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Figure 9-27 Adaptec PCIe SATA card

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CAUTION If you’ve lost components because of ESD or a power surge, you would most likely be better off replacing the motherboard. The damage you can’t see can definitely sneak up to bite you and create system instability.

If your component failure is more a technology issue than physical damage, you can try upgrading the BIOS on the motherboard. As you’ll recall from Chapter 7 on BIOS and CMOS, every motherboard comes with a small set of code that enables the CPU to communicate properly with the devices built into the motherboard. You can quite readily upgrade this programming by flashing the BIOS: running a small commandline program to write new BIOS in the flash ROM chip. Refer to Chapter 7, “BIOS and CMOS,” for the details on flashing.

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NOTE Flashing the BIOS for a motherboard can fix a lot of system stability problems and provide better implementation of built-in technology. What it cannot do for your system is improve the hardware. If AMD comes out with a new, improved, lower-voltage Athlon 64, for example, and your motherboard cannot scale down the voltage properly, you cannot use that CPU—even if it fits in your motherboard’s Socket AM2. No amount of BIOS flashing can change the hardware built into your motherboard.

Finally, if you have an ethereal, ghost-in-the-machine type of problem that you have finally determined to be motherboard related, you have only a couple of options for fixing the problem. You can flash the BIOS in a desperate attempt to correct whatever it is, which sometimes does work and is less expensive than the other option. Or you can replace the motherboard.

Beyond A+

Shuttle Form Factor

In the early 2000s, Shuttle started making a very interesting line of tiny cube-shaped PCs called XPCs that became an overnight sensation and continue to be popular today (Figure 9-28). These boxes use a tiny, proprietary form factor motherboard, called Shuttle Form Factor, installed in a proprietary case with a proprietary power supply. Originally, these systems were sold barebones, meaning they came with only a motherboard, case, and power supply. You had to supply a CPU, RAM, video card, keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Shuttle now produces a full line of computers.

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NOTE Many companies followed Shuttle’s lead and started making cube or cube-like small cases. You’ll hear these cases commonly referred to as small form factor (SFF), but there’s no industry-wide standard. Some SFF cases accommodate microATX and FlexATX motherboards.

Figure 9-28 Shuttle XPC (photo courtesy of Shuttle Computer Group, Inc.)

Mini-ITX

If you really want to get small, check out Mini-ITX (Figure 9-29). Developed by VIA Technologies in 2001, Mini-ITX has a maximum size of only 17 centimeters by 17 centimeters. Most Mini-ITX systems feature low-power processors such as the Intel Atom or the VIA C7. Many new enthusiast-grade Mini-ITX motherboards support more powerful processors such as the Intel Core2 Duo or the AMD Phenom.

Figure 9-29 Mini-ITX motherboard

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NOTE Watch out for all of the pretty colors on today’s motherboards. To catch the consumer’s eye, a lot of motherboard manufacturers have started making wildly colorful motherboard components. There is no universally accepted standard for connection colors on the inside of a motherboard.

Chapter Review

Questions

1. Which of the following form factors dominates the PC industry?

A. AT

B. ATX

C. BTX

D. CTX

2. Which of the following form factors offers the best cooling?

A. AT

B. ATX

C. BTX

D. CTX

3. On older Intel-based motherboards, which chip enables the CPU to interact with RAM?

A. Memorybridge

B. Northbridge

C. Southbridge

D. Super I/O

4. Brian bought a new motherboard that advertised support for eight USB ports. When he pulled the motherboard out of the box, though, he found that it only had four USB ports. What’s likely the issue here?

A. The extra four USB ports will connect to the front of