Techno Page
By Harendra Alwis
technopage_lk@yahoo.com

Further adventures inside your computer
The motherboard - a.k.a. Binary Metropolis
This week let me introduce the motherboard and its functions.

Think of the computer motherboard as a miniature city inside a case. For all practical purposes, it has plug-in buildings (electronic components, integrated circuits, peripherals etc.) roads and highways that carry data at lightning speed between those 'buildings', and a central electricity supply and controls.

Even though the similarities end there, the main function of the motherboard is to provide an integrated framework of infrastructure for the various components of the computer to interact with each other.

The motherboard which is at the basic level a sandwich of many electronic circuits printed and integrated into one another, was first introduced by IBM in 1982 with the IBM PC that was powered by the Intel 8088 processor we discussed two weeks ago. It contained the microprocessor, BIOS, sockets for the CPU's RAM and a collection of slots that auxiliary cards could plug into. If you wanted to add in a floppy disk drive or a joystick, you just had to plug in a card to one of those slots and connect the peripheral. But this approach was pioneered in the mass market by the Apple II machine. This brought about two significant changes in the field of computer hardware:

* It made it easy to add new features to the machine over time.

* It opened the computer to creative opportunities for third-party vendors.

The form factor
One important feature in the motherboard is its form factor. This refers to the physical layout and dimensions of the motherboard like its width, length, and the positions of the various components like the expansion slots and external data bus interfaces.

Form factors such as 'AT' and 'baby AT' have now given way to Intel's 'ATX' and 'mini ATX' but there are about six or seven different form factors that have been used in motherboards. It is easy to understand why these form factors are standardised because otherwise, it would be a very difficult task to manufacture casings for computers that could come in all shapes and sizes.

The importance of choosing an appropriate motherboard for your computer cannot be overemphasised because it is the basis on which lies the functionality, expandability and upgradeability of your machine. For example, your motherboard may support only a particular type of processor and a limited amount of RAM (Random Access Memory - I will explain what this is as we go on), a certain number of secondary storage devices and so on.

So if you don't have much of an idea about how to choose a good motherboard and what to look for, you will find all that and more, next week in Techno Page.
Until then, write in to us and tell us what you think.

Introduction
GA-7VT600 1394 is an outstanding solution for the latest evolved AMD Athlon(tm) XP 400FSB processor. Equipped with VIA Apollo KT600 chipset and plenty of features, GA-7VT600 1394 delivers a full function platform with excellent performance. The Apollo KT600, the succeeding product of market leading Chipsets for AMD K7 platform, is furnished with a complete set of today's cutting-edge features combined with VIA's brand new FastStream64(tm) memory controller technology delivering superior performance. DDR400 memory support and the advanced 400MHz processor bus unleash the full power of AMD Athlon(tm) XP processors. The AGP 8X graphics is built to derive maximum performance from the most powerful graphics accelerator. In addition, the IEEE1394, USB 2.0, 6-channel audio and Fast Ethernet connection are equipped to provide a complete solution for platforms used in home and office environments. GA-7VT6001394 will definitely deliver the uppermost platform with stunning performance across the full spectrum of applications.

Advanced 400 Front-Side Bus Support
This platform supports the highest CPU frequency and system bandwidth for fully utilizing the intense computing power of the latest AMD Athlon(tm) XP 400FSB processor and providing enhanced system responsiveness.

Superb bandwidth AGP 8X graphics interface
Featuring AGP 8x (AGP 3.0), the new generation VGA interface specification, this platform delivers enhanced graphics performance with high bandwidth speed up to 2.12GB/s, allowing users to have a more realistic graphics experience while gaming or movie watching.

DDR400+ memory support
With the optimised DDR400+ memory support, this platform provides a high bandwidth up to 3.2GB/s and high capacity of 3GB with 3 DIMM slots to ensure greatest memory performance.

Serial ATA interface
Serial ATA is the revolutionary ATA interface that provides scalable performance for the IDE device. With a data transfer rate of up to 150MB/s, Serial ATA is faster than current Parallel ATA and delivers superior input/output performance.

Great expandability of 8 USB 2.0 ports
USB 2.0 interface, with data transfer rate up to 480Mbps, 40 times faster than USB1.1, provides a faster interface for computer peripherals.

Highly-anticipated IEEE1394 FireWire interface
For the multi-purpose platform, the IEEE1394 interface will enhance PC connectivity with consumer electronics audio/ video (A/V) appliances, storage peripherals and portable devices.

6-Channel Audio with Jack Sensing Support
Users can experience the 3D surround sound through integrated 6-channel audio. It fulfils the requirements of a variety of audio applications, such as MP3 or Audio CD playback, DVD movies and gaming. With the Jack-Sensing feature users won't have to worry about how to instal audio devices correctly

Ethernet 10/100Mb LAN Network Connection
Ethernet 10/100Mb LAN Network Connection provides high-quality 10/100 Ethernet performance for value-minded users who need straight-forward network connectivity. It ensures a high-speed, stable solution for new broadband era.

GIGABYTE Patented DualBIOS (tm)
Patented technology prevents BIOS from virus attacks, to provide double security thus assuring the PC stability. Once the main BIOS fails to operate due to virus infection or catastrophic failure, the backup BIOS will automatically take over on the next system boot up.
Sent by
Sidath

Free technical support
If anyone has questions on computers, there is a great website that provides free technical support.

http://www.prot onic.com

Volunteer "experts" will answer your problems regarding hardware, software, programming and a variety of other issues.

Usually, answers are available within 24 hrs and are much better than the help you get from your own vendor.

The site requires you to register, but this is free and they will not send you any junk mail (advertisements), I can guarantee.

Once you have tried this site you will not need anyone else's help.
Sent by
Utopia

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