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🖥️ Draw me a motherboard

Duration: 1h 10 min

Team: Groups of 4 students

🎯 Educational Objective​

The objective of this activity is to better understand the concepts of buses, controllers, interfaces, and protocols. The motherboard is the component that connects all these concepts, so we will create a simplified version.

🧩 Procedure​

1. Draw a motherboard (40 minutes)​

As a team, create a plan (diagram) of a motherboard. Your motherboard should contain at least the following elements:

  • A processor (CPU)
  • Random Access Memory (RAM)
  • A hard drive (HDD or SSD)
  • A graphics card (GPU)
  • A chipset
  • Connectors for peripherals (USB, HDMI, etc.)

This means your motherboard has connectors for these elements and the buses that connect them. You must specifically:

  • draw the bus lines and indicate their type (e.g., PCIe, DDR, etc.)
  • indicate the types of connectors used (e.g., M.2, DIMM, USB-C, etc.)
warning

It would be easy to imagine a motherboard with only one type of bus, for example, PCIe x16. As much as possible, try to find information on what type of bus is used for each component.

Here is an example to inspire you.

2. Final synthesis (30 min)​

Return to the large group:

  • Each group shares their diagram and explains their choices.
  • If you have doubts about your diagram, feel free to ask questions.
  • Synthesis of the different diagrams and the choices made by the groups.

🛠️ Tools​

Here are some tools to create your diagram.

  • Microsoft Whiteboard. Integrated into Teams, it allows for collaborative drawing in real-time. Click on the "Share" button and choose "Microsoft Whiteboard."
  • diagrams.net
  • Lucidchart
  • excalidraw
  • Miro
  • PowerPoint
  • Paper and pencil! You can also use paper and a pencil if you prefer and share a photo of your drawing.

🏎️ Already finished?​

  • Does your motherboard have connectors for a sound card? Internet network? Power supply?