Everything you wanted to know about a motherboard – III

Super I/O Chip: The Super I/O chip is the chip on the motherboard that integrates devices that were contained on expansion cards on older PCs. This chip allows for a faster transfer rate of data between the device and the system and has a lower failure rate. The Super I/O chip usually contains the following devices:
· Dual serial port controllers
· Floppy drive controller
· Parallel port controller
· Keyboard and mouse controllers

Jumpers: A jumper is a small plastic-covered metal clip that is placed over metal pins sticking out of the board. When placed on the pins, the jumper enables electricity to flow to the pins, completing the circuit. A jumper is considered closed when the plastic clip covers the pins.

Use: Jumpers are used to control device settings including processor speed and type, bus speed and CMOS password settings.
Dual Inline Package (DIP) switches are small switches embedded into circuit boards. They are used to configure the system functions including the bus speed, processor speed and processor type. DIP switches are toggled either On/Off or 1/0. Microsoft’s standard Plug and Play feature has made the use of DIP switches obsolete.

DIP Switch Example