Are connectors used to connect a variety of peripheral devices to the system unit. Connectors for computer ports are located on the rear and front panels, and in laptops they are located on the sides of the case.
The name "port", as applied to a computer, is borrowed from electronic technology, where the I / O port refers to the hardware for the exchange of data between the controller (or processor) and the connected device. Likewise in a computer, ports receive and transmit information from a device located outside system unit.
Any computer has a minimum set of computer ports, without which it will not fully function. It is imperative to connect to the system unit, and, otherwise, it will not be a computer, but an expensive iron box. If necessary, computer ports can be increased by using expansion cards connected to. Let's take a look at a set of ports that are always available in an ordinary computer.
The minimum set of ports in a computer
Depending on the manufacturer of the system unit, its age and purpose, the number of ports is different, but almost always there will be such connectors as:
- The ports to which the mouse and keyboard are connected, called PS / 2 ports. Nowadays, computers are increasingly being made without these connectors or with one combined for connecting both a keyboard and a mouse. At the moment, the PS / 2 port is morally outdated, you can connect a mouse with a keyboard in USB port.
- Monitor port connector.
- RJ-45 connector used for network connection(local network or internet).
- USB ports that are universal.
- Audio connectors of the sound card. Connect a microphone, speakers or headphones, a line-in here.
Most of the connectors are already on the computer's motherboard. In cases where a connector is missing, external devices can be connected through the universal ports.
Universal computer ports
Serial port
One of the oldest universal ports, developed at the beginning of the evolution of computers. It is a 9 or 25 pin (less common) connector called a COM port (or serial port). The transfer of information in it occurs in one stream, sequentially one after another, which determined its name. In the earliest computers, a modem or a mouse was connected to it, and now it is rarely used where, because it was gradually replaced by the USB port.
Parallel port
This is another rarity from the beginning of the computer era. It is called LPT - port or parallel computer port. First it was designed to be connected, and then other devices began to be connected. Information through the LPT port is transmitted over several streams, which is reflected in the name "parallel port". The parallel port has 25 pins, which can be confused with a 25-pin serial port. However, there is a big difference between them: the LPT port is equipped with pins in the form of holes, and the serial port has pins in the form of plugs. Differs like dad from mom.
Universal USB port of a computer
V currently old ports are replaced with more efficient ones universal ports one of which is USB. It appeared in the mid-90s of the last century and continues to develop to this day. Information transfer here occurs sequentially, as in the COM port, but its transfer rate is much higher. Most peripheral devices are connected via the USB port. For example, we all are familiar with connecting to the USB port. USB connectors are placed on the back and front panels of the system unit.
Modern computers are equipped with 2 types USB connectors USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, which are compatible with each other, but differ in data transfer speed. USB 3.0 transfers information faster than USB 2.0. You can distinguish them by the color of the connector: USB 3 is colored blue or red.
In addition to the above ports, there are also such universal high-speed ports FireWare, eSata. For a novice user, they are not of interest, since their scope lies in professional computers, and even then they are increasingly being replaced by USB connections.
Monitor connectors
Connectors for connecting a monitor are located on the back of the system unit and, depending on yours, may have one form or another.
VGA graphics card connector
This is one of the oldest and most common monitor connectors. It got its name from the abbreviated English Video Graphics Adapter - a video graphics adapter. Motherboards with an integrated video card are most often equipped with this connector. The maximum resolution of the transmitted signal is 1280x1024 pixels.
DVI video card connector
A more advanced connector compared to VGA due to the ability to transmit a signal to the monitor directly in digital form, without additional conversions, in contrast to VGA, in which video is transmitted in an analog format. Digital transmission video signal is not affected by interference, which positively affects the image quality. To connect a monitor via DVI output, it must also have a corresponding connector. The maximum resolution of the transmitted signal is 2560x1600 pixels.
HDMI video card connector
Another connector for high quality digital connection monitor, as indicated by its name - High Definition Multimedia Interface (multimedia interface high resolution). The HDMI port is much smaller compared to DVI, and is also capable of transmitting multi-channel audio High Quality... The maximum resolution of the transmitted signal is 2560x1600 pixels. The audio cards have 3 connectors colored green, blue and pink. Green color is a line-out for connecting speakers or headphones, a line-in for inputting sound from another source, a microphone is connected to the pink connector.
