Microphone Port

This 1/8 inch (3.5 mm) female connector in pink color can be used to attach a microphone. The connectors for microphone and headphone can be used for a head-set. To test a microphone you can use the Windows Sound Recorder application.

Head Phone Port

This 1/8 inch (3.5 mm) female stereo connector in lime color can be used to attach a headphone or headset with an impedance of at least 32 ohms. This connector can also be used as a line-out to connect amplified PC speakers.

USB 2.0 Port

This port connect USB devices, such as a mouse, keyboard, printer or a mass storage device. The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a high-speed synchronous serial data interface allowing up to 127 peripherals to be simultaneously connected to a personal computer. USB supports "hot-swap" which is the ability to add or remove a new device without having to reboot the computer and "plug-and-play" operation, in which the host software automatically detects attached peripherals and loads the appropriate driver. USB 2.0 runs at up to 480 Mbit/s and is downward compatible with USB 1.1 which runs up to 12 Mbit/s.

USB 2.0 Port

This port connect USB devices, such as a mouse, keyboard, printer or a mass storage device. The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a high-speed synchronous serial data interface allowing up to 127 peripherals to be simultaneously connected to a personal computer. USB supports "hot-swap" which is the ability to add or remove a new device without having to reboot the computer and "plug-and-play" operation, in which the host software automatically detects attached peripherals and loads the appropriate driver. USB 2.0 runs at up to 480 Mbit/s and is downward compatible with USB 1.1 which runs up to 12 Mbit/s.

Bay for optical drive in slim format

This 5.25" bay is used for an optical drive in slim format (only 13 mm in height), which is normally used in notebooks. Please not, that the barebone PC does not include an optical drive.

Thumbscrews

This case features toolless entry thanks to the thumbscrews, making it that much easier to get inside without using a screwdriver. Just unscrew the thumbscrews on the back of the chassis cover and slide the cover backwards and upwards. Note: For safety reasons, please ensure that the power cord is disconnected before opening the case.

Thumbscrews

This case features toolless entry thanks to the thumbscrews, making it that much easier to get inside without using a screwdriver. Just unscrew the thumbscrews on the back of the chassis cover and slide the cover backwards and upwards. Note: For safety reasons, please ensure that the power cord is disconnected before opening the case.

Analog Monitor Port (VGA)

This video output is used to connect a analogue CRTs (cathode-ray tubes) display or a digital display with analogue input to the PC. It uses analogue RGB and synchronisation signals to bring up a picture on the display output. The connector is known as DB15 or 15-pin D-subminiature (D-Sub) where the ‘D’-shaped raised shield gives it it’s name.

USB 2.0 Port

This port connect USB devices, such as a mouse, keyboard, printer or a mass storage device. The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a high-speed synchronous serial data interface allowing up to 127 peripherals to be simultaneously connected to a personal computer. USB supports "hot-swap" which is the ability to add or remove a new device without having to reboot the computer and "plug-and-play" operation, in which the host software automatically detects attached peripherals and loads the appropriate driver. USB 2.0 runs at up to 480 Mbit/s and is downward compatible with USB 1.1 which runs up to 12 Mbit/s.

Network Connector (RJ45)

This RJ45 Ethernet port connects the PC directly to a central connecting device, be it hub, switch, or router. Hubs are the least expensive option and simply have multiple RJ45 ports to connect several computers. A switch works similar, but analyzes the data which results in a smoother and more efficient transfer of data. While hubs and switches connect devices to form a Local area network (LAN), routers are used to connect to another network, e.g. the Internet. The two lights next to the connector indicate status and activity for wired network connections. The integrated network controller supports at least Fast Ethernet (10/100 Mbit/s) or even Gigabit Ethernet (GbE, 10/100/1000 Mbit/s).

Audio Line In Port

This 1/8 inch (3.5 mm) female stereo connector in light-blue color can be used as an input to record/digitize analogue audio from external sources such as a CD/tape player, amplifier, television etc.

PS/2 Mouse Port

The green-colored PS/2 connector is used as standard input for a PC mouse since 1996. In the meantime it falls into the class of legacy device and will eventually be replaced by USB.

PS/2 Keyboard Port

The purple-colored PS/2 connector is used as standard input for a PC keyboard. Around 1995, the PS/2 keyboard port has replaced the AT 5 pin DIN connector and now it falls into the class of legacy device and will eventually be replaced by USB.

Head Phone Port

This 1/8 inch (3.5 mm) female stereo connector in lime color can be used to attach a headphone or headset with an impedance of at least 32 ohms. This connector can also be used as a line-out to connect amplified PC speakers.

