COMPUTER HARDWARE

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Motherboards tie everything in your computer together. Wonder what all those parts are on your motherboard? See a labeled picture on the next page.

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A typical motherboard contains areas for computer memory, CPU, AGP, PCI and more. See a close up of motherboard slots on the next page.

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Computer hardware, such as memory, PCI and AGP connect to the motherboard through slots. Have you ever seen a motherboard bridge? See the next page.

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The chipset is the "glue" that connects the microprocessor to the rest of the motherboard and therefore to the rest of the computer. On a PC, it consists of two basic parts -- the north bridge and the south bridge. Take a look at computer memory next.

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Computer memory has a big effect on system performance. Pictured above is SIMM memory, or single in-line memory module, which is a type of RAM memory module. See DIMM memory on the next page.

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DIMM, or dual in-line memory module, has a 64-bit path to memory chips, whereas the SIMM has only a 32-bit. The next type of memory is often found in notebooks, printers and networking equipment.