Expansion Card
By installing it in a computer, it can enhance a computer's capabilities in several ways. For example, it can increase the memory or enhance the graphics. An expansion card that you can use to enhance graphics is an nVidia GeForce FX.
Network Interface Card (NIC)
When a Network Interface Card is installed in a computer, the computer will be connected to a network. It will provide a full-time connection to the network.
Plug & Play
It is a capability that enables the computer to recognise a device's presence when it is plugged in to the computer. Before Plug & Play was invented, user had to tell the computer manually that a new device has been added.
Sockets
In computing, there are several types of sockets such as Berkeley sockets, Internet socket, CPU socket and Unix domain socket. Berkeley sockets are used for communication between computers through an inter-systems pipe. It supports two types of communication which are TCP (connection oriented, stream, reliable) and UDP (connectionless, record oriented, unreliable). Internet sockets are used for delivering oncoming data packets to the appropriate application process using a combination of IP addresses and port numbers. The CPU socket houses a CPU and creates the electrical interface and contact with it. It is also the connector on the motherboard. Pin grid array (PGA) are used on CPU sockets. It is where pin on the underside of the processor connect to the holes in the CPU socket. Unix domain socket is the combination of the IP address of the station and a port number. Unix domain socket is used to direct data to the correct application in a TCP/IP network.
Chips
Chips are tiny circuit boards etched onto squares of silicon and are mounted on carrier packages. Some circuit boards can even be smaller than the tip of your finger. A chip has several names and they are silicon chip, semiconductor, or integrated circuit.
Slots
These act as a connection point for circuit boards or specialized cards. These cards provide extra features to the computer system. For example, a modem card can be used to provide a connection to the Internet.
Bus lines
Communication among the various electronical components that are either on the system board or attached on the system board is provided by connecting lines called bus lines. The larger the bus width, the larger the number of bits that are allowed to travel down the bus width.
Serial Port
Serial ports are often used to connect a lot of devices to the system unit such as a mouse, keyboard, modem and many other devices. They are very good at sending information over a long distance and can send data one bit at a time.
Parallel Port
When external devices need to send or receive a lot of data over a short distance, a parallel port is used. An example of an external device used to connect to a parallel port is a printer. Through eight parallel wires, these ports typically send eight bits of data across them.
Universal Serial Bus
Universal serial bus can be thought of as a substitute for serial ports and parallel ports. It is much more efficient and faster than serial ports and parallel ports as it can connect to several devices to the system unit.
Firewire Port
Specialized Firewire devices such as a camcorder use Firewire ports as a connection. Firewire ports have a speed that is comparable to USB 2.0 ports. |
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