In expensive multichannel audio cards, there are more connections and, in addition to the color coding of the connectors, they must add signatures to indicate the ports, thanks to which correct connection audio system is not difficult.
Within the framework of this article, the most common computer ports, which are required in any system unit, are considered. In fact, there are still a large number of other ports used in any professional field, and they are unlikely to be of interest to a novice user.
Share.Dear newbie of information business, your first acquaintance with the device of a personal computer took place. Now you know which components are included in the system unit of a personal computer (PC), which external devices are connected to it. How do PC components and external devices physically connect? For this purpose are used
PC architecture implements trunk-modular principle of building a computer. The modular principle allows you to change the configuration of the computer and carry out its modernization. Installation additional boards extensions provide such an opportunity. In addition to installing the user-required sound cards, video cards, internal modems, etc., it is possible to connect additional non-standard external devices (Web cameras, digital cameras etc.).
The modular organization is based on the trunk (bus) principle of information exchange between devices. The main principle of construction is that all devices are controlled and exchange information through one common bus (computer system bus), which includes three buses. One bus for data exchange, another for address transmission, and the third for control.
The PC can be schematically represented as follows:
Computer system bus (highway) can be simplified as a set of cables and electrical conductors on the PC motherboard.
A motherboard with used slots and buses can be represented:
North bridge Is a system controller. He is responsible for the exchange of information with the processor, RAM and video adapter (graphics controller).
South bridge Is a functional controller (I / O controller). Hard drives are connected to it through the corresponding connectors, optical drives, audio system, network card, keyboard, mouse, etc.
In reality, inside the PC system unit, the components are connected using slots (special connectors), cables, loops (flat cables), wire bundles that end with connectors:
The motherboard itself looks like this:
External devices are connected to connectors and sockets located on the outside of the PC system unit (back and front) or laptop (on the sides or back):
The mating connectors are as follows:
Power cables(220v)
Power Supply ASUS laptop
PS / 2 plugs for connecting a keyboard (purple) and a mouse (green).
LPT cable.The LPT port (parallel port) was mainly used for connecting printers. Modern printer models provide for connection to a USB port.
The COM port (serial port) is mainly used for connecting modems.
USB cable. The USB port was developed later than the above ports. Most peripheral devices are connected via the USB port: modems, printers, scanners, flash drives, portable hard drives, digital cameras, etc.
VGA cable. Used to connect a monitor.
Internet Cable (Intranet) ( RJ-45 connector)
Slot connector typesused on the motherboard (ISA or EISA, PCI, AGP):
PCI slots (female):
and sound card withPCI slot (male):
PCI slots used to connect an internal modem, sound card, network card, SCSI disk controller.
Slots with ISA connector (Mother). The ISA interface is deprecated. In modern PCs, it is usually absent.
PCISA FlipPOST Diagnostic Board with Connectors PCI and ISA (dad) by PCZWiz
Slot with AGP connector(dad is at the top, mom is at the bottom).
The AGP interface is designed to connect a video adapter to a separate bus, with an output directly to the system memory.
Slot with UDMA connector(dad is on the right, mom is on the left).
Hard drives and more are connected to it.
It should be noted that each type of slot has its own color. Having opened access to the motherboard, you can easily navigate. But it is better that this is not useful to you. But the cables that connect external devices to the PC, "you need to know by sight." Remember that the mom and dad of the connector must be the same color. Always remember that the color of the father and mother of the connectors matches, or know what the colors of the connectors on the PC (laptop) case mean.
Take, for example, a standard sound card:
Linear audio output to the speaker is always green.
Line-in for sound amplification is always blue.
The microphone connector is always pink.
Match them with the plugs:
The color design of the connectors will help you. True, the colors of the PC makers are not unified. For example, some have a purple keyboard connector, others a red or gray one. Therefore, pay attention to Special symbols that mark the connectors. In this case, it will not be difficult for you to find out :
External device interface cables are unique. You will not insert it into another connector on the PC (the design and number of slots are different). All this will help you move your PC (laptop) from place to place without prompting anyone. You will be able to properly connect devices and cables to your PC. I hope that the presented material will help you with this.
