A daughterboard is a special type of circuit board that plugs directly into another circuit board. This allows the original board to perform additional tasks or access new connection systems. Since a daughterboard connects directly to the motherboard, it communicates much faster than peripherals plugged in through other means.

Daughterboard is a catchall term for a wide variety of computer and electronics add-ons. The term most often refers to computer parts that extend communication or multimedia capabilities, such as network cards or soundcards. Some companies make daughterboards as part of hardware development kits, either as an add-on to the kit or as the actual board being constructed. Consider the following when looking at a daughterboard list:

1. Some daughterboard systems extend the multimedia capabilities of a computer system.

2. Many companies will sell a daughterboard that allow new forms of communication.

3. Developer kits allow people to make new pieces of computer hardware.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Locate a daughterboard provider that sells multimedia add-ons

The multimedia capabilities of a computer are important to some business machines, but not all. Many high-end design and plotting programs benefit from additional video power. Many other offices have high-powered sound systems on computers used for presentations.

I recommend: ZipZoomFly carries a wide selection of sound cards, and PC Universe sells many different video cards.

Use a communication enhancing daughterboard

While the necessity of multimedia boards may be in question, the necessity of communication systems is inarguable. Connectivity is vital to nearly every business machine in offices today. Whether you're part of an internal network or you need to communicate with offsite file or email servers, networking cards and modems create an essential link with the outside world.

I recommend: Newegg caries several phone modems. While the selection may not seem like much, the technology is quickly being phased out and this is actually a pretty good set of choices. TigerDirect sells many different networking cards for all of the different protocols.

Find daughterboard development kits

Hardware development kits are used to create new pieces of electronic hardware. While these usually go into computers, they don't always. You can find developer kits that will allow you to make add-ons for nearly any electronic device.

I recommend: Terasic Technologies makes a wide range of daughterboards designed for laying out new pieces of hardware. The boards available from Altium plug into their kit to allow the creation of boards for a wide range of electronic architectures.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Most of the time a daughterboard has very specific requirements for how and when it is used. Always make sure that you have up-to-date daughterboard information and research the exact type of connection you need when buying computer parts. With development kits, you'll typically achieve the best results if all of your parts are from the same company, even when it says it's compatible with something else.