Motherboards Work
What are the Different
Motherboard Form Factors?

The Difference Between USB 2.0

and 3.0

What is Mother Board

Function of MotherBoard

Function of Motherboard

BIOS OF MOTHERBOARD

Other than being the connection headquarters, a motherboard is

also home to the BIOS (Basic Input/output System), making it the
control center of your computer as well.

The motherboard BIOS performs hardware checks whenever your

computer powers on and allows you to access system settings
such as:

view hardware information and status

change your computer's boot-up device (e.g. hard drive, disc drive,
flash drive etc.)

manage power settings and savings

overclock or under clock the CPU and RAM

What are the Different

Motherboard Form Factors?

Motherboard Form Factor Comparison

MicroATX
ATX
Chart Mini-ITX
In addition to the
Maximum Size

17 x 17 cm
6.7 x 6.7 in

24.4 x 24.4 cm
9.6 x 9.6 in

30.5 x 24.4 cm
12 x 9.6 in

RAM Slots

2 to 4

2 to 8

RAM Type

DIMM, SODIMM

DIMM

DIMM

Expansion Slots

2 to 4

4 to 7

Graphics Cards

0 to 1

1 to 3

1 to 4

SATA ports

2 to 6

4 to 8

4 to 12

above difference, you

will often find that the
cheapest
motherboards are in
MicroATX form. This
makes sense since
Mini-ITX boards require
more refined
manufacturing while
ATX boards have more
components.
That being said, highend motherboards
come in all three form
factors including
MicroATX ones.

What do These Motherboards

Have in Common?

1. They can support the same CPU

As long as they are of the same generation, all three form

factors will have the same CPU socket. This is a big deal, since it
means that a Mini-ITX motherboard is able to pack as much as
computing punch as its full-sized ATX cousin (provided you're
not overclocking or going for top end CPUs like Intel-E).

They run the same graphics

IF the motherboard has a PCI-Express x 16 slot AND the
cards
graphics card is able to fit into the computer case.

However, high-end graphics cards tend to be massive so

most Mini-ITX cases (and some MicroATX ones) won't
have enough space to accommodate these behemoths.
For those of you relying on integrated graphics, the good
news is that motherboard size no longer affects graphics
performance ever since Intel and AMD fused their
graphics processing unit with the CPU (instead of leaving
it on the motherboard).

3. Their back panel ports are

The space taken up by back panel ports and
similar
connectors (see image below) on a motherboard is
about the same regardless of its size. Rather, the
number and type of back panel ports on a
motherboard are influenced by its price (expensive
board = more and better ports).

USB 2.0 and 3.0

Since its release in 2000, USB 2.0 has made its way
in almost every device imaginable... computers,
laptops, tablets, phones, cameras, storage devices,
televisions and even bitcoin miners. While it has
enjoyed tremendous popularity for over a decade, its
successor USB 3.0 has been gaining rapid adoption
among newer devices.

USB 2.0 vs 3.0: Speed

Difference

On paper, USB 2.0 is capable of transfer speeds

of up to 480 Mbps while USB 3.0 caps out at
5,000 Mbps. This would suggest that USB 3.0 is
at least 10 times than USB 2.0, but we all know
these figures are meaningless unless it's backed

Real World Test

To verify this, we performed our own USB 3.0 vs 2.0 speed test.
We connected a Toshiba Canvio USB 3.0 external hard drive to an
idle desktop computer and measured its transfer speed with
CrystalDiskMark. We first connected it to an USB 2.0 port and
recorded its speed, then repeated the process with a USB 3.0
port. Here are our speed test results:
USB 2.0

USB 3.0

Speed
Difference

Read
Speed

34.82 MB/s

75.19 MB/s + 218%

Write
Speed

30.68 MB/s

74.48 MB/s + 243%

Our results indicate that USB 3.0 is about 2.5 times faster,
which tallies with findings of the other real world tests.

USB 2.0 vs 3.0: Charging and

A USB 2.0 port is able to deliver 0.5 A of power while USB 3.0 is
Power
able to output 0.9 A. This means two things: USB 3.0 devices are
able to charge faster and USB 3.0 ports can support more powerhungry devices.

Samsung's Galaxy Note 3 is the first phone in the world with a USB
3.0 port, making it ideal for comparing USB 2.0 and USB 3.0
charging speeds.
USB 3.0
Wall Charger
USB 2.0

7 h 48 min

5 h 8 min

2 h 15 min

USB 2.0 vs 3.0: Ports and

Cables

Color is the key to telling the difference between USB 2.0

and 3.0 ports. In almost all cases, USB 3.0 ports are blue
while USB 2.0 ports are black or white in color

Is USB 2.0 and 3.0 Compatible

with Each Other?

USB 3.0 is backwards compatible, so the short answer is

yes. To make things clear and simple:

USB 2.0 port + USB 2.0 device = USB 2.0 performance

USB 2.0 port + USB 3.0 device = USB 2.0 performance

USB 3.0 port + USB 2.0 device = USB 2.0 performance

USB 3.0 port + USB 3.0 device = USB 3.0 performance

Any combination will work... but to take advantage USB

3.0's improved speed and charging, you'll need 3
ingredients: USB 3.0 port, USB 3.0 device and USB 3.0
cable.