Chapter 2 Computer Cases and the Motherboard

Computer Cases (Chassis)

A computer's case is more than a box. The case includes the drive cage (An assembly in a
computer that holds disk drives), the internal compartment that holds disk drives, and almost
always the power supply, among other features. Cases come in various types called form factors,
which differ in layout of components. The case's form factor needs to match that of the
motherboard and the power supply. Just as with motherboards, some cases are proprietary and
require proprietary power supplies and motherboards.

Computer cases have the purpose of:

1. House all the internal components

2. Offers access to the external world through ports and connectors
3. Prevent delicate circuits from damage and EMI
4. Prevent EMI from PC from affecting surrounding devices such as TV, telephone, etc.

There are different types of cases:

• Full-sized tower
• Mid-size tower
• Mini-tower
• Desktop
• Slim desktop
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 • Slim desktops integrate the display into housing. The monitor and system unit are
combined into one unit.

When we consider a case, the following things are cared about:

• The bigger the box, the more components it can hold.

• This gives it more expansion capability, better air flow which is good for cooling. Large
cases are easier to work with.
• The more compact the box, the less expansion potential it has. Working with such cases
is difficult and usually air flow is reduced.

Case Components

Cases come with various components

Most of components of case are self-explanatory. Drive bays are areas in the front for installation
of removable media (CD, DVD, floppy, Zip, etc.). Cases usually come with small speakers,
which are there to provide very basic sounds to the user. About all these speakers play are
warning beeps and the sound of a modem connecting. These speakers are very important,
because multimedia speakers (Sound cards) don't work before Windows has booted, if Windows
is in Safe Mode or if there is a problem with the sound card.

I/O Shields

I/O shields are the metal plates that surround the ports that are built into the motherboard. They
are used to shield (protective covering or structure) these ports from radio frequency interference
(RFI) and to provide openings in the case in the correct size and configuration for the
motherboard's built-in ports.

Case Quality

A good quality case can have a big impact on the performance and durability of the computer.
Cases sold have to meet requirements for shielding against both external RFI and interference to
external devices that is generated by the computer. Good cases are designed to provide for proper
airflow to keep the components from overheating. Panels should fit together well without
requiring excessive effort. When the computer is running, a good case does not make excessive

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vibration noises. Other attributes of good cases include ease in opening and ease in accessing
internal components

Case Form Factors

Cases come in many form factors, the most common being AT and ATX.

Opening Different Types of Cases

Cases also vary in the difficulty of opening and accessing internal components. While most cases
open easily after removing screws from the back. Some manuals tell you how to open the case.

Note: Different Casing has different ways they can be removed. Most casing has screws at the
back. For example, Dell Optiplex comes with a hub-handle with two (big) buttons at both ends
(pressed down) to release hook on the side of casing.

Motherboard

 Motherboard is the PCs center of activity.

 All devices in a computer are in some way or another are connected to motherboard.
 Motherboard hosts the largest single collection of chips of any pc component.
 It has a grid of wires that link all components making it possible to communicate with
each other.
 It defines the computer’s limit of speed, memory, and expandability.

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Motherboard (Main Board, System Board, Desktop Board)
The motherboard is the part of the computer to which every other component is connected. It
contains the processor socket(s), memory slots, expansion card slots, ports for mouse, keyboard,
printer, etc and electronic parts, known as the chipset, to make everything run. Most
motherboards contain some built-in components such as video, sound, network adapter and
others.
• A motherboard is a multi‐layered printed circuit board. It is sometimes called as Planner
Board/ System Board.
• Think of a motherboard as a scale model of a futuristic city with many modular plug‐in
buildings
• The motherboard is the data and power infrastructure for the entire computer.
• The form factor is essentially the size, shape and design of the actual motherboard.

Form Factors

Since the first PC was introduced, several types of motherboards have been used; the types
referred to as form factors. What differentiates form factors of motherboards is their size,
arrangement of components on the boards and other details. Cases and power supplies are also
classified into the same form factors; they all have to match to some extent for the components to
fit properly into the case. The following form factors of motherboards are among those that have
been used for PCs: AT and ATX.

The original computer was the IBM AT computers. The AT motherboard has specific layout
which is called the form factor but the modern system now have ATX form factors. The form
factor is important because the motherboard must have a casing that matches the form factor of
your board. But the most common type of casings we have presently are ATX-casings.

The kind or type of casing you have depends on what you want on your computer. Some casings
have USB ports in front of them and even presently you have some casings which have
alternative keyboard port on the front. Some have only one diskette bay and some an extra bay
for diskette. There are also bays for your CD drives, Hard Disk etc.

Contents of the Motherboard

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 Figure Typical Motherboard Architecture

Figure Motherboard Back Panel

Motherboard Components

It is important for technicians to be able to identify the parts of any motherboard.

While there are wide differences among the various brands and form factors, all motherboards
have certain components in common:

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Memory slots: Physical configurations of memory chips have changed over the years, but the
industry seems to have settled on dual inline memory modules (DIMMs). These chips have 72 or
more pins per side, although the two sides are so close to each other that it is not readily apparent
that there are two sets of pins. Memory slots can accept one type of memory chip.

Figure DIMM Slots

Chipset: Every motherboard has a number of integrated circuits (chips or ICs) permanently
installed on different parts of the board. Each chip has a separate function. It is most common for
these chips to all be from a single manufacturer.