Microphone Port

This 1/8 inch (3.5 mm) female connector in pink color can be used to attach a microphone. The connectors for microphone and headphone can be used for a head-set. To test a microphone you can use the Windows Sound Recorder application.

Serial Port

Male 9-pin D-sub connector for RS-232 serial data communications. In the past, the serial port was used for modems, terminals, mice and other peripheral devices, but it is now being superseded by USB.

Digital Monitor Port (DVI-D)

The Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is a 24 pin video interface standard designed to maximize the visual quality of digital displays. The advantage that digital systems have over analog ones is that Digital systems are only dependent on the electronic performance of the equipment, and because the signal information is conveyed as a digital (binary) code, any noise or distortion generated by the equipment is easier to reject.

Connector for DC power input

This is the power jack for the DC voltage coming from an external, fanless power supply.

Back Panel Connectors

The Back Panel is an electrical panel consisting of several connectors for external peripherals. Common ports are audio, network, usb and firewire. When the mainboard chipset integrates a video controller you will also find at least one video port. On newer PCs you may also find an external Serial ATA port, but at the same time you may miss some of the older (legacy) ports: PS/2 for mouse and keyboard, serial, parallel.

Battery

This is a conventional coin-shaped non-rechargeable 3 volt lithium cell. This is a battery, which powers the CMOS memory that holds configuration information, and the internal date-and-time clock (RTC).

Southbridge (Chipset)

The chipset of this mainboard consists of two components: the Northbridge (NB) and the Southbridge (SB). The Southbridge is a chip that implements the "slower" capabilities of the mainboard and is not directly connected to the CPU. A particular southbridge will usually work with several different northbridges, but these two chips must be designed to work together. A typical Southbridge includes functions for power management, interrupt controller, USB and may include interfaces to the following components: mass storage drives (PATA/SATA), PCI/PCIe x1 bus, BIOS EEPROM, I/O controller (serial, parallel, PS/2 mouse/keyboard, floppy drive), audio codec chip, network controller and more.

DDR2 Memory Slots

Power Supply Connector

The ATX V1.x specification defines a 20 pin main power connector which provides 3.3V, 5V, 12V and 5V standby lines to the mainboard. The power-on wire allows to turn the PSU off by software. ATX V2.x standard defines a new 24 pin connector to support 75W PCI-Express requirements, but most mainboards still use the old 20 pin connector in combination with an additional 4 pin ATX12V (12V), or combine 8 pin ATX12V with 6 pin AUX (3.3V and 5V).

Parallel ATA Header

This is the 40-pin Parallel ATA (IDE) onboard header for hard disks or optical drives. One connector supports up to 2 devices. The appropriate ribbon cables have one connector for the mainboard (at one end) and one or two for device attachment (master and/or slave device). According to the latest standards 80 wires are required for the ribbon cable in order support the higher transfer speeds (66MB/s or higher) - the additional 40 pins being dedicated to ground reducing crosstalk. With the introduction of Serial ATA in 2003, the original ATA was renamed Parallel ATA (PATA). It is expected that SATA will replace the older technology.

BIOS EEPROM

The BIOS EEPROM is a memory chip which is mounted in a socket on the mainboard, so it is removable. It stores the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) which is a small program that stores configuration details about your computer hardware and enables your computer to boot up. Every time your computer is switched on, the BIOS loads configuration data into main memory, performs a routine diagnostic test on your hardware, then loads the operating system. You can enter a simple BIOS setup program by pressing the DEL key shortly after the machine starts to boot. This is an interface where the user can configure items such as time, date, boot settings, hard drive details, etc. The system configuration data is stored in the battery buffered CMOS memory which is not inside the BIOS EEPROM. By using the "Clear CMOS" jumper you can reset the CMOS data to factory default settings, if necessary. The EEPROM retains the data even when power is turned off and it can be reprogrammed using a Flash Utility. This allows a convenient way to upgrade your BIOS as newer features are released, however, the risk is that an improperly executed or aborted BIOS update can render the computer or device unusable. Shuttle is not liable for any damage or loss of data caused by the BIOS update.

Ethernet Network Controller

Ethernet is a family of networking technologies for local area networks (LANs), standardized as IEEE 802.3. You can find the network controller on a Network interface card (NICs) or integrated as a LAN-on-Motherboard (LOM) solution. In traditional PC architecture, the network controller is attached to the PCI or PCI-Express bus. Today, most board-mounted network chips only includes the PHysical Layer (PHY) transceiver, whereas the other logical part of the controller, the Media Access Controller (MAC), is integrated into the southbridge of the mainboards chipset. Each Ethernet station is given a single 48-bit MAC address, which is used both to specify the destination and the source of each data packet.

