Peripheral Devices

is a device that is added to the computer to expand its capabilities. These

devices are optional in nature and are not required for the basic functioning of the
computer.
Peripheral devices can fit into one of four categories: input, output, storage or
networking devices.
Input devices - trackball, joystick, scanner, digital camera, digitizer, barcode
reader, microphone
Scanner – allows printed pages, handwriting, diagrams and pictures to be converted
into digital format for storage on a computer.
Mouse – allows the user to select items displayed on the monitor.

Output devices - printer, plotter, speakers, headphones

Printer – converts the digital information stored in a computer to a printed page.
Many different types of printers exist and can have either monochrome or color
output.
Storage devices - secondary hard drive, external CD/DVD devices, flash drives
Flash Drives – storage device that connects to the USB interface and allows files
to be saved and moved between computers. This optional storage device functions
similarly to an external floppy disk drive
Networking - external modems, external NIC
Network Interface Card (NIC) – an external NIC is used to allow
communications between computers.
Modem – an external model is used to allow communications between computers
via an internet.

Case and Power Supply

 A tower or mini-tower can either be used on the desk or sit beneath the
table.
 A power supply provides the needed voltage to power the various electronic
circuits that make up the PC
 Many personal computers plug in standard wall outlets, which supply an
alternating current (AC) of 115 to 220 volts. This type of power is
unsuitable for use with a computer, which requires a direct current (DC)
ranging from 5 to 12 volts.
 The power supply is the component of the system unit that converts the wall
outlet AC power into DC power.
 If a power supply is not providing the necessary power, the computer will
not function properly.
 Computer systems require a steady supply of continuous power.
 Built into the power supply is a fan that keeps the power supply cool.
 A heat sink is a small ceramic or metal component with fins on its surface
that absorbs and disperses heat produced by electrical components such as a
processor.
  Because a heat sink consumes extra space, smaller device called a heat
pipe cools processors in notebook computers
 In order to help protect the computer system from these power problems,
devices such as surge suppressors and uninterruptible power supplies
(UPS
have been developed.
Other Components
 . Each channel, called a bus, allows the various devices inside and
attached to the system unit to communicate with each other.
 Buses are used to transfer bits from input devices to memory, from
memory to the CPU, from the CPU to memory, and from memory
to output or storage devices. All buses consist of two parts: a data
bus and an address bus. The data bus transfers actual data and the
address bus transfers information about where the data should go
in memory.
 A bus is measured by its size. The size of a bus, called the bus
width, determines the number of bits that can be transmitted at one
time
 The wider the bus, the fewer number of transfer steps required and
the faster the transfer of data. Most personal computers today use a
64-bit bus.
 Just like the processor, the clock speed for a bus is measured in
megahertz. The higher the bus clock speed,
 the faster the transmission of data, which results in applications
running faster.
 Two basic types of buses are found in a computer: a system bus
and an expansion bus.
 A system bus is part of the motherboard and connects the CPU to
main memory. An expansion bus allows the CPU to communicate
with peripheral devices.
 An old and slowest expansion bus is the ISA (Industry Standard
Architecture) bus
The PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus is a
high-speed expansion bus that connects higher speed devices.
 The PCI bus transfers data about four times faster than the ISA bus.
 The PCI Express () bus is an expansion bus that expands on and
doubles the speed of the original PCI bus.
 The Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) is actually a bus designed
by Intel to improve the speed with which 3-D graphics and video
are transmitted.
 The Universal Serial Bus (USB) and FireWire bus are buses that
eliminate the need to install expansion cards into expansion slots.
 The expansion bus for a PC Card is the PC Card bus. With a PC
Card inserted into a PC Card slot, data travels on the PC Card bus
to the PCI bus
Ports and Connectors
 A port is the point at which a peripheral is attached to or communicate with
a system unit so that the peripheral can send data to or receive information
from the computer.
 A connector joins a cable to a port. A connector at one end of a cable
attaches to a port on the system unit, and a connector at the other end of the
cable attaches to a port on the peripheral.
 Most connectors are available in one of two genders: male and female.
Male connectors have one or more exposed pins. Female connectors
have matching holes to accept the pints on a male connector.
 Some system units include these connectors when you buy the computer.
You add other connectors by inserting adapter cards on the motherboard.
Certain adapter cards have ports that allow you to attach a peripheral to the
adapter card.
 A serial port is a type of interface that connects a device to the system unit
by transmitting data one bit at a time
 Parallel ports allow the parallel transmission of data; that is, several bits
are transmitted simultaneously. . Extra lines carry control signals
 Two newer types of parallel ports, the EPP (Enhanced Parallel Port) and the
ECP (Extended Capabilities Port), use the same connectors as the
Centronics port, but are more than 10 times faster.
 USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports are used in high-speed device interfaces.
 A USB hub is a device that plugs in a USB port on the system unit and
contains multiple USB ports in which you plug cables from USB devices.
 A USB hub is a device that plugs in a USB port on the system unit and
contains multiple USB ports in which you plug cables from USB devices.
 FireWire ports, also called IEEE 1394 port, are similar to the USB port
and can connect multiple types of devices that require faster data
transmission speeds such as digital video cameras, digital VCRs color
printer, scanners, digital cameras, and DVD drives to a single connector.
 latest FireWire version, called FireWire 800, is much more advanced than
its predecessor, FireWire 400.

There are five special-purpose ports available

 MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) ports connect the system
unit to a musical instrument, such as an electronic keyboard.
 An eSATA (external Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) port,
allows you to connect an external SATA hard disk to a computer.
- SATA hard disks are popular because of their fast data
transmission speeds.
 SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) ports are special highspeed
parallel port and provide a parallel interface that enables faster data
transmission than serial and parallel ports.
Surge Suppressor
A surge suppressor is designed to remove voltage spikes and surges from
the power line and prevent them from damaging a computer system

Uninterruptible Power Supplies

A UPS is a device that continually monitors the power to a computer
system and maintains the charge on an internal battery.
A UPS can also provide an even flow of power to the computer and prevent
damage caused by voltage surges.