Chapter 3: Peripherals and Expansion Flashcards
What is an expansion card?
A circuit board you install into a computer to increase the capabilities of the PC.
Expansion cards are also known as
Adapter cards
When installing an expansion card, the bus type must match what?
The bus type of the expansion slot.
Example: PCI network card can only plug into a PCI expansion slot.
I’d suggest that this is a fairly obvious statement.
What are the four most common categories of expansion cards installed today?
Video
Multimedia
I/O
Communications
What are two alternative names for a video expansion card?
Graphics Adapter
Video Card
Name this device:
Video expansion card.
Note the interface – PCIe
What does a video card do?
Allows the computer to display information on a monitor / display device.
How does a video card operate?
Converts data sent to it by the CPU into pixels, addresses, and other items required for display.
Why might video card / video adapter manufacturers prefer not to use a PCI interface?
Alternatives like PCIe and AGP offer additional resources to the expansion card.
Given that AGP is a disappearing interface, this information applies more to PCIe
What types of expansion cards are classified as “multimedia” adapters?
Sound Cards
TV Tuners & Video Capture
I/O Cards
Name this device:
Sound card.
Note the DA15 game port. This card is considered legacy because it offers the DA15 game port, which is used for joysticks and other gaming devices.
DA15 Port:
Though you can purchase sound expansion cards, why might you not need to?
Of all the different types of expansion cards, the sound card is the most likely to already be integreted into the motherboard.
Additional component that may be found on modern sound cards.
RCA jack for digital audio (specification known as Sony/Philips Digital Interface, S/PDIF)
Name this device:
TV Tuner card / Video capture card.
What does a TV Tuner do?
Connect to a broadcast signal, like cable or an antenna.
Can be internal or external.
Most TV Tuner cards also act as video cpature cards.
What varieties do TV tuner cards come in?
Analog
Digital
Hybrid
What do video capture cards do?
Stand-alone device (or part of a TV Tuner) that is used to save a video stream to the computer for later manipulation or sharing.
(Example: Connection from a VCR)
What is an I/O card?
This is a catchall phrase for any expansion card that expans the system to interface with devices that offer additional input or output not already covered by categories like “TV Tuner”, “Video Capture”, “Sound Card”
Examples:
Parallel ports
Serial ports
What types of expansion cards are classified as communications adapters / expansion cards?
Network Interface Card (NIC)
Modem (Heh….)
Riser Cards
Name this expansion card:
NIC
Network Interface Card
What does a NIC do?
Expansion card that connects a computer to a network so that it can communicate with other computers on that network.
NIC stands for
Network Interface Card
OR
Network Interface Controller
Three types of NICs
Wireless
Wired
Cellular
Wired NICs can create a connection to a network simply by being connected to ____
A hub, switch, or another PC
Unlike wired NICs, wireless NICs require that you _____ before it will start working
Configure the connecting device (the wireless router, or another PC’s wireless NIC, for example)
What is the purpose of a cellular card?
Provided by a cellular service. Allows connection to a cellular network.
What is Modem short for?
Modulator / demodulator
Name this device:
Modem
What is the purpose of a riser card?
This allows low profile form factor PCs to conserve space.
NLX (new Low-Profile Extended) motherboard form factors use riser cards to allow expansion cards to be plugged into parallel to the motherboard.
Examples:
Expansion cards tend to be recognized via Plug and Play support from the operating system. This means _____
Little to no hardware configuration is required (as opposed to jumper settings on legacy hard drives, for example).
You may need to install a driver, but even that might not be required.
What is a Port
Generic term for any connector on a computer or peripheral onto which a cable can be plugged.
D-subminiature connectors
Ports that form a D shape, which ensures that the device can only be plugged in one way.
Examples:
How are D-subminiature connectors designated / named?
DXn
D is the letter D
X is a letter A-E. This refers to the size of the connector.
n is a number that refers to the number of pins or sockets in the connector.
Example:
DE9 - Serial Port (note the 9 pins / sockets)
DE9 D-subminiature connector
Male & Female end uses are
Male: Serial Port
Female: Connector on a serial cable
DB25 D-subminiature connector
Male & Female end uses are
Male:
Serial Port
OR
Connector on a parallel cable
Female:
Parallel Port
OR
connector on a serial cable
DA15 D-subminiature connector
Male & Female end uses are
Male: Conector on a game peripheral cable or MIDI cable
Female: Game port or MIDI port
DE15 D-subminiature connector
Male & Female end uses are
Male:
Connector on a monitor cable
Female:
Video port
What’s the most obvious difference between a DE15 and a DA15 port or connector?
While both have 15 pins, the DE15 (Video) has three rows of 15 pins/ports while the DA15 (Game or MIDI) has two rows of 15 pins/ports.
Name this D-subminiature connector:
DE9 Serial Port
Name this D-subminiature connector:
DE9 Connector on a serial cable.
What series of connectors are used in telecommunications?
RJ-series.
Most common RJ-series ports
RJ-11 (Voice/Phone/Modem)
RJ-45 (Network)
Name the RJ11 and RJ45 ports below.
Left is the RJ-11 port for voice.
Right is the RJ-45 port for network.
What connector replaced DE9M (DE9 Male – Serial) ports?
