Comparision

Logic Board vs Motherboard – Differences You Might Not Know

Logic Board vs Motherboard

Ask me ‘what’s a logic board?’ and I would first tell you about a motherboard. In layman’s terms, a motherboard or a mobo is a primary component in a PC to which every other internal component is connected. However, the logic board is not much of a difference to a regular mainboard. Mobo and Logic board can now be used interchangeably, but there was a time when these used to have some prominent differences. To explain further, let me get you through the peculiar details of logic board vs motherboard.

Logic board vs Motherboard

A PC’s mobo features sockets that can be used to add and remove the integral components that constitute a computer, including but not limited to CPU, RAM, graphics card, optical drives, and hard drives. These sockets enable the user to upgrade his PC without having to purchase a new computer. It also uses a small battery that powers its internal clock and configuration memory so that you don’t have to reset the time and reconfigure settings every time it’s unplugged. They are also known as system boards or mainboards as they are the heart of a computer. It is commonly abbreviated as “mobo”. 

What does Apple call a motherboard? Logic Board! A Logic board can be considered as an “Apple’s version of motherboard”. The system boards in Macintosh computers during the 1980s and 90s were known as logic boards. It has since been referred to as logic boards for Apple computers and motherboards for regular computers, despite it being the same thing in modern computers. The only remarkable difference is that a mainboard is considered for a MAC, PC, or any other computer, whereas a logic board is specifically for a Macintosh. 

Is the motherboard and logic board the same thing?

motherboard

Logic board and motherboard, however similar in usage, cannot be considered indistinguishable, at least during the period when logic boards would be used particularly for Mac computers.

The primary difference between logic boards in the early 1980s and main circuit boards of that period is in the components that are to be connected to these boards. The older Macs, that used Motorola processors, would not accept Intel processors. However, this has been made simpler with the modern Macs using standard technologies that can be interchanged with equivalent PC components. One such example is a graphic card that may require firmware to be compatible with a specific OS. In such cases, the card can be physically connected to both mobo and logic boards, but not necessarily function properly for both the computers. 

The baseboard can easily be bought from a store near you or even online, which makes it pretty simple to upgrade your computers with a new planar board at a lower cost. The logic boards are manufactured by Apple and are designed for specific Mac models. Logic boards can be bought online as well, but it is quite expensive to change them and one generally won’t pick this route. 

Is a logic board a motherboard?

These are the only prominent differences you can find between a logic board and a mobo. Well, that’s all in the past, when you would need Logic boards for specific Macintosh models. Over time, these system boards and logic boards have evolved to the extent that they can be used interchangeably and can be regarded as one. You can say that the logic board is just a fancier name for the main circuit board.

Final Word

The ‘logic board’ is just a term specific to Macintosh computers that didn’t lose its charm over the years and is still used for Apple’s main circuit boards. Logic boards and motherboards have the same function for a computer and are technically the same. Call it whatever you may, motherboard, mainboard, system board, main circuit board, baseboard, planar board, logic board, or a mobo, these all mean the same thing. Let me know your thoughts on logic board vs motherboard in the comments section below.

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