across the CPU and make room for full length expansion .
slots. The best way to describe an ATX board is that it .
is an AT board turned 90 degrees. "There are two other .
form factors available but only to large computer .
manufacturers at this time." (Kent, 87). When choosing .
which motherboard to use, an additional consideration is .
which processor you want. Since the physical location of .
the processor is on the MB, which processor you choose .
will demand what kind of chip socket on the motherboard .
you will need. Socket 7, Slot 1 and Socket 370 are the .
three types of processor packages currently available. .
The older Pentium and Pentium w/ MMX, AMD K5 and K6 LINE, .
Cyrix 6x86 and MII lines, IDT Winchip and Winchip-2 lines .
use the Socket 7. Pentium II and most of the Pentium III .
use Slot 1. "The most recently marketed Socket 370 is .
used with the IBM Celeron line and will soon use it on .
the Pentium III line." (Kent, 87-88).
The "brain" of the computer, otherwise known in tech .
land as the Central Processing Unit, works intimately .
with the motherboard. Typically mistaken for the entire .
computer system, the CPU interprets and executes the .
instructions within a computer. There are a few important .
considerations in choosing a processor. The first thing .
is the clock speed of the processor. Processors like the .
Pentiums, Celerons, and AMD K6 chips are measured in .
Megahertz ratings. The higher the Megahertz rating, the .
faster the clock speeds. The other factor to consider is .
the cache speeds. "The general rule of thumb in regards .
to cache is the bigger the better, although the most .
important thing to keep in mind is matching the speeds as .
close as possible to the processor's speed" (Baker, 5) to .
cut down on processing time wasted due to speed .
differences. The combination of the processor, the cache .
and the bus speeds on the motherboard determine how fast .
your computer really works. Now that the hard and more .