Input & Output
13 years ago
RAM means Random Access Memory, it's a type of comouter memory that can be accessed randomly. Any byte of memory can be accessed without touching the preceding bytes. Ram is one of the most common type of memory found in computers and other devices such as printers. There are two types of of RAM. DRAM means Dynamic Random Access Memory and SRAM is Static Random Access Memory. The difference between both of this is that the techonology they use to hold data, with DRAM being more common type. In terms of speed, SRAM is faster. DRAM needs to be refreshed per second but SRAM does not need to be refreshed which is what makes it faster than DRAM.
CACHE
ROM
A cpu cache is a cache used by the central processing unit of a computer to reduce the average time to access memory. The cache is a smaller, faster memory which stores copies of the data from the most frequently used main memory locations. When the processor neeeds to read from or write a location in main memory, it first checks whether a copy of that data is in the cache . If so, the processor immediately reads from ot writes to the cache, which is much faster than reading from or writting to main memory.
ROM means read only memory, computer memory on which data has been prerocorded. Once data has been written onto a ROM chip, it cannot be removed and can only be read. Unlike main memory, ROM retains its contents even when the computer is turned off. ROM is reffered to be as being nonvolatile, whereas RAM is volatile.
FLASH MEMORY
Flash memory (sometimes called "flash RAM") is a type of constantly-powered non-volatile memory that can be erased and reprogrammed in units of memory called blocks. It is a variation of electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) which, unlike flash memory, is erased and rewritten at the byte level, which is slower than flash memory updating. Flash memory is often used to hold control code such as the basic input/output system (BIOS) in a personal computer. When BIOS needs to be changed (rewritten), the flash memory can be written to in block (rather than byte) sizes, making it easy to update. On the other hand, flash memory is not useful as random access memory (RAM) because RAM needs to be addressable at the byte (not the block) level.
Graphic Card
A video card, video adapter, graphics accelerator card, display adapter, or graphics card is an expansion card whose function is to generate output images to a display. Most video cards offer added functions, such as accelerated rendering of 3D scenes and 2D graphics, video capture, TV-tuner adapter, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, FireWire, light pen, TV output, or the ability to connect multiple monitors (multi-monitor). Other modern high performance video cards are used for more graphically demanding purposes, such as PC games.
Sound card
An expansion board that enables a computer to manipulate and output sounds. Sound cards are necessary for nearly all CD-ROMs and have become commonplace on modern personal computers. Sound cards enable the computer to output sound through speakers connected to the board, to record sound input from a microphone connected to the computer, and manipulate sound stored on a disk.
Nearly all sound cards support MIDI, a standard for representing music electronically. In addition, most sound cards are Sound Blaster-compatible, which means that they can process commands written for a Sound Blaster card, the de facto standard for PC sound.
Network interface card
A network interface card (NIC) is a computer circuit board or card that is installed in a computer so that it can be connected to a network. Personal computers and workstations on a local area network (LAN) typically contain a network interface card specifically designed for the LAN transmission technology, such as Ethernet or token ring. Network interface cards provide a dedicated, full-time connection to a network. Most home and portable computers connect to the Internet through as-needed dial-up connection. The modem provides the connection interface to the Internet service provider.
Plug And Play
Plug and Play (PnP) is a capability developed by Microsoft for its Windows 95 and later operating that gives users the ability to plug a device into a computer and have the computer recognize that the device is there. The user doesn't have to tell the computer. In many earlier computer systems, the user was required to explicitly tell the operating system when a new device had been added. Microsoft made Plug and Play a selling point for its Windows operating systems. A similar capability had long been built into Macintosh computers.
An Asynchronous port on the computer used to connect a serial device to the computer and capable of transmitting one bit at a time. Serial ports are typically identified on IBM compatible computers as COM (communications) ports. For example, a mouse might be connected to COM1 and a modem to COM2. With the introduction of USB, FireWire, and other faster solutions serial ports are rarely used when compared to how often they've been used in the past. To the right is a close up of a DB9serial port on the back of a computer.
A parallel interface for connecting an external device such as a printer. Most personal have both a parallel port and at least one serial port.
On PCs, the parallel port uses a 25-pin connector (type DB-25) and is used to connect printers, computers and other devices that need relatively high bandwidth. It is often called a Centronics interface after the company that designed the original standard for parallel communication between a computer and printer. (The modern parallel interface is based on a design by Epson.)
A USB port is a standard cable connection interface on personal computers and consumer electronics. USB ports allow stand-alone electronic devices to be connected via cables to a computer (or to each other).USB stands for Universal Serial Bus, an industry standard for short-distance digital data communications. USB allows data to be transferred between devices. USB ports can also supply electric power across the cable to devices without their own power source.
Firewire ports are forms of a serial port that make use of FireWire technology to transfer data rapidly from one electronic device to another. The FireWire port has been in common use since 1995, when Apple, Inc. first began to include the port on a number of digital camcorders. Today, the FireWire port is used on a number of other devices.
As a multi-platform serial bus, the FireWire port has the ability to interact with a number of different devices. For example, a FireWire connection can provide an ideal way to connect a scanner to a computer system. Because the transfer rate of a FireWire port can reach up to 400Mbps, the data transfer is relatively fast and also results in excellent quality.
An Ethernet port is an opening on computer network equipment that Ethernet cables plug into. These ports are alternatively called jacks or sockets. Ethernet ports accept cables with RJ-45 connectors.
HDMI
HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is an industry standard for creating audio and video connections between high-definition electronic devices. HDMI supports two-way digital communication between the video source and the video display with one cable. The simple cabling scheme has made HDMI popular for home theatre setups.
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