Stack #80354

Description:	A+ Certification - Identifying Personal Computer Components
Category:	Computers
Created by:	Dan_also on 2007-05-19

Question	Answer
Which chipset on the motherboard supports onboard audio?	Southbridge
Which chipset on the motherboard supports the AGP Controller?	Northbridge
Which chipset on the motherboard supports the CPU?	Northbridge
Which chipset on the motherboard supports the Memory Controller?	Northbridge
Which chipset on the motherboard supports the Onboard LAN?	Southbridge
Which chipset on the motherboard supports the Onboard USB/Serial/ Parallel ports?	Southbridge
Which chipset on the motherboard supports the ATA Interfaces?	Southbridge
Which chipset on the motherboard supports the PCI Expansion Bus	Southbridge
Which chipset on the motherboard supports FireWire (IEEE1394)?	Southbridge
Which chipset on the motherboard supports infrared?	Southbridge
Which chipset on the motherboard supports PCIe?	Northbridge
What is the frontside bus (FSB)?	The FSB is a set of signal pathways between the CPU and main memory.
What is the backside bus?	The backside bus is a set of signal pathways between the CPU and Level 2 cache (if present).
Which chipset on the motherboard handles onboard video circuitry?	Northbridge
What is a chipset?	A chipset is a collection of chips or circuits that perform interface and peripheral functions for the processor.
Which motherboard form factor has the processor and memory slots at right angles to the expansion cards?	ATX
Which two motherboard form factors place the expansion slots sideways on a special riser card to reduce the vertical space optimally?	New Low-profile Extended (NLX) and Low Profile Extended (LPX)
Which motherboard form factor lines up all heat-producing components between air intake vents and the power supply's exhaust fan?	Balanced Technology Extended (BTX)
What are the 7 main types of motherboard expansion slots?	ISA, PCI, AGP,PCIe, AMR, CNR
What does ISA stand for?	Industry Standard Architecture
Describe an ISA slot.	ISA slots are usually black with two parts: one shorter and one longer.
What does PCI stand for?	Peripheral Component Interconnect
Describe PCI slots.	They are short and usually white.
What does AGP stand for?	Accelerated Graphics Port
What advantage do AGP slots have over PCI or ISA slots?	AGP slots are a direct connection between the video circuitry and the PC's memory.
What color are AGP slots?	Brown
What advantage do PCIe slots have over AGP slots?	PCIe is faster than AGP.
What storage device is fixed, non-volitile and stores information on the magnetic surface of hard disk platters?	Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
Name the connection types used for hard disk drives (HDD).	ATA, Serial ATA, SCSI
Name the two categories of storage devices.	Fixed and Removable
What is a removable storage device that utilizes a thin, flexible magnetic storage medium, encased in a plastic shell?	Floppy Disk Drive (FDD)
What is an Audio Modem Riser?	An Audio Modem Riser (AMR) is a 46 pin expansion slot for analog audio and modem expansion cards.
What are the seven speed levels for PCIe?	1X, 2X, 4X, 8X, 12X, 16X, 32X
Describe the slots used for PCIe.	The slot size corresponds to its speed. 1X is the shortest while 32X is the longest.
Can a lower speed PCIe card be used in a higher speed slot or a higher speed PCIe card used in a lower speed slot?	A lower speed PCIe card can be used in a higher speed slot.