A+ Essentials Chapter 7
Motherboards
In this chapter, you will learn how to
• Explain how motherboards work
• Identify the types of motherboards
• Explain chipset varieties
• Upgrade and install motherboards
• Troubleshoot motherboard problems
- 1.
Which of the following form factors dominates the PC industry?
- A.
AT
- B.
ATX
- C.
BTX
- D.
CTX
Correct Answer
B. ATXExplanation
Almost all modern motherboards follow the ATX form factor.Rate this question:
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- 2.
Which of the following form factors offers the best cooling?
- A.
AT
- B.
ATX
- C.
BTX
- D.
CTX
Correct Answer
C. BTXExplanation
Although not widely adopted by the industry, BTX motherboards offer
superior cooling to AT or ATX systems.Rate this question:
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- 3.
On Intel-based motherboards, which chip enables the CPU to interact withRAM?
- A.
Memorybridge
- B.
Northbridge
- C.
Southbridge
- D.
Super I/O
Correct Answer
B. NorthbridgeExplanation
The Northbridge enables the communication between the CPU and RAM.Rate this question:
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- 4.
On modern motherboards, which chip most commonly supports floppydrives and infrared ports?
- A.
Memorybridge
- B.
Northbridge
- C.
Southbridge
- D.
Super I/O
Correct Answer
D. Super I/OExplanation
The Super I/O chip handles older technologies such as floppy drives and
infrared ports.Rate this question:
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- 5.
Brian bought a new motherboard that advertised support for eight USB ports.When he pulled the motherboard out of the box, however, he found that itonly had four USB ports! What’s likely the issue here?
- A.
The extra four USB ports will connect to the front of the case or via a dongle to an expansion slot.
- B.
The extra four USB ports require an add-on expansion card.
- C.
The FireWire port will have a splitter that makes it four USB ports.
- D.
The motherboard chipset might support eight USB ports, but the manufacturer only included four ports.
Correct Answer
A. The extra four USB ports will connect to the front of the case or via a dongle to an expansion slot.Explanation
The extra four USB ports most likely connect to the front of the case or via
a dongle to an expansion slot.Rate this question:
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- 6.
Which of the following chips enables an Athlon 64 to use dual-channelDDR RAM?
- A.
ATI 200 Express
- B.
NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI Intel
- C.
NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI AMD
- D.
None of the above
Correct Answer
D. None of the aboveExplanation
Athlon 64 CPUs have a memory controller built in; thus, none of the chips
listed handles memory access for the CPU.Rate this question:
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- 7.
Martin bought a new motherboard to replace his older ATX motherboard. Ashe left the shop, the tech on duty called after him, “Check your standouts!”What could the tech have meant?
- A.
Standouts are the connectors on the motherboard for the front panel buttons, like the on/off switch and reset button.
- B.
Standouts are the metal edges on some cases that aren’t rolled.
- C.
Standouts are the metal connectors that attach the motherboard to the case.
- D.
Standouts are the dongles that enable a motherboard to support more than four USB ports.
Correct Answer
C. Standouts are the metal connectors that attach the motherboard to the case.Explanation
Standouts are the metal connectors that attach the motherboard to the case.Rate this question:
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- 8.
Amanda bought a new system that, right in the middle of an importantpresentation, gave her a blue screen of death. Now her system won’t boot atall, not even to CMOS. After extensive troubleshooting, she determined thatthe motherboard was at fault and replaced it. Now the system runs fine. Whatwas the most likely cause of the problem?
- A.
Burn-in failure
- B.
Electro-static discharge
- C.
Component failure
- D.
Power supply failure
Correct Answer
A. Burn-in failureExplanation
Although all the answers are plausible, the best answer here is that her
system suffered burn-in failure.Rate this question:
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- 9.
Solon has a very buggy computer that keeps locking up at odd momentsand rebooting spontaneously. He suspects the motherboard. How shouldhe test it?
- A.
Check settings and verify good components.
- B.
Verify good components and document all testing.
- C.
Replace the motherboard first to see if the problems disappear.
- D.
Check settings, verify good components, replace components, and document all testing.
Correct Answer
D. Check settings, verify good components, replace components, and document all testing.Explanation
Solon needs to check settings, verify good components, replace
components, and document all testing.Rate this question:
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- 10.
Steve has been tasked to upgrade ten systems at his office. The systemscurrently have microATX motherboards with 512 MB of DDR RAM andAthlon XP CPUs.Primary objective: Upgrade ten systems.Optional objectives: Use the current cases and use the current RAM.Proposed solution: Purchase ten microATX motherboards with NVIDIAnForce 570 SLI Intel chipsets and ten Pentium D CPUs.The proposed solution:
- A.
Accomplishes only the primary objective.
- B.
Accomplishes the primary objective and one of the optional objectives.
- C.
Accomplishes the primary objective and both of the optional objectives.
- D.
Accomplishes neither the primary nor the optional objectives.
Correct Answer
B. Accomplishes the primary objective and one of the optional objectives.Explanation
The motherboards would fit just fine in the cases because the switch
from AMD to Intel CPUs has nothing to do with the form factor of the
motherboards. Steve slipped up, however, because the chipset on the new
motherboards requires DDR2 rather than DDR RAM.Rate this question:
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Mar 17, 2023Quiz Edited by
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Oct 24, 2008Quiz Created by
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