Now you know what it is PC ports, PC slots, PC connectors, PC cables. More detailed information about connectors and their use with excellent color illustration can be obtained from
If you are a beginner, regardless of age, please leave your comment. And if you are a pensioner, then mark it. After all, we are colleagues! We must help each other!
What are these or those computer connectors on the back of the computer for? How do I connect a monitor? Where to plug a microphone or multichannel acoustics? Read about all this in the article on computer ports.
If you ask older people or not too advanced users what a computer is, they, for the most part, will show us on a monitor. But, we know that a computer is what is inside the system unit (which some call a processor :))).
However, even the most modern workstation or gaming PC is not self-sufficient and cannot function without connecting various devices to them. At the very least, we need a monitor, mouse and keyboard ... However, this is not all that can be connected to a computer. On its back there are a bunch of connectors that allow you to connect literally anything!
You probably know about the purpose of the most common ports, but each has a couple of "holes", the purpose of which is questionable. If you want to know everything about computer connectors, then the article below is for you.
Minimum set of connectors
The set of ports on the back of the computer may vary for everyone. It depends on how old your PC is, who the motherboard manufacturer is, or what expansion cards you have installed. However, there are some connectors that everyone has:
- PS2 ports for mouse and keyboard (in modern PCs, they may be absent or be represented by one combo port).
- Connector for a standard monitor (VGA or DVI).
- RJ-45 network port for connecting to the Internet or local area network.
- Multiple universal USB ports.
- Audio card connectors (if installed).
You can also add the power supply connector on the power supply to this list (usually located at the very top of the system unit). However, in fact, it does not serve to connect any peripherals to the computer and must be a priori in order to ensure the operation of the PC.
All of the above ports are usually found on the motherboard. However, there are boards on which, for example, there are no separate connectors for the mouse and keyboard, or there are no video / audio card connectors. In this case, the missing ports can be compensated only by connecting the appropriate expansion cards with them. Without them, working on a PC will not work.
However, there is one caveat. Instead of connecting new boards, you can use external devices that replace them in functionality. You can connect such devices (for example, a USB mouse and keyboard or an external video card) to your computer using the universal ports.
Universal connectors
Serial port
Even when there was no question of personal computers, the developers were already thinking about creating a universal interface for connecting various peripheral devices. So at the end of 1969, the RS-232 standard (abbreviated English "Recommended Standard") appeared, which was a 9-pin (less often 25-pin) connector, commonly known as a COM port or a serial port:
Initially, the COM port ("communications port") was used to connect a console to a computer that replaced a monitor. With the advent of traditional displays, they began to connect a mouse or modem to it. And with the proliferation of PCs, the serial port began to be widely used to connect various equipment, such as barcode scanners, cash registers, video surveillance consoles, etc.
Nowadays, this connector is practically not used, since it has been supplanted by the more advanced USB port. At various enterprises, where RS-232 is still in use, an external COM port is often used in the form of a USB adapter.
Parallel port
Another anachronism that can be found on some motherboards is the so-called parallel port or LPT (abbr. "Line Print Terminal"):
As the name implies, this connector was originally (in 1981) developed as a standardized port for connecting printers, scanners and similar devices. This port earned its common name "parallel" because, unlike a COM port, it could transmit several data streams in parallel.
The standard LPT connector, which is usually found on not too old PCs, has 25 pins. Because of this, it is often confused with a 25-pin COM port. However, there is a significant difference between them: the COM port is always of the male type (with pins), and the LPT is of the female type (with holes):
Like the serial port, the parallel port eventually came to be used for more than just connecting printers. With its help, for example, it was possible to organize a direct transfer of data from a computer to a computer, connect storage devices, as well as various control and measuring and signaling devices.
USB
V modern computers the parallel port, like the serial port, has almost universally been supplanted by faster and more modern connectors. The main one, without a doubt, can be called USB (abbreviated English. "Universal Serial Bus" - "universal serial bus"), which appeared in 1995 and is relevant to this day:
As the name suggests, USB transfers data serially, however, at a higher rate than the legacy COM port. Due to this, in modern connections based on USB 3.0, it becomes real to achieve data transfer rates up to 10 Gb / s (Super-speed mode). True, the most common USB 2.0 works much slower and provides one of three modes:
- Low-speed - from 10 to 1500 kilobits per second (printers, scanners, mice and other input devices).
