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The faster computers move, the more they try our patience. -- Philip Sudo, author Zen Computer

Affectionally known to techies as The Mobo, the mainboard, system board, logic board, or motherboard is where bandwidth is defined. And for all intents and purposes, it IS the computer. Though CPU speed is usually the first name dropped at family gatherings, it should be calmly prefaced with the mobo's model -- or if thats too hard to remember, mention the FSB and PCI bus clock speeds, amount of RAM, etc., etc. Using an NLE workstation is like having your own miniature freeway during rush hour, it is only as fast as it's narrowest segment will allow. So the next time you look at your motherboard, picture it as a patchwork of data pathways with large speed limit signs: FSB: 266MHz or 3.2 GBps PCI-64 (4x): 66MHz or 532 MBps PCI-32 (1x): 33MHz or 133 MBps and so on. Remember which components go where, and you pretty much have the map of the area. CPU and memory respect FSB speed limits, the newer digitizing cards and SCSI host adapters can race along the PCI-64 slots (watch out for mixing 2x and 4x cards, most mobos cannot negotiate both on the same bus). Knowing how long a chunk of data mills around a certain component (CPU, memory, SCSI adapter) will maximize the speed limit, and overall performance. Knowing When to look Where can ease the troubleshoot or bring the most bang for your upgrade buck. For the smart upgrade, Know Thy Mobo. When eliminating bottlenecks, every component is given the thumbs up or down treatment BASED on your mobo's capacity. However, if you have a multi-proc Athlon system, and an Adobe Premiere user, you will see better performance sticking with AMD than switching to single CPU 2.4 GHz P4 (see the CPU page for more on this). For turnkey users, it is a mere datapoint in an already well-planned and tested system (yes, they do occassionally appear). Just check with tech support to see what can be done, if anything. For those Clark Kent videographers who emerge as Super Power User when the upgrade itch appears, it is the place to start.

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