3.5 - Given a scenario, install and configure motherboards, CPUs, and add-on cards.

Question 1

Motherbaord form factors.

Answer 1

Physical size - case sizing.

Basic layout - room for small changes.

Power - standard connectors.

Airflow - increasingly important.

Question 2

ATX

Answer 2

Advanced Technology Extended.

Power:

20 pin connector.

24 pin connector, additional 4/8 pin connector.

Question 3

mATX

Answer 3

Micro Advanced Technology Extended.

Smaller than an ATX motherboard.

• Limited expansion slots.

Backward compatibility.
• Similar mounting points.

• Similar power.

Question 4

ITX

Answer 4

Series of low-power motherboards.
• Developed by VIA Technologies in 2001.

Mini-ITX is screw-compatible with ATX and microATX.
• Fits almost any enclosure.

Small form factor uses.
• Single-purpose computing.

i.e., streaming media.

Question 5

PCI

Answer 5

Peripheral Component Interconnect.

• Nobody ever calls it that.

A common expansion interface.

• 32-bit and 64-bit bus width.
• Parallel communication.

Throughput varies by bus version.
• 133 MB/s (32-bit at 33 MHz).
• 266 MB/s (32-bit at 66 MHz or 64-bit at 33 MHz).

• 533 MB/s (64-bit at 66 MHz).

Question 6

PCIe

Answer 6

PCI Express.

• Replaced PCI, PCI-X, and

AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port).

Communicates serially:
• Unidirectional serial “lanes”
• Slower devices don’t slow down everyone

One, two, four, eight, sixteen, or thirty-two full-duplex lanes.

• x1, x2, x4, x8, x16, x32.

Different versions of PCIe.
• Improvement in speed with each iteration.

• Per-lane throughput in each direction.

• v1.x: 250 MB/s
• v2.x: 500 MB/s
• v3.0: ~ 1 GB/s
• v4.0: ~ 2 GB/s
• v5.0 (expected in 2019): ~ 4 GB/s

Question 7

LGA

Answer 7

Land Grid Array.

Reverse the PGA - pins are on the motherboard.

• No pin to damage on the CPU.
• Easier to damage the motherboard.

Question 8

PGA

Answer 8

Pin Grid Array.

Question 9

CPU socket - ZIF

Answer 9

Zero Insertion Force.

Question 10

SATA

Answer 10

Question 11

IDE

Answer 11

Question 12

Internal USB connector.

Answer 12

USB on the motherboard
• Integrated - part of the motherboard.

• On the back - keyboard, mouse.
• Internal case connection.

• Pins for case interfaces.

Question 13

BIOS

Answer 13

Question 14

UEFI BIOS

Answer 14

Question 15

UEFI Advantages

Answer 15

Question 16

Nonvolatile BIOS memory

Answer 16

Question 17

CMOS battery.

Answer 17

Question 18

BIOS - The Secret button(s).

Answer 18

Launching the system setup:

• Del, F1, F2, Ctrl-S, Ctrl-Alt-S.

Question 19

BIOS - Fast Startup

Answer 19

Question 20

BIOS - Built in diagnostics

Answer 20

Question 21

BIOS. - Configure component information.

Answer 21

Question 22

BIOS - Best practices.

Answer 22

Question 23

BIOS - passwords

Answer 23

Question 24

BIOS - Disk encryption.

Answer 24

Question 25

BIOS - Lojack for Laptops

Answer 25

Question 26

BIOS - Secure boot.

Answer 26

Question 27

BIOS - Firmware updates.

Answer 27

Question 28

How do you Identify current BIOS version?

Answer 28

Question 29

What should you do before you upgrade the BIOS?

Answer 29

Question 30

Running the BIOS upgrade program.

Answer 30

Question 31

Options to consider when installing BIOS upgrades.

Answer 31

Question 32

CPU Features - Processor cores

Answer 32

Question 33

CPU Features - Virtualisation.

Answer 33

Question 34

CPU Features - Hyperthreading

Answer 34

Question 35

CPU Features - Processor Speed

Answer 35

Question 36

CPU Features - Overclocking

Answer 36

Question 37

CPU Features - Integrated GPU

Answer 37

Question 38

CPU Features - Intel vs AMD.

Answer 38

Question 39

CPU Cooling methods.

Answer 39

Case fans. On-board fans. Heat sink. Fanless / Passive cooling. Liquid cooling. Thermal paste - Solution between two conductive surfaces to increase heat transfer.

Question 40

Expansion cards

Answer 40