Exam 7: Motherboards

Which ITX form factor competes head to head with the virtually identical microATX?

Which port is considered to be a newer video port?

Older, original BIOS _______________ chips handled some expansion devices and mass storage drives such as hard drives.

Briefly describe two ways to install a new device driver on Windows systems.

In modern CPUs, what is the advantage incorporating the memory controller on the processor rather than locating it on the Northbridge?

What hardware options do different chipsets support?

How does a form factor relate to air movement in a case?

What are the usual dimensions of a microATX motherboard?

A(n) _______________ defines the type of processor and RAM the motherboard requires and determines to a degree the built-in devices the motherboard supports, including the expansion slots.

PCI made it into laptops in the specialty _______________ format.

How many wires does a PCIe connection use for sending and receiving data?

Some of the features in proprietary systems are _______________-part of a motherboard that is separate from the main one but connected by a cable of some sort-and unique power connections.

The last of the 32-bit versions of Windows had support for _______________ drivers, which were essentially drivers that had not gone through the Windows Certification Program (as it was called then) such that their software did not get a digital signature from Microsoft.

In addition to the Northbridge and the Southbridge chips, some motherboard manufacturers added (or still add) a third chip called the _______________ chip to handle expansion devices and mass storage drives especially in dealing with legacy devices.