AGP slot: All motherboards made in the last several years that don't have built-in video and
some that do, have an accelerated graphics port (AGP) slot. This is the slot for a video adapter.

Figure AGP Video Slots

Expansion slot (PCI and ISA): Expansion devices in card form, such as modems and network
adapters, go into these slots. Newer motherboards have only Peripheral Component Interconnect
(PCI) slots, while some middle-aged boards have a combination of PCI and the older Industry
Standard Architecture (ISA) slots. Some boards have expansion slots that give a choice between
the two, as shown in Figure 6. ISA slots are often dark colored and PCI slots are usually white

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or off-white. The cards are also easy to differentiate; compared with ISA pins, PCI pins are much
smaller and closer together.

Figure A combination ISA/PCI slot

Power connectors: Every motherboard has power connectors that look something like the one
shown in Figure A. Some newer boards have a 12-volt connector like the one in Figure B. The
one in Figure B must be connected to the proper connector on the power supply for the
motherboard to receive power. If the board has a 12-volt connector, it must be connected to the
power supply to avoid damage to the board.

Figure A ATX power connector

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Figure B : If the motherboard has this 12-volt connector, it must be connected. The connector
from the power supply is in the inset.

An AT (form factor) motherboard power connector is different from an ATX connector. The AT
connector has two parts, each with black wires on one end. They must be installed with the black
wires next to each other at the center of the motherboard's connector, as shown in Figure C.

Figure C: AT power connector

Disk drive connectors: Virtually every motherboard has two IDE connectors for up to four IDE
devices, usually one or two hard drives and one or two optical (CD or DVD) drives. With the
proper cables, each connector can support two drives. In addition, there is a connector for the
floppy drive.

Figure : IDE and floppy disk drive connectors

Ports: Motherboards have some or all of the following ports: serial, parallel, PS/2 mouse, PS/2
keyboard and USB.

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Identifying a Motherboard
While many motherboards are easily identifiable, a few aren't. Here are some identification
methods:
• Look for the brand name, model number and revision number printed on the circuit
board.
• Look for a sticker underneath the lowest expansion slot. It might not be visible without
disassembling the computer and removing the board or at least by using a small mirror on
a handle (preferably nonconductive).
• On bootup, look on the first screen—if the information does appear, you won't have long
to see it unless you press the Scroll Lock key.
• The information might appear somewhere in the BIOS.
• If the computer is a brand-name computer, you can often find the board used by going to
the computer manufacturer's Web site.

Selecting a Quality Motherboard

While the chipset manufacturer can make a difference in the quality of a motherboard, the
manufacturer of the board itself makes the most difference. To select the best, most appropriate
board, first decide on the features the user needs such as type and number of expansion slots plus
the needed built-in components. Also note that motherboards take only one type of memory.
Generally, the faster the memory, the more expensive it is. Therefore, decide on the best memory
you can afford and select the motherboard accordingly.

Next, evaluate the manufacturer based on its available technical support and its Web site. Web
sites should have technical specifications and information, plus driver and BIOS downloads and
these should be easy to find and download, if needed. Then, consider warranty and cost.

Another useful method is to go to the processor manufacturer's Web sites for recommendations
of motherboards (intel.com, amd.com).

AT and ATX Motherboard

 AT motherboards get power through P8 and P9 connectors.

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  Each of them has two black wires for grounding and these powers must be kept together
when the connectors are plugged in i.e. all the four black wires sit in the center when
plugged unless stated on motherboard manual.

ATX Motherboard (AT Extended)

 ATX form factor was introduced in 1996 by Intel. It measures 12 by 9.6 inches. Although
it is approximately the same size as Baby AT, the ATX motherboard is rotated 90
degrees; the processor sits near the back of the board.

 In ATX motherboards, the connectors COM1, COM2, LPT, keyboard, mouse, and USB
are directly mounted on the motherboard. This motherboard requires a specifically
designed chassis with an I/O access opening. In addition, the memory and expansion slots
are located at 90 degrees to each other.

 ATX motherboard is more intelligent than ordinary type. It has advanced control
facilities where BIOS program checks the CPU temperature and voltage, and the cooling
fan RPM(rotation per minute), etc. If overheating occurs, the PC will shutdown
automatically.

Some of the advantages of ATX over AT are:

1) Soft power support: the ATX power supply is turned on and off using signaling from the
motherboard, not a physical toggle switch. This allows the PC to be turned on or off under
software control, allowing improved power management.

2) Reduced expansion card interference: the CPU and memory modules are relocated so they
can’t interfere with any bus expansion cards. This makes upgrade easy because removing any
installed cards is not necessary.

3)Reduced drive bay interference: since the board is essentially 90 degrees form AT style, there
is much less overlap between the board and drive bays. This means easier to access the
motherboard and fewer cooling problem.

4) Better Power Connector: ATX uses a single 20-pin connector instead of two confusing
connectors. You don’t have the risk of blowing up your pc motherboard by connecting the power
cable backwards.

5) Better air flow (cooling effect): The ATX power is intended to blow air into the case rather
than out of it. This cuts down dust. Furthermore, processor sockets and RAM are located next to
power supply. Because of this the power supply fan can cool CPU heat sink. Current power
supply fans blow air into or out of the case.

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6) Integrated I/O connectors: AT motherboard uses pins and cables. In ATX, the port is directly
mounted on the motherboard. This improvement saves cost, installation time, and improved
reliability.

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