As I already know one bit of data can cover miles on a motherboard. But let's dumb it down and slow that bit of data down and understand its logical path.
They are traveling every which direction - depending if I or O (input or output, to or from) which device (memory manager, disk manager, network interface, PCI bus, PCIe bus, USB bus, sound, CPU, RAM, etc.).
And no, it is NOT great distances they travel. In fact, motherboard designers spend a great deal of time, money, R&D, and hair-pulling to make every path as short as possible. The longer the path, the more resistance to flow the electrons encounter in the conductor, and the longer it takes for the data to get where it needs to go and the more "wait states" are introduced. So shorter paths = more speed (or less speed
loss, I should say).
As far as how electrons flow through a circuit, you got a couple years? Understand the Laws of Physics (of which electronics is a part)? The Atomic Theory, electron "shells", valences? Hole Theory?
For a very basic understanding of how motherboards work, see
this HowStuffWorks article. Note the motherboard illustration and see how right under the CPU socket is the RAM. Just to the left of the CPU socket is the primary part of the chipset, the "Northbridge". And right next to the chipset is the AGP slot (PCIe on newer boards), typically used for the graphics card. For motherboards with integrated graphics the GPU and supporting circuitry are typically located just above the CPU/Chipset area. Why all clustered together? Not for convenience, but to keep the distances between those FSB connected components as short as possible.
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To clarify something I said above - to be sure the CPU speed sets the tone for everything else, but it is the FSB clock timings that set the CPU speed. This is why motherboard chipsets and CPUs go hand in hand. Chipsets are programmed and designed to support specific processors and it is the chipset (and socket) that determines which CPUs the board supports. This is why I always recommend users use the QVLs - qualified vendors lists - motherboard makers post on every motherboard website that list which CPUs are supported by that specific boards.
And of course, the ultimate speed will be that of the slowest component. If you buy slower RAM, the FSB will toggle down in speed to support that RAM, and of course that toggles down everything else too.
