A motherboard, also known as a PCB or Printed Circuit Board is a major component of any computer, laptop, mobile phone, and tablet. It holds all the elements together. It is the main communication platform between all the components of a PC like RAM slots, BIOS, CPU slot, IDE Slots and SATA, and other expansion slots.
Motherboard is considered to be a vital component in a PC and thus matters a lot. One has to understand as much about the motherboard as possible before buying it. It is undoubtedly a complex and crucial part of any computing device.
So, here are all types of Motherboard you need to know before you buy computer motherboard online:
- AT Motherboard
AT Motherboards are considered to be one of the oldest motherboards and consist of Advance Technology power connectors. Deriving its name ‘AT’ from the Advance Technology power connectors, these motherboards were used in 286/236 and 436 Computers in the mid-eighties. Having large dimensions, AT motherboards were pretty difficult to fit into new devices. No wonder, computer scientists found out for a better version – something which would be smaller, and faster.
2. ATX Motherboards
An upgraded version of AT Motherboard, ATX motherboard is one of the best motherboards of all time. It is still available in the market and used by many. ATX stands for Advanced Technology eXtended and has gone through a hand-full of upgradations till date. These upgrades include power phases, wider space between expansion slots and spacious ATX mid-tower & full-tower cases. These improvements have made it cleaner and gave it more stable power with enough space to fit more fans, water cooling setup or even tall heat sinks. This design is still used in smaller boards like micro-ATX, Nano ITX, Mini ITX, and FlexATX.
3. Micro-ATX Motherboard
Micro ATX motherboards are comparatively smaller than typical ATX Motherboards. Micro ATX Motherboards are definitely a good choice to fit into smaller devices as it has the dimensions of 9.6 x 9.6 inch. These motherboards have a maximum of four PCI or PCI-Express expansion slots whereas normal ATX motherboards have a maximum of seven PCI-Express expansion slots. It also sports more ports and slots than ATX motherboard. Plus, it is also budget-friendly, compared to other motherboards like ITX or ATX.
4. Mini ITX Motherboard
As you can assume from the name, the Mini ITX motherboard is smaller than any other typical motherboard. It has a dimension of 6.7×6.7 inches. Mini ITX Motherboard consumes less power due to its smaller size and fan-less cooling. It’s small size also gives the motherboard the advantage to be fitted into any device big or small.
5. E-ATX Motherboard
It is the best desktop motherboard for gamers. E-ATX is an extended ATX motherboard used typically for gaming. Despite the fact that it is huge in size (as compared to other motherboards), it has some of the best features that other motherboards lack. E-ATX motherboards have an enormous memory along with more CPU cores. It also has a good number of PCI slots and DIMM slots. E-ATX comes with inbuilt wifi, onboard troubleshooting features, sound cards, and powerful VRM. Not to forget, one of the best features about E-ATX Motherboard is that it is an expandable RAM up to 128 GB.
Now that you know all types of motherboards, you can choose the desktop motherboard accordingly. With all the right information you can buy what fits your needs the best. The prices of these motherboards vary according to their configurations. To buy the best motherboard, knowing your needs and what fits your budget would help you a lot. Ranging from $250 to $500, you can get a good deal on a computer motherboard.
Be it a computer motherboard, a memory card reader for a computer or a firsthand motherboard, everything is available in the online and offline markets. Computer Memory Card Readers are easy on your pockets; if you are buying something at a discount, card readers can be bought at a negligible cost too.