What are the uses of a motherboard?
Motherboard’s task is to make all the computer components connected, controlling them and to provide input and output. It also controls all the data that is flowing inside the PC.
So basically, in other words, a motherboard is an aggregator and a distributor of data.
Types of motherboard
There are different sizes of motherboards, which are called form factors, though, the most commonly used one when building a PC is called ATX.
ATX is the standard form factor and it is the most used one because it can fulfill any average person’s requirements whether it is for gaming or for productivity work. One thing that we can point out is that it’s smaller than a Micro-ATX and smaller than E-ATX.
An ATX motherboard has a lot of features that would last its user several years without upgrading each time he purchases one. It has more ports than Mini-ATX and Micro-ATX but everything comes with a price, so you can expect it to cost more than those two.
Standard dimensions for an ATX motherboard are 12×9.6 inches or 30.5×24.4cm.
The main advantage of an ATX motherboard is that it has at least 4x DIMM slots that are used for RAM. It also provides a few PCI slots.
E-ATX
An E-ATX motherboard is not so commonly used mainly because of its price. The only customers to this type of a motherboard are PC enthusiasts with a need for lots of power in their computers or people who need a lot of cores on their processors because of their work.
Standard dimensions for an E-ATX motherboard are 12×10.9 inches or 30.5×27.7cm.
They provide 8x DIMM slots for usually 128 GB of RAM and they can also support up to three or four graphics cards.
Micro-ATX
Micro-ATX is often used when you don’t have as much space in your case as you do with your ATX motherboard. It is bigger than a Mini-ITX and smaller than an ATX motherboard.
There are two dimension sizes which they come with depending on how many slots they have. The first one is 24.4×24.4cm or 9.6×9.6 inches and the second one is 24.4×20.6cm or 9.6×8.1 inches.
They have either 2 or 4 DIMM slots for RAM and from 1 to 3 PCI-Ex 16 slots depending on how expensive they are.
Mini-ITX
You can just guess the size of this bad boy. It is the smallest motherboard among all the form factors. It is used for computers that are made for day to day use.
Its dimensions are 17x17cm or 6.7×6.7 inches.
The purpose of the Mini-ITX motherboard is to save as much space as possible while providing all the necessary features. It is often used to build small PCs when people don’t have too much space for it.
They never have more than 1x PCI-Ex 16 slot and more than 2x DIMM slots for RAM. The basic inexpensive ones aren’t made for overclocking but the more expensive one might vary.
How to check your motherboard model?
The quickest and easiest answer to that question is to use the Windows System Information.
If you are using windows 10, access the start menu and write ‘’system information’’ or you can just hold the Windows key and press R, then type ‘’msinfo32’’ and proceed.
Another solution would be installing third-party software that will give you in-depth information about your whole system, including your motherboard, not to mention they are also all free. The most popular one that we would recommend is CPU-Z.
How to update motherboard BIOS?
Your motherboard most likely uses the version of BIOS that its manufacturer put when it was built. Over the years of your use, manufacturers release numerous updates that enable support for new processors, memory or just to get rid of bugs. So the only reason to update your BIOS is if you’re having bugs that need to be fixed or if you’re switching to a new CPU that is newer than your motherboard.
Updating BIOS:
Before trying to update your BIOS, go ahead and check what is your current BIOS version by accessing the start menu and typing ‘’System information’’ or pressing Windows key + R and then typing ‘’msinfo32’’. Compare your BIOS date to the latest update on your motherboard’s manufacturer website.
When you boot your computer, press the exact button needed to access BIOS which is found in the text when you boot your PC.
Boot your PC into the UEFI control panel if it’s possible(only some motherboards support this feature). It’s a built-in feature that allows your motherboard to connect to the internet and find the latest version and download it from the manufacturer’s website to make updating as least painful as possible.
For motherboards that don’t support this feature:
Go to your motherboard manufacturer’s website and search in the support and downloads section for the latest BIOS update. Download and unzip the file. Transfer it into a USB drive so you can use it later. Restart and boot up your computer and access BIOS. Back up your existing firmware into the USB drive to avoid any damage. Update to the new BIOS using your USB drive. It can take a couple of minutes and once you’re done, restart your computer and you’re good to go.
Note: never turn off your PC while it’s updating your BIOS because it can seriously damage your computer.
Motherboard compatibility
Before buying a motherboard, make sure it’s compatible with the system that you’re planning to build. The most important one is the CPU, followed by RAM.
Whether you’re choosing an AMD or Intel CPU, you’re going to need a motherboard that fits your processor by its socket. You can find that information on the manufacturer’s website.
Decide which form factors of a motherboard you need for your build. ATX is the most common one if you’re building a regular desktop for gaming or productivity unless you don’t have much space or you’re building a server.
For DDR4 RAM, the stock speed is supported up to 2133 Mhz and if it’s anything above that you’re gonna have to overclock it to get more speed. Make sure your motherboard support your desired RAM speed.
If you plan on using the new M.2 type of SSD, then check that your motherboard supports it.
