The motherboard is a technological marvel. It's a printed circuit board (PCB) with an array of components soldiered on top. The motherboard connects all components together, be it the RAM, CPU, storage, or even your mouse. The motherboard is vital for the PC work at all. If you're not familiar with all the headers, it can be a little daunting, but thankfully most boards have labels printed next to various parts. I'm going to run you through what all the headers do and how you can use them when putting together a PC.

What are motherboard headers?

Connect all the things!

A motherboard header is used to connect an external device, be it a fan, USB port, jumper, or power button. I included USB-A 3.x twice as some motherboards may have angled headers and others will be facing up as normal. These are the most common headers you'll interact with outside of power connections and SATA ports. Depending on the motherboard configuration, you may have multiple headers or none of a particular type.

Your motherboard manual will become your best friend in deciphering precisely what your motherboard has to offer, but this is a great starting place to understand what's what.

Fan headers

These are vital headers for connecting cooling components to the motherboard. By using three-pin or four-pin connections, you will be able to control fan speeds using the motherboard BIOS or software. Fans with three wires have power, ground, and signal, the latter providing insight into how fast the motor is running. The motherboard is not able to fine-tune the speed outside of altering voltage. A fan with four wires can have the motherboard communicate with the fan and allow for precise control. This is known as pulse width modulation (PWM).

The remaining fan headers on the motherboard should be CHA_FAN, PUMP, or M.2. These can be used for various parts, depending on what you have to connect, be it case fans, active cooling for SSDs, or pumps for custom open-loop solutions.

USB headers

USB headers on a motherboard come in a variety of sizes and types. Older USB-A 2.x ports are powered by a 9-pin array, enclosed in plastic. USB-A 3.x require 19 pins and are essentially stretched USB-A 2.x headers. Finally, we have the newest USB-C 3.x header, which is completely different and acts more like a physical port. Luckily, this means there's no way to confuse the three.

Front I/O headers

This set of pins looks complicated but it's a simple array and is usually labeled, though the manual will point out which does what and it's largely standard across brands. Two pins can power on the system, two sets of pairs can illuminate an HDD or power LED, and two more for a reset switch. These don't have to be used but make it easier to cycle the system and complete the build.

RGB headers

A motherboard may have two or more RGB headers. Like fans, there are two connection types, depending on the voltage. What's different with RGB headers is they're not interchangeable. A newer 3-pin 5V A-RGB component cannot be used on an older 4-pin 12V RGB header and vice-versa. The newer connection is addressable, meaning the motherboard can control it and create visual spectacles with multiple RGB-enabled components installed.

Front audio headers

Front audio is quite simple. Should your PC case have an audio jack or two, they will be powered by this header via a single cable. If you never use the ports on the front of the case for audio, you can leave this disconnected.

Consult your manual for more details

It helps to know your stuff

You've seen me reference the motherboard manual a few times in this guide and that's because it's a treasure cove of information specific to your motherboard. You can learn all about the various ports and headers on your motherboard by giving it a quick read. If you're building a PC for the first time, fear not as you can't go wrong by forgetting to connect something to a motherboard header. Using the wrong header is where things can take a turn for the worse.