móðurborðið

Móðurborðið, Icelandic for "motherboard," is the main printed circuit board (PCB) in a computer. It provides the electrical and logical connections among the CPU, memory, storage, and peripherals, and acts as the system’s backbone.

A motherboard includes a central CPU socket, memory slots for DIMMs, expansion slots such as PCIe, a chipset component, and multiple storage interfaces (SATA and M.2). It carries power from the power supply through connectors (for example, a 24-pin main power connector and 4- or 8-pin CPU power). It also hosts the firmware chip (BIOS or UEFI), a CMOS battery, I/O ports on the back panel, and mounting points for cooling solutions.

Form factors determine size and mounting in a case. Common desktop forms are ATX, Micro-ATX, and Mini-ITX. Boards must match the CPU socket type and memory standards (such as DDR4 or DDR5) and offer compatible PCIe slots for expansion cards.

Operation: The motherboard coordinates data transfer between the CPU, RAM, storage devices, and peripherals. It provides the buses and interfaces that connect components, and runs the system firmware that initializes hardware during boot.

Maintenance and use: Installation requires ESD protection and correct mounting; ensure compatibility between CPU socket, RAM type, and power supply; firmware updates can improve stability and add features.

In recent systems, many chipset functions are integrated into the CPU or platform controller hub, with PCIe and other high-speed interfaces provided directly by the processor or chipset.