- Full-speed - from 0.5 to 12 megabits per second (video capture devices, external audio cards, modern printers and scanners).
- High-speed - from 25 to 480 megabits per second (external video cards, external hard drives).
There are quite a few modifications to USB ports, which indicates their relevance and popularity, however, in computers you can usually find only type A connectors. On motherboards that were produced before 2011, you can find only USB 2.0 ports, however, modern PCs can be also equipped with USB 3.0 ports, which are marked blue or red.
USB is truly versatile. Having only 4 conductors (5 more were added in version 3.0), this connector allows you to simultaneously transmit and receive data, as well as power the connected devices with a current of 5 volts (500 milliamperes for version 1.0-2.0 and up to 1 ampere for 3.0). This made it possible to use USB in almost any device that can only be connected to a PC.
Firewire
However, not only USB is relevant today. In the same 1995, the IEEE 1394 specification was born, which became known under the FireWire brand from all famous company Apple:
FireWire was originally conceived as a high-speed external interface for transferring and processing multimedia data on the fly. This was facilitated by a throughput of 100 to 400 megabits per second. Subsequently, the speed was increased first to 800 Mbit / s, and later to 3.2 Gbit / s. This allowed the port to be used to create gigabit local area networks and connecting external hard drives.
Despite its good potential and a clear gain in data transfer speed, FireWire is still much less common than USB. And with the advent of high-speed USB 3.0, we can assume that this connector will remain niche and will be used only in professional equipment.
eSATA
Another "player" in the struggle for versatility among computer ports is the eSATA connector (from the English "external SATA" - "external SATA"), which appeared on the market in 2004-2005, almost 10 years later than USB and FireWire:
This port is primarily intended for connecting external hard drives and provides data transfer rates up to 3Gb / s. At the beginning of development, the port (like a normal internal SATA port) did not have its own power supply, however, almost all modern motherboards this connector uses the eSATAp specification ("p" - "power").
A characteristic feature of eSATAp is compatibility with standard USB plugs type A. The internal bus of the connector has a similar 4-pin wiring and provides +5 Volt power. The external terminals in the side recesses of the port are supplied with a voltage of +12 Volts. True, in laptops they are not due to irrationality: the maximum output voltage of standard laptops usually does not exceed 5 volts.
eSATA is unlikely to compete strongly with USB and FireWire in terms of versatility, but it does have a huge advantage when it comes to connecting hard drives. The fact is that when connecting external storage devices via the same USB, the signal must be recoded into SATA or PATA commands. Which takes the extra time. eSATA transfers data immediately in SATA format, so no delays occur.
Video card connectors
So, with the main common universal connectors on the back of the computer, I hope we figured it out. Now it's time to deal with more specialized ports. And in the first row here are the monitor connection interfaces, which are available on the PC video card.
First of all, it should be said that video cards can be built-in (integrated), discrete (usually on PCI-Express bus) or external (connected via USB or FireWire). The most productive solution is separate video cards, which are supplied as an expansion card for an internal PCI-Express port:
The advantage of integrated video cards is that the computer is ready to connect a monitor out of the box, and also that they, as a rule, consume much less power than discrete ones. Individual video cards are the best in performance, because they either do not consume PC resources at all, or use a small amount random access memory for cache.
External video cards are usually used by owners of laptops with weak integrated graphics for gaming or working with video and 3D. In theory, they can be no worse than discrete ones, but here the connection type can impose its own limitations. For example, an external video card of the same model as a discrete one connected via a USB 2.0 port will work much slower ...
Naturally, depending on the type of your video card, some connectors may or may not be present on it. Let's take a quick look at all of them.
VGA (D-Sub)
One of the oldest (developed in 1987) video card ports is a 15-pin analog video output VGA (abbreviated as "Video Graphics Adapter") or D-Sub (from English "D-subminiature" - "D-shaped subminiature"):
This port is usually present as the only video output on integrated video cards (although modern integrated cards may be equipped with other connectors). It allows you to connect CRT monitors to your computer, as well as most LCDs and projectors. The maximum video resolution from the port is 1280x1024 pixels.
S-Video (S-VHS)
Another old analog port, which is often found on video cards, is the S-Video connector (abbreviated as "Separate Video"):
This port was developed in the late 80s by JVC to connect their VCRs and camcorders to a PC. The connector got its name because it allowed transmitting separately such video signal components as luminance and chromaticity. Due to this, the resulting image could be adjusted quite flexibly, adjusting its colors and saturation separately.