Around when did that happen?
USB.
1997
What’s the maximum number of peripherals that can be connected to a computer using a single USB port?
127
Why do you think this information is worthwhile to know? Who connects 127 USB devices to their PC, let alone to a single USB port via daisy-chained hubs?
USB version 1.x supports what data rates?
12Mbps or 1.5MBps
USB 2.0 supports what data rates?
480Mbps or 60MBps
USB 3.0 supports what data rates?
5Gbps
Name that port:
USB, Type A
IEEE 1394 specification is also known as…
FireWire ports / cables.
IEEE 1394 supports what data rates?
400Mbps to 3.2Gbps
Name that port:
IEEE 1394
FireWire
Here’s an example of it embedded in the PC. Note that they’re nice enough to print ‘1394’ for us. So sweet of them.
What company/organization originally developed IEEE1394
Apple.
It was standardized by the IEEE in 1995
What is a common use of IEEE1394
FireWire is often used to get digital video into a PC so it can be edited with digital video editing tools.
Name that port:
Infrared (IR)
What has replaced IR?
Radio frequency technologies (RF) like bluetooth and WiFi.
What data rates does the IR port support?
4Mbps
Name that connector:
RCA
What information does the RCA connector transmit?
Audio /
Video
Name that port:
PS/2
PS/2 ports are also known as
min-DIN 6 connectors
PS/2 ports connect what
Mice / Keyboards
When connecting keyboards and mice, what colors usually indicate the keyboard port and the mouse port?
Purpose = Keyboard
Green = Mouse
Name that port:
Centronics Port
What is the centronics connector used for?
Usually used in parallel printer and SCSI interfaces. Old stuff.
Define ‘interface’
A method of connecting two dissimilar items together
Another term for port
Header
Common headers found on motherboards today
SATA (Serial ATA)
Less common headers found on motherboards today
Enhanced IDE (IEDE), also known as Parallell ATA (PATA)
Name that cable:
FDD (Floppy Disk Drive)
Name that cable:
In this image, which is the FDD cable and which is the PATA cable?
FDD is on top
PATA is on bottom
Name that connector:
SATA
Serial ATA
Name that port:
DA15F (DA15 Female)
Game port / midi port
In what direction does a standard parallel port transmit information?
A standard parallel port only transmits data out of a PC. It cannot receive data, with the exception of a single line used for an external device to communicate a ‘ready’ signal.
Bidirectional parallel ports can ______
Send and receive data.
As opposed to standard parallel ports.
IEEE 1284 ports are also known as
Enhanced Parallel ports
What is the maximum data rate a standard parallel port can support?
150KBps
What is the data rate that IEEE 1284 can support?
Enhanced parallel ports can support up to 1.5MBps
Name that cable:
Standard parallel cable
Name that cable:
Mini-Centronis connector
Three types of serial interfaces available today.
Standard Serial
USB
FireWire
Standard Serial is also known as
RS-232
Whats the data transmission speed of a standard serial port?
57Kbps
What’s the maximum cable length of a standard serial cable?
50 feet
What is the purpose of a null-modem serial cable?
Used to connect two PCs together without using a modem.
Instead of connecting a modem to each PC via a serial connection (like they used to do…) this simulates a modem by just flipping some pins to “fool” the computer into communicating as if there was a modem in-between.
I’d liken this to a serial cable version of a crossover cable, though the comparison isn’t perfect.
What are the names for these USB connectors, from left to right?
USB Type A
Standard Mini-B
Type B
Alternatve Mini-B
Name this USB connector:
USB Micro-B connector
Maximum cable length for USB1.0
3 meters
Maximum cable length for USB2.0
5 meters
Maximum cable length for USB3.0
3 meters
FireWire 400 vs FireWire 800
FireWire 400 has a max speed of 400Mbps
FireWire 800 has a max speed of 800Mbps
What does FireWire and ethernet cabling have in common?
FireWire allows peripherals to be networked together, similar to a LAN.
Up to 64,000 devices can be connected via a FireWire network, so long as no two devices are separated by more than 16 hops.
Name these cable connectors
Three Categories of DVI connectors
DVI-A
DVI-D
DVI-I
DVI-A
Category of DVI connector.
Analog only.
Source must produce analog output and the monitor must understand analog input.
DVI-D
Category of DVI connector. Digital only connector. Source pust produce digital output and the monitor ust understand digital input.
DVI-I
Category of DVI connector.
Combination analog/digital connector. The source and monitor must both suppor the same technology, but this cable works with either a digital or an analog signal.
Define HDMI
High-Definition Multimedia interface
All-digital technology that advances the work of DVI to include the same dual-link resolutions using a standard HDMI cable but with higher motion-picture frme rates and digital audio right on the ame connector.
S-Video
Component video technology that combines the two chroma signals into one
Name that port:
S-Video
Name this device:
Digitizer.
Allows you to take strokes of a pen and instantly digitize it.
Biometric devices for the computer include
Fingerprint scanners
Retinal scanners
Iris Scanners
Voice reognition devices
What is a KVM switch?
Allows you to switch between sets of input devices.
Named for the devices among which it allows you to switch
Keyboard, Video, Mouse
