| Expansion Bus | Expansion Slots | Expansion Cards | Ports | Types |
The input/output (I/O) design of your computer determines if you can add equipment or devices to your computer. The parts of the I/O architecture include ram data, expansion bus, expansion slot, expansion card, port, and data cables, which plug into the port and connect devices to the computer.
The expansion bus transports data between the external or peripheral devices and the RAM. This electronic path is an extension of the main bus which contains data lines and address lines. The data lines carry the signals and address lines carry the data location address that are used to help the computer locate data when it needs to be processed. In this manner the computer is then connected to the outside devices and can manage communication between them.
The socket or "slot" that you can plug a small circuit board to is called an expansion slot. It expands the capabilities of your computer by allowing you to add other devices. A wide variety of peripheral devices can be added this way. Most computers come with four expansion slots. Some of these slots are already filled with expansion cards as an incentive to buy the computer. The number of slots determines how expandable your computer is. There may be more than one type of expansion slot or different sizes of slots. Your computer may be limited by the amount or kind of devices that can be added. Expansion cards plug into expansion slots.
An expansion card is also called an expansion board, or controller card. It is an expansion board or a circuit board that allows a new feature to be added to the computer. This card is really a circuit board that plugs or is inserted into an expansion slot located on the main motherboard.
The board or card contains the I/O (In/Out) circuits for devices, such as a printer, scanner, or sound card to be added to the computer.
In this way features can be added without hard wiring the components into the computer. This allows newer updated features to be added. Check to make sure how many slots a computer has before buying. The slots help determine how many features can be added to the computer. Ports are usually included with expansion cards so that devices can be plugged into them.
Types of Expansion cards include the scanner card, sound card, digitizing card, modem card, video card,and networking card.
The keyboard port connects to the keyboard.
The mouse port connects to a mouse.
The game port connects to a joystick.
The monitor port connects to the monitor.
| Serial ports | Parallel Ports | SCSI Ports | MIDI Ports |
The SCSI port (small computer system interface) allows for a connection of one or more external devices. You can connect up to seven devices by way of a chain, or by plugging one device into another device. Scanners and zip drives are examples of the type of devices that would use this type of connection.
Back to Type
The MIDI port (musical instrument digital interface) is a special serial port that connects the computer to musical instruments and music synthesizers. Rock musicians and professional music artists use the Midi port to connect keyboards and instruments to the computer inorder to record, edit, and play back music.
Back to Type
 |
Mail comments to Josh and Patrick |