legacy cable types Flashcards
Which ports are present on the graphics card shown below?
The port on the left is a digital visual interface(DVI - I).
The port on the right is a a DisplayPort interface.
Which interface does the adapter cable shown support?
DVI-D (left) and HDMI
What two types of display cabling can be connected to this laptop?
The image shows a 15-pin D-shell type video graphics array(VGA) port and a HDMI port.
DVI
Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is designed to support both analog and digital outputs.
DVI is no longer in active development. You are only likely to encounter DVI on older display devices and video cards.
DVI-I supports both analog equipment and digital outputs. DVI-A supports only analog output and DVI-D supports only digital.
Video Graphics Array Interface
The 15-pin Video Graphics Array (VGA) port was the standard analog video interface for PC devices for a very long time. VGA will usually support resolutions up to full HD (1920x1080), depending on cable quality.
Up until a few years ago, most video cards and monitors included a VGA port, though it is starting to be phased out completely now.
Small computer system interface (SCSI)
(SCSI) is one example of a legacy parallel bus. One SCSI host bus adapter (HBA) can control multiple devices attached by internal ribbon cables or external SCSI cables.
SCSI could be used for both internal devices and external peripherals, such as scanners and printers, but you are now unlikely to find it used for any purpose other than the connection of internal hard disk drives. SCSI could support data rates up to 320 MBps.
integrated drive electronics (IDE) i
The integrated drive electronics (IDE) interface was the principal mass storage interface for desktop PCs for many years. The interface is also referred to as parallel advanced technology attachment (PATA).
Serial Cables
The serial port is a legacy connection interface where data is transmitted over one wire one bit at a time. Start, stop, and parity bits are used to format and verify data transmission. This interface is also referred to as Recommended Standard #232 (RS-232).
While modern interfaces like USB are also serial, an RS-232 interface uses much less sophisticated signaling methods. Consequently, an RS-232 serial port supports data rates up to about 115 Kbps only.
Serial ports are generally associated with connecting external modems, used to establish dial-up Internet connections, though even this function has largely been superseded by USB.
RS-232 specifies a 25-pin hardware interface, but in practice, PC manufacturers used the cheaper 9-pin D-subminiature (DB-9) female port. In Windows, the serial port is referred to as a Communications (COM) port.
Adapter Cables
An adapter cable has connectors for two different cable types at each end. An active adapter uses circuitry to convert the signal, while a passive adapter simply converts between two connector form factors.