In fact, this connector was one of the first attempts to create something like a video capture card for digitizing an analog video signal. At that time, the S-Video bandwidth was enough to transmit a regular TV signal (unfortunately, the connector is unsuitable for a modern HDTV).
The port originally existed in a 4-pin design, and in the 90s its extended version for 7 pins appeared. This version made it possible to realize direct S-Video compatibility with composite connectors of household appliances (TVs, VCRs and cameras) of the RCA type ("tulip").
DVI (abbreviated English "Digital Visual Interface" - "digital video interface")
In 1999, when it became finally clear that the future was not analog, but digital, monitor manufacturers decided that VGA (1987) was outdated and issued a new standard called DVI:
There are two types of DVI ports: DVI-I (with support analog signal VGA) and DVI-D (only support digital signal). They differ in the presence (or absence) of four additional contact sockets on the left side. But there are as many as 5 types of plugs for DVI connectors:
- DVI-I Dual Link is a plug with the most full set contacts. Supports transmission over one analog and two digital channels.
- DVI-I Single Link - 9 center pins are missing. Supports transmission over one analog and one digital channel.
- DVI-A - data plug only one at a time analog channel... Used in DVI-VGA adapters.
- DVI-D Dual Link - Four pins on the left have been removed. Supports transmission of only two digital channels.
- DVI-D Single Link - Removed four pins on the left and 9 in the center. Supports transmission of only one digital channel.
Modern video cards are usually equipped with a DVI-I connector, to which you can connect any DVI plugs. However, sometimes they save money on compatibility with analog devices and use DVI-D. In this case, you can only connect a fully digital monitor to your computer. The maximum video resolution from the port is 2560 × 1600 pixels.
HDMI (abbreviation for "High Definition Multimedia Interface")
The introduction of DVI has solved the problem of direct transmission of digital video signals to the monitor. However, in practice, the connector turned out to be rather bulky and not very convenient. Therefore, already in 2002, the association, which included such large companies as Hitachi, Panasonic, Philips, Sony and others, developed and implemented a new HDMI standard:
The HDMI port got rid of support for analog devices, almost halved in size and gained the ability to transmit not only a video signal, but also multichannel audio. In fact, HDMI has become a digital analogue of such standards as SCART and RCA (in common people "tulip").
In terms of technical characteristics, HDMI is the same DVI-D, but with additional audio conductors. The maximum video resolution from the port is 2560 × 1600 pixels.
DisplayPort (from English "display connector")
To date, the newest and most promising is, developed in 2006, the DisplayPort connector:
Like HDMI, DisplayPort can carry both audio and video at the same time. However, its maximum video resolution is higher and is 3840 × 2400 pixels. Also, due to the increased bandwidth, DisplayPort can transmit 3D video signal to a TV or monitor.
There was also a version of the miniDP connector, however, today it is practically not used. You can find such ports, perhaps, in MacBook laptops from Apple. Since 2010, the usual DisplayPort is almost a mandatory connector, so it can be found both on modern video cards and on any video equipment.
Audio card connectors
If the connectors of video cards differ in their appearance and you can immediately determine what port is in front of us, then on sound cards almost all the slots are ordinary "mini-jacks". It is still complicated by the fact that each port has one-way data transfer only on the input or output.
Usually, the color coding of the ports allows you to understand the connectors. However, there are audio cards where all the connectors, for example, are black and you can understand where and what is possible only from the inscriptions or instructions. Let's try to figure it out, combining knowledge of color and text markings.
MIDI port (from the English "Musical Instrument Digital Interface")
Let's start, perhaps, with one of the oldest and noticeably different externally connectors - the game port:
The port is labeled DA-15 (15 pins) and was originally developed in the 80s for connecting various game manipulators, such as a joystick. With the spread of MIDI technology, this port was also adapted for connecting musical instruments (mainly synthesizers). For this, a special MIDI cable with an adapter for DIN-5 plugs was used.
In modern times, joysticks and most musical instruments have switched to the USB bus, so today the MIDI port is not common.
