• Online, Self-Paced

Discover the basics of CPUs, motherboards, and add-on cards, as well as the various factors that need to be considered to install and configure them in your computer.

Learning Objectives

CompTIA A+ 220-1001: Working with Motherboards, CPUs, & Add-On Cards

  • differentiate between the ATX, MATX, ITX and MITX motherboard form factors
  • differentiate between PCI, PCIe, riser card, socket, SATA, IDE, front panel, and internal USB connectors
  • list BIOS/UEFI settings such as boot options, firmware, and interface configurations
  • describe the importance of BIOS security, including passwords and drive encryption
  • recognize the importance of CMOS batteries
  • differentiate between single core and multicore CPUs
  • list CPU features such as virtual technology, hyper threading, speeds, overclocking, and integrated GPU
  • differentiate between AMD and Intel
  • list different cooling mechanisms such as fans, heat sink, liquid, and thermal paste
  • recognize different expansion cards such as video, sound, NIC, USB, and eSATA
  • work with CPUs

Framework Connections