The motherboard is the heart of the computer. Microsoft even defines a computer by it’s motherboard. Replacing a motherboard is the same as an entirely new computer. Keep this in mind when calling Microsoft’s tech support relating CD key’s with a system!

• Motherboards / System Board
• Everything begins or ends on the motherboard
• It’s a mobo, dude
• Standard sizes
• Constant change
• Chipsets
• Bus speeds
• Cooling methods

Northbridge
Memory controller hub.

• Connects the CPU to memory and high-speed graphics cards
• Modern computers include cooling options
• Heatsinks
• Fans
• Water cooling (although for advanced users)

Southbridge
I/O controller hub (USB, ethernet, IDE, SATA, etc).

• Manages (slower) connections
• PCI interface slots
• Other peripherals (USB, ethernet, IDE, etc).
• On-board graphics controllers
• BIOS

Faster FSB (Front Side Bus) = Better and faster computer!

Identifying Unknown Chips on Motherboard

• Everychip has an identifier
• Google is your friend
• Ex. “intel gd82559″
• Many components are associated with surrounding components or interfaces
• COM2
• Serial controller
• SCSI Interface
• Buffer memory

RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) also known as “independent disks,” provide a means of protecting the most valuable aspect of any computer or system; the data.

There are seven different (main) levels of RAID, but there are only three that are mainly in use wide-spread each with their own pros and cons. These three RAID levels are all you need to know about for the CompTIA A+ certification.

• RAID 0 – Striping
• RAID 1 – Mirroring
• RAID 5 – Striping with Parity

RAID 0 – Striping

RAID 1 – Mirroring

Files are duplicated between physical drives.

• High disk utilization
• Every file is duplicated
• Required disk space is doubled
• High redundancy
• Drive failure does not affect data availability

RAID 5 – Striping with Parity

Files are striped along with a parity block

• Efficient use of disk space
• Files aren’t duplicated, but space is still used for parity
• Must have at least three hard drives
• High redundancy
• Data is available after drive failure
• Parity calculation may affect performance

Of the three RAID levels detailed above, only RAID 1 and 5 provide data redundancy. RAID 0 is simply a method of combining two or more hard drives to act as one larger one.

Software RAID vs. Hardware RAID

• Software-based RAID
• A feature of the operating system
• Doesn’t require any special hardware
• Usually lower-performance than hardware-based
• Hardware-based RAID
• A feature of the hard drive controller
• Configured outside of the OS
• Usually invisible to the operating system
• High performance, designed for speed
• RAID arrays are usually expensive

This is an introductory post to my “Computer Science” section/category that I will be maintaining.

The purpose for this is for me to write down notes and things I have learned (or need to learn!) pertaining to obtaining my CompTIA A+ certificate. It’ll be ever evolving as I learn more, and will hopefully serve it’s purpose as being a great study tool and reference for the future.