S / PDIF or S / P-DIF (abbreviated English "Sony / Philips Digital Interface Format" - "Sony / Philips digital interface format")
In the 90s personal computers and semi-professional consumer electronics began to spread widely throughout the world. There was a need to switch them, so around this time, top-end sound cards began to be equipped, in addition to other connectors, with an S / P-DIF port:
This port is intended for connecting audio equipment (or audio outputs of camcorders and VCRs) using one of two types of cables: optical (TOSLINK specifications) or electrical coaxial (RCA specifications ("tulip")).
Nowadays, S / PDIF is used mainly for outputting PC sound to semi-professional and professional sound-reproducing equipment. Supports surround sound transmission in Dolby Digital and Digital Theater System (DTS) formats.
Mini-Jack
So we come to those connectors that are available on any sound card (unless it is a highly specialized professional card for S / PDIF, of course). I mean those multi-colored mini-jacks, of which there are usually from 1 to 6 (there are also 8 and even 12, but these are special cases that are not so common):
The most common sets of mini-jacks are 1, 3 and 6. If there is only one port, it is usually designed for connecting speakers or headphones and is called line-out. In some laptops, the line-out is combined with the microphone-in by means of an additional contact.
The configuration of 3 mini-jacks is the most common on inexpensive and built-in audio cards. They usually provide line-out (light green) as well as line-out (blue) and mic (pink) inputs. The difference between line and microphone inputs is that the sound received by the microphone passes through additional processing(noise reduction), and in linear there are no processing.
Finally, there are audio cards with 6 mini-jack connectors. Here, three additional outputs are added that allow you to connect a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker system to your PC. The color coding of additional ports for different manufacturers may be different, but most often we have black, orange and gray. They connect the side speakers of the acoustics, the subwoofer and the rear speakers, respectively.
If all the connectors on the sound card are of the same color, then they will necessarily be labeled with port symbols:
- Microphone Input: Mic In or Mic.
- Line In: Line In or Line.
- Line-out: Line Out, Out, Speaker or Front (means front speakers of multichannel acoustics).
- Side Speaker Out: Side Out or Side.
- Subwoofer Output: Sub Out, Sub or Sbw.
- Rear Speaker Output: Rear Out or Rear.
Focusing on the above labels, you can connect any sound device to your computer without any problems.
conclusions
Initially, I planned to write a short review article about the most common computer connectors. However, with a more thorough study of the topic, many nuances began to emerge, without mentioning which, I could not say that I told all the most important things. Thus, the article turned out to be quite weighty ...
Unfortunately, it is impossible to consider all possible ports even within the framework of the resulting "sheet". Therefore, I limited myself only to those that can be found on computers most often, paying close attention to multimedia and universal connectors. In practice, with the help of additional expansion cards, you can equip your computer with literally any interface you need!
I hope the article will be useful and useful to someone who is thinking of connecting a particular device to a PC. For this I take my leave and wish everyone less confusion in computer matters and in life in general :)
P.S. It is allowed to freely copy and quote this article, provided that an open active link to the source is indicated and the authorship of Ruslan Tertyshny is preserved.
Look at the front and back of your system unit and monitor and count the number of buttons, connectors and slots you see. There will be about 20 of them at least.
Each computer is different from another, respectively, the ports and connectors on all computers are also located differently. However, the essence of their work does not change. Knowing what connectors and ports on your computer are and what they are used for will help you later connect new devices to your computer, such as a printer or mouse, digital camera, telephone, or other devices.
Front side of the system unit
- Disk drive (CD / DVD-ROM) Is used to write / read information from a disk.
- On and off button nutrition.
- Audio input / output. Almost all system units have audio ports on the front, which makes it easy to connect microphones, headphones, speakers (speakers).
- USB ports. They are used to connect almost any device: mouse, keyboard, printer, scanner, mobile phone, digital cameras, etc.
Back side of the system unit
On the back, some connectors have their own color. This is done so that you can determine which port is being used for which device. And also there are special ports that are designed for specific devices such as a monitor.
1. Power connector- the power cord is connected there.
2. Audio input / output- there you can connect speakers, microphone, headphones.
3. Ethernet port- designed to connect your computer to the Internet or to a local network.
4. USB ports. These are the same ports as on the front of the computer. On the back of the computer, as a rule, there should be several of them.
