Motherboards, CPUs, and Expansion Cards for A+

This A+ topic covers technician-level recognition and support decisions for motherboards, processors, firmware settings, and common add-on cards.

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5 lessons in this topic

Board Form Factors & Connectors

Recognize common motherboard form factors and connector ecosystems and apply that knowledge to straightforward hardware-fit decisions.

CPU Sockets & Architectures

Match processors to supported socket and platform expectations and recognize the basic architecture labels CompTIA includes.

BIOS/UEFI Platform Settings

Recognize the BIOS/UEFI setting categories that matter in support scenarios involving boot behavior, security, temperature monitoring, or platform features.

Expansion Cards & Roles

Identify common expansion cards by function and choose the right add-on card for a straightforward hardware requirement.

Platform Compatibility & Install Logic

Make clean platform-install decisions by checking board fit, socket support, slot availability, and actual system requirements.

Common mistakes to avoid

- Assuming physical similarity implies compatibility: two boards that look similar may have different mounting holes or I/O shield arrangements. - Believing all M.2 slots support NVMe: some are wired for SATA only.

- Thinking vendor similarity implies cross-compatibility: Intel and AMD CPUs are not interchangeable. - Believing architecture labels alone determine physical fit: x64 indicates software capability, but socket determines physical compatibility.

- Changing Secure Boot without understanding security policy; teach when it is acceptable to toggle it for installation tasks and how to restore settings.

- Installing a capture card when the need is just more display outputs: capture cards ingest video, while GPUs output to displays. - Adding a discrete NIC when the board already has an integrated NIC: check rear I/O before adding hardware.