Mainboard connections: All ports at a glance
The mainboard is the heart of your PC, which networks all components with one another - provided that it has the right connections. In this article, we reveal which ports are available on motherboards and what you need them for.
Mainboard connectors: The main components of the motherboard
The mainboard or motherboard is the central board in your computer. It is used in larger desktop PCs as well as in notebooks and netbooks. There are four main connections on each mainboard:
- Socket: You need a processor for your computer to work. It is placed on the base (number 1 in the picture) and fixed using an aluminum bracket. Depending on whether you have an Intel or AMD CPU, you need a different socket. The two manufacturers have different connections for their processors.
- PCI slots: Most processors already have a graphics unit integrated so that individual images can be displayed on your screen. For more complex programs or games you need an additional graphics card. You place them in the PCI slots (number 2 in the picture). In the meantime, the so-called PCI-Express slots with transfer rates of up to 32 GB / s have become the standard. The number of lanes (x1 to x32) plays a major role in terms of speed. X16, x8 and x4 lanes are currently common for PCI Express. By the way: Here you can also connect other cards such as RAID controllers, TV tuners, Thunderbolt or sound cards.
- RAM slots: The RAM (Random Access Memory) fits into the slots of the same name (number 3 in the picture). The storage units are available in different sizes and versions. The fast DDR3 RAM is now standard and has replaced DDR2 and DDR1. The main memory is primarily needed by gamers and graphic designers who work with a lot of data in the buffer.
- SATA connections: Via the SATA connections (number 4 in the picture) you connect hard disks, SSDs and optical drives to your computer. In the meantime, transfer rates of up to 600 MByte / s are possible via this port, which is particularly noticeable with SSD hard drives.
Mainboard connections: Additional ports on the motherboard
In addition to the standard connections for the main hardware of your PC, there are many other components on the mainboard:
- ATX connection: Your mainboard is supplied with power via the 24-pin ATX connection (number 1 in the picture). With older models, the connection can also be only 20-pin. In addition, there is often a small, 8-pin ATX connector near the CPU that supplies the processor with power.
- Fan connection: Your fans must also be supplied with power. This is done via small 3-pin connectors (number 2 in the picture). Tip: You can even control your fan yourself.
- USB connections: You can already find connections for USB devices on the mainboard (number 3 in the picture). Here, however, mostly only the interfaces are connected, which you can then see on the rear wall of the housing.
Mainboard connections: interfaces on the back
Most of the interfaces can be found on the back of your computer. Here you can connect additional hardware without opening the device:
- P / S2 port: Via the outdated P / S2 port (number 1 in the picture) you can connect older mice and keyboards to your PC with the wide, round plugs.
- HDMI, VGA, DVI: The interfaces HDMI, VGA and DVI (number 2 in the picture) transport the picture to your monitor. The newer standards HDMI and DisplayPort even transmit sound.
- USB: You can connect external hard drives, USB sticks, microphones, smartphones and much more to USB ports (number 3 in the picture, left and right below). You can recognize the current, fast standard, USB 3.0, by the blue inputs on the mainboard. Here you can also connect older devices with USB 2.0 or even USB 1.0.
- LAN: Use the LAN port (number 3 in the picture, top right) to connect your computer to your router and then to the Internet.
- Jack connections: The many different 3.5 millimeter inputs in different colors (number 4 in the picture) only transmit sound. Here you can see enough interfaces for a 7.1 sound system.
Starting computers faster: That helps
We'll tell you everything else you need to know about motherboards in a detailed special article. In our leaderboard you will also find the best and cheapest motherboards currently on the market.