5. Connector for monitor connection to the system unit. In this example, the computer has both a DisplayPort and a VGA port.
6. Expansion slots. They are designed to install additional modules (expansion cards). With these slots, you can expand the capabilities of your computer, for example, you can remove the old video card and install a more powerful video card in the slot.
7. This is an old port, which was used to connect peripheral devices. But today it has been replaced by USB, and therefore hardly anyone is using this port.
8. PS / 2 connectors. They are for connecting a mouse (green) and keyboards (purple).
9. This is also an old port and is now replaced by USB.
This is how all the main cords and cables should be connected:
Other types of ports
Over time, new types of ports have appeared on the computer. For example, on some Mac computers there is a port called Firewire which looks like a USB port. There is also a new port Thunderbolt which can transmit information at a very high speed, making them ideal for use with high-definition monitors and external hard drives... If your computer has ports that you are not familiar with, then look for their description in your computer manual to learn about them.
Peripherals
Usual home computer includes a system unit, monitor, keyboard and mouse. These are the main devices. But if you wish, you can connect additional devices to free ports on your computer. Such devices are called peripherals... Below are examples of peripheral devices.
- Printers: used for printing documents, photographs, etc. There are such types of printers as inkjet, laser and photo printers. There is also a 3-in-one printer. In such printers, there is a printer, a scanner, and copying at once.
- Scanners: a scanner allows you to copy an image or document and save it to your computer as a digital image or document.
- Speakers / Headphones: speakers and headphones are information output devices. Those. with their help, the user receives information from the computer. They output sound, music. Some monitors have built-in speakers.
- Microphones: are information input devices. With this device, the computer receives information from the user. You can connect a microphone to a computer, and use the computer to record sound, sing karaoke, or communicate with family and friends over the Internet. Most computers come with built-in microphones.
- Webcams: it is an input device that allows you to record videos or take photos. It can also stream video over the Internet in real time, which allows you to make video calling or video conferencing with anyone anywhere in the world. Webcams are often used in business. They also help many people stay connected wherever they are.
- Joysticks: they are used for computer games. But for most games, a keyboard and mouse is sufficient.
- Digital cameras. By using digital cameras you can take photos and videos digitally. Then you can connect the camera to the USB port of the computer and transfer the images from the camera to the computer. If desired, they can be printed, sent to a friend by e-mail, or published on the Internet.
- Mobile phones, mp3 players, tablet computers and other devices. When you buy electronic devices such as a phone or MP3 player, always check the box for availability USB cable devices. If the cable is present, then you can connect your device to the computer.
What to connect to where? After reading our article on the purpose of computer connectors, you will no longer have this question). In the photo where the system unit is shown, we have highlighted two areas where computer connectors may be present. If the connector is in the area marked with 1, it means it is from a built-in device. In area 2 there are connectors for individual devices and it is more important to use them in some cases, we will discuss this below. Connectors are usually present in the front of the system unit (either on the front, or on the side or top). It should be understood that apart from appearance connector, there is also a standard for data transmission through it, so sometimes it happens that there is only one connector, but it supports different data transfer standards and you can insert different "plugs" into it, such as in the Power eSATA described below. Further we will refer to Area 1 and Area 2
Most commonly used computer connectors
So, the most important connector of a computer, without which nothing will work, is the power connector, we did not select it as a separate area. Usually there is a switch next to it to completely turn off the computer (when it is turned on, but your computer does not work - an electric current walks through some circuits of the system unit)
VGA / SVGA monitor connectors
The upper blue connector - VGA / SVGA - is used to connect a monitor, it is gradually becoming a thing of the past, on some computers it may already be absent. It is being replaced by the more modern DVI located under it (white in the photo). This connector may have different variations, in this case, the photo shows a connector that can only transmit a signal in digital form
There are DVIs with the ability to transfer data in an analog way and at different speeds, while the combination of holes in the connector may vary. It should be noted that both VGA and DVI connectors can be present simultaneously in both Areas 1 and Areas 2, in this case, the monitor should be connected to Area 2 since in Areas 1, as a rule, the connectors (along with the built-in video card) are automatically disabled. There are DVI-VGA adapters for connecting VGA monitor to the DVI output.
HDMI (TV or monitor connection)
As such, HDMI was not intended to be used to connect monitors, but it is increasingly present in new computers. HDMI is convenient for connecting a TV as a monitor, it simultaneously transmits both video and sound.