Input/Output Controller

The Input/Output controller is a single chip that typically controls the slower-speed standardized peripherals common to most personal computers. These functions include for example serial port control, parallel port control and FDD control.

Clear CMOS Jumper

The Clear CMOS Button jumper allows users to reset BIOS information to factory default settings. To perform the Clear CMOS procedure, first power down the PC and remove the power cord. Then set the jumper according to the manual for 5 seconds. Finally reconnect the power cord and turn on the computer.

Audio CODEC

In the late 1990s, many computer manufacturers began to replace plug-in soundcards with a "AC'97 audio codec", usually a small square chip with 48 pins. The word "Audio Codec" refers to the analog component of the architecture, a combined audio AD/DA-converter - it encodes/decodes signals to/from analog audio from/to digital audio. This should not be confused with a software codec in the sense of converting from one binary format to another, such as an MP3 codec. The digital part is integrated into the mainboards chipset. In 2004 AC'97 was superseded by Intel High Definition Audio (HD Audio) with PCI-Express x1 Interface, which supports eight channels at 192 kHz/32-bit quality, while the AC‘97 specification with a serial (AIC or I²S) interface can only support six channels at 48 kHz/20-bit.

Fan Connector

Basically, there are two kind of onboard headers for cooling fans: 3 pin (RPM controlled) and 4 pin (PWM controlled). 2 wires are required to power the fan (12V). The third wire is a RPM output signal (also tach or sensor) to determine the rotation rate: it pulses twice, for every full rotation of the fan blade. A hardware monitor circuit on the mainboard can use this signal to adjust the fan speed according to CPU temperature by voltage control: the voltage is reduced or increased to speed or slow the fan. The optional 4th wire is a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) input, which is square wave signal at 25kHz - above human hearing. The pulse width of the PWM signal indicates the desired speed. A 50% wide signal might indicate half speed. A 75% wide pulse in PWM might mean three quarters speed and so on. This is different from voltage control. Online vendors make this a bit more confusing by often refering to a 3 pin fan to 4 pin power adapter cable - which usually means that two wires coming from the 4 pin Molex connector to a 3 pin fan, but the RPM wire is not assigned.

Northbridge (Chipset)

The chipset of this mainboard consists of two components: the Northbridge (NB) and the Southbridge (SB). The Northbridge is the faster of the two and handles the data flows to CPU, DRAM memory, graphics card and Southbridge chip. Special bus systems are uses for the communication, e.g. Front Side Bus for Intel CPUs, Memory Bus for DRAM memory modules, PCI Express for the graphics and the Chipset Interconnect bus between NB and SB. The performance of these connections depends on the clock speed, the data-width and the latency (or 'access' time). Some northbridges also contain an integrated video controller. The northbridge on a particular system's mainboard is the most prominent factor in dictating the number, speed, and type of CPU and the amount, speed, and type of DRAM that can be used (please refer to the specification of this product).

Fan Connector

Basically, there are two kind of onboard headers for cooling fans: 3 pin (RPM controlled) and 4 pin (PWM controlled). 2 wires are required to power the fan (12V). The third wire is a RPM output signal (also tach or sensor) to determine the rotation rate: it pulses twice, for every full rotation of the fan blade. A hardware monitor circuit on the mainboard can use this signal to adjust the fan speed according to CPU temperature by voltage control: the voltage is reduced or increased to speed or slow the fan. The optional 4th wire is a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) input, which is square wave signal at 25kHz - above human hearing. The pulse width of the PWM signal indicates the desired speed. A 50% wide signal might indicate half speed. A 75% wide pulse in PWM might mean three quarters speed and so on. This is different from voltage control. Online vendors make this a bit more confusing by often refering to a 3 pin fan to 4 pin power adapter cable - which usually means that two wires coming from the 4 pin Molex connector to a 3 pin fan, but the RPM wire is not assigned.

Onboard USB Connector

This is an onboard USB header with 1x5 pins (or 2x5 pins) which provide one (or two) USB interfaces you want to install additional internal components, such as a 3.5" card reader or a Shuttle Wireless-LAN module.

Connector for the front panel

The is a special flat cable connector for the front panel. It carries signal for the buttons (power and reset) and LEDs (power and HDD).

Serial ATA Header

Onboard Audio Input

This is an onboard header which provides an analog audio input for an auxiliary (AUX) device or the internal optical drive.

Embedded Intel® Atom™ Processor

Intel started to ship its Atom processor in June 2008. This processor is based on an entirely new x86-design which consumes less than a few watts of power, but powerful enough to connect to business, enjoy entertainment and enable a big Internet experience. The processor is soldered onto the mainboard, thus, it is not replaceable.