Motherboards should preferably use a high-performance chipset that supports DDR or DDR-2 SDRAM DIMMs preferably one that supports ECC memory as well if you are concerned about catching possible memory errors before they corrupt your data. Also look for video card and Serial ATA or faster hard drive support.

A modern system should use a socket-based processor with on-die L2 cache. Evaluate the processor choices you have, and try to get the one with the highest-speed CPU bus (front-side bus). Don’t get too hung up on L2 cache size; a little cache goes a long way. It is more important that the cache run at full core speed (which it will if it is on-die). Current processors such as the Athlon XP, Pentium 4, Pentium D, Celeron 4, Sempron, and Athlon 64 family all meet this criteria. I usually recommend only “boxed” processors as sold by Intel and AMD, which include a high-quality active heatsink as well as installation instructions and a 3-year warranty direct with the manufacturer.

For maximum upgradeability and performance, you should stick with a system that uses a socket for the CPU. The main sockets in use today on new systems include Socket A (Socket 462) for the Athlon XP and some Sempron models, Socket 775 for the Pentium 4 and Pentium D, Socket 754 for the Athlon 64 and some Sempron models, or Socket 939 for the Athlon 64FX. As long as your motherboard has one of these sockets, you should be in good shape.

The motherboard typically offers a choice of speeds, including anywhere from 200MHZ to 400MHz for the Duron/Athlon/Athlon XP-based boards, or from 400MHz to 1066MHz for the Pentium 4based boards. Check to ensure the board you are buying runs at the speeds necessary to support the processors you want to install

All modern systems use processors with integral cache, most of them now having the cache directly on the processor die for maximum speed. As such, there won’t be any cache memory on the motherboard in a modern system. The tip is to make sure you are using a processor with full core speed on-die L2 cache because this offers the maximum in performance. All the modern processors now incorporate full-speed on-die L2 cache.

Current systems use either DDR or DDR2 DIMMs. Older memory types, such as the now-ancient SIMMs and more recent SDRAM DIMM and RIMM memory, are obsolete and should be avoided. What you use depends mainly on your motherboard chipset, so choose the chipset and board that accepts the memory type you want to use. Currently, DDR and DDR-2 SDRAM and RDRAM are the fastest types of memory available, with RDRAM being by far the most costly. SDRAM is now much more expensive than DDR SDRAM because current systems no longer use SDRAM.

The motherboard should use an industry-standard BIOS, such as those from AMI, Phoenix, or Award. The BIOS should be of a Flash ROM or EEPROM design for easy updating. Look for a BIOS Recover jumper or mode setting, as well as possibly a Flash ROM write-protect jumper on some systems.

For maximum flexibility, performance, reliability, and ease-of-use, the ATX form factor (including microATX and FlexATX) cannot be beat. ATX has several distinct performance and functional advantages over Baby-AT and is vastly superior to any proprietary designs, such as LPX. The once-popular NLX form factor has largely been replaced by FlexATX. The newest form factor, BTX, offers superior cooling but is more expensive than ATX and requires a new power supply and case design.

Power management:

The motherboard should fully support the latest standard for power management, which is ACPI. An Energy Starcompliant system is also a bonus because it uses less than 30 watts of electrical energy when in sleep mode, saving energy as well as your electric bill.

This is the heart of your computer and supports almost all of the meaty hardware required to run your computer. It supports CPU, Chipset(s), RAM, heat Sink for the CPU, BIOS, IRQ steering lines, DMA channels and more…

Form factor: is one of the important factors that distinguish motherboards. At a high level, it refers to the dimensions of board as well as the layout of the components it contains. Most important types being AT, ATX & NLX styled motherboards.

There are tons of sites on the internet to learn more about motherboard types and its components. Just google for “Types of motherboards” and sift through the links to get a pictorial understanding of different motherboards and layouts.

Our objective here is to isolate and troubleshoot motherboard related issues:

Obviously, you’ll first have to inspect for any visible damange(burnt parts)on your motherboard! If there’s no visible damage, go ahead and attempt to start your computer. Usually, the BIOS Power On Self Test (POST) is coded in such a way that it tests subsections of the motherboard each time your PC boots up. At this stage BEEP/POST codes might provide clues to fatal errors. But, lets also look at some of the common issues with motherboards. If the PC doesn’t even startup for a POST test, then try some of the methods listed below:

Inspecting the basics:

So, you’ve gone through all the steps listed above, but not sure which part of the motherboard is causing the problem, seek help from a certified technician who can correctly pin point the issue. You might have to replace the motherboard with a new one!

Also refer : motherboard maintenance tips