USB2.0 and USB3.0
USB is used to exchange data with various devices - mice, keyboards, printers, scanners, cameras, flash drives, external hard drives, game devices and even sound speakers. This connector has become so common that it is even used for charging. mobile devices on many power supplies, in cars, and even on public transport. Charging is possible due to the fact that all these connectors have two contacts, through which power is supplied to the connected device, which is quite enough for recharging mobile devices and powering many other devices.
But the USB ports have some differences in data transfer rates. Your computer, if it is not very old, should have USB 2.0 connectors. These are regular USB ports like the picture above. However, there are faster USB 3.0, as a rule, they of blue color(as in the picture below). If the device that you connect to the computer supports USB 3.0, then it is better to connect it to the "blue" USB - this way the data exchange will be faster. Faster devices can be external hard drives, webcams, etc.
In general, there is no difference in which USB to connect the device, it will usually work through any USB connector after installing the drivers (if necessary), you can also use any USB to charge your gadgets, unless otherwise indicated in the instructions. Do not forget that USB is present not only on the front panel of the system unit, but also in Areas 1 and maybe in Areas 2, if there is a shortage of USB, all of them can and should be used.
Audio connectors
The number of these connectors may vary. In addition, they can be duplicated on a computer and located both in Areas 1 so and 2 and on the front panel. These connectors are usually made in different colors. Light green - used to connect one pair of stereo speakers. Pink - microphone connection. Blue - line-in for connecting other audio devices and recording sound from them to the computer. At the same time, if you have two or three green connectors on your computer, you can simultaneously connect speakers and headphones to them and select which device to output sound to in the computer settings. Software sound cards can provide the ability to override the assignment audio connectors... Audio connectors in other colors are used to connect additional speakers.
Ethernet (8P8C, RJ45 standard)
This connector is for connecting to the network. It can be a network without Internet access, or an Internet network. Usually it has built-in "lights" that blink to signal the operation of the network device.
PS / 2 keyboard and mouse connector
These connectors are still found, but less often and less often. They are used to connect a mouse (light green connector) and a keyboard (purple connector). There are times when there is one connector, half painted in light green, the other half in lilac - then you can connect both a mouse and a keyboard to it.
It is advisable to connect devices to these connectors while the computer is turned off, otherwise the device may not work.
Rarely used connectors
DisplayPort
Port for connecting monitors and video devices. The first devices with this port were released in 2008. In some cases, it can be more beneficial for both the manufacturer and the consumer, it can be used to work with stereoscopic images.
Connecting an external hard drive via e-SATA
Connector for external hard drives. Signal compatible with SATA (which are inside the computer). Older versions of the connector provide for the transfer of data only without powering the device with an electric current. More modern Power eSATA can power the device and can even be connected to USB devices! That is, in one connector there are two at once - USB and e-SATA. It is not known how the standard and the connector will take root, since external hard drives connected via USB 3.0 are more common
Optical S / PDIF connector
An optical connector (data is transmitted using light, not electricity) S / PDIF or Sony / Philips Digital Interface is used to connect audio devices. Designed based on the professional audio industry standard.
IEEE 1394 (Firewire, i-Link)
IEEE 1394 is a high speed serial data bus. Various companies use Apple's Firewire brands, SONY's i.LINK brands, etc. The company Aplle had a hand in the development. At its core, the connector is similar to USB. This port, most likely, will not gain widespread acceptance due to licensing fees for each chip for this port in favor of Apple.
Obsolete connectors
Why are the following computer ports that we will describe in this article outdated? This is due, as a rule, to the low data transfer rate, the cumbersomeness of the connector itself. If they are present in your computer, then we can say that it is no longer the first freshness)
COM port
It is similar to VGA in size, but it has not three, but two rows of contacts (besides, there is a connector on the computer - "male", that is, with pins). The connector was used to exchange data with an external modem, sometimes it was used to transfer data from computer to computer, to connect a mouse. In general, it was "in use" about the same as now USB. Popular for connecting homemade devices, sensors, etc. Some devices to this day can emulate a connection via a COM port, although physically it will be USB.
LPT port
This LPT parallel data transmission connector was mainly used to connect printers, plotters.
