Why is a motherboard called a motherboard?

[ChicagoPCGuy]

Does ANYBODY know the answer to this?

Ryland:

I have been building PCs since 1988, and that vernacular has been around for some time. The idea was "motherboard" is the heart of the system, hence "mother" and the add-in cards are called "daughter cards". That is how it started. IBM started using the term "planar board" in their PS/2 line of PCs in the early and mid-90's since their "motherboard" did not have a CPU socket, memory sockets, or anything much besides their proprietary Microchannel slots on it (MCA Architecture). The "planar" designation never caught on, and the term motherboard is still with us.

 

[Justin343563611]

Just say "because I love you."

 

[GundamF91]

many times I hear MAINBOARD as a term used instead of MOTHERBOARD. I think Motherboard is the hold over from the days where daughterboards were used, like mentioned above, but it's rather meaningless now. Mainboard should be the standard term for it.

 

[ribbon13]

I like motherboard better than mainboard. I think so do most people. That's why its the predominant term.

 

[hans007]

well ,


back in the old xt/286 type days, expansion cards were called daugterboards. so its all the same logic.