Motherboard ID

MOTHERBOARD CONNECTIONS

This is a brief description of the common connectors that you will see on a motherboard.

On-board Cluster

    Keyboard connector
         AT - large 5-pin
         PS/2 - small
    Mouse connector
    Printer plug
    Sound ports
    Ethernet (RJ45)
    USBs
    And others

Capacitors and BLOWN CAPS

     The capacitors on the motherboard are able to store small amounts of electrical charge within for use at times when there is a sudden 
     demand for power from one of the devices.  If they become overloaded, they puff up and are called blown caps.  The motherboard may continue to function for awhile with a blown cap but it will soon break down, so Freegeek will not build a system if there is a blown cap on the mobo.    

ZIF socket or processor slot

    The socket lies flat on the motherboard and the CPU pins fit down into its holes, with its heat sink and fan on top.  The slot processor, now obsolete, stands up sideways on the motherboard in a slot that looks similar to a card slot.  It too has a heat sink and fan attached to the side to keep the CPU cool.

Drive connectors

    IDE
    SATA (Serial ATA)
    SCSI
    Optical drives such as CD and DVD
    Floppy

Bridges and communication facilitators

    Northbridge
    Southbridge
    AMR and related type slots

Exercises

What type of keyboard connector does it have?

Does it have both IDE and SATA hard drive connectors?

See how many motherboards you can find that have blown caps.