Motherboard

Alternatively referred to as the mb, mainboard, mobo, mobd, backplane board, base board, main circuit board, planar board, system board, or a logic board on Apple computers. The motherboard is a printed circuit board that is the foundation of a computer, located at the bottom of the computer case. It allocates power to the CPU, RAM, and all other computer hardware components. Most importantly, the motherboard allows hardware components to communicate with one another.

Below is a picture of the ASUS P5AD2-E motherboard with names of each major component of the motherboard. Clicking on the image below gives you a larger more detailed version of the picture below.

What is RAM and what does it do?

What is RAM and what does it do?
RAM - Random Access Memory, or volatile memory, is used by the system to store data for processing by a computer's central processing unit (CPU), also known as the processor. RAM stores the data in memory cells that are arranged in grids much like the cells are arranged in a spreadsheet, from which data, in the binary form of 1's and 0's, can be accessed and transferred at random to the processor for processing by the system's software.
The data stored in a hard disk drive (HDD) cannot be accessed at random. Whole sectors, containing blocks of data, are transferred from a hard disk drive, placed in a large swap file on the same drive, and only then are selected files transferred to RAM for random access by the processor, which is itself only performing the instructions of the system's operating system (usually Windows), and its application software.  
Whenthe computer is turned off, all of the data in the RAM memory is lost, hence its alternative name of volatile memory, whereas all of the data on a hard disk drive is retained permanently until it is intentionally erased. The motherboard (or mainboard) manual (that should be provided with a new or a second-hand PC) will provide all of the details about the different types of supported RAM, and the various combinations of modules per bank for each type that can be successfully installed.
You can use some of the easy tools to find your exact DDR or DDR2 Memory Upgrades for your Desktop, Laptop or Servers.
Use the Memory Selector to find compatible DDR or DDR2 Memory Upgrades, or the all new system scanner tool to scan your system to find exact matching DDR RAM. If you need more help use the Live Chat Support