ANSWERS: 1
  • In the most easy to understand terms, "ports" are holes used to plug external devices into your computer. They will be found largely in the back of the computer. "Slots" are holes used to plug internal devices (sound/video cards...etc) INTO your computer. These will be found on the inside of your computer...and the devices you pug into the will have "ports" on them...which will be able to be accessed from the back of the computer like the other ones. The most common "slots" that you wil find inside the computer are as follows: ISA (Industry Standard Architecture): This slot is obsolete..and you probably wont find it on any computer newer than 5 years old. It is te longest of the slots, and usually colored black. PCI (Periferal Component Interface): The most common slot. It is the second to the smallest slot, and is the most widely used slot, being smaler, and faster than ISA. It is typicaly colored white. AGP (Accellerated Graphics Port): This usually "light brown" colored slot is used almost exclusively for video cards. It is quite a bit faster than PCI, with a larger data path, making it perfect for data rich video/graphics. You'll find one of these slots on just about any computer 5 years old or newer. Also worth mentioning: AMR (Advanced Modem Riser): This is a proprietary port used for modems. It never managed to gain popularity due inpart to the fact that...well..it sucks. PCI already trumped it in just about every respect right out of the door. This slot is VERY small...just an inch or two long. PCI Express: This brand new slot type is looking not only to upgrade the PCI, but to seriously compete against AGP in the graphic card market. The "ports" you will see are VAST in their numbers...but I wil list a few of the comon ones that you are most likely to see. VGA/SVGA: This port (about an inch and a half long with holes in it) is used to connect the typical computer monitor to the computer. Any video card you buy will almost surely have on of the things on it. DVI: This "rectangle-shaped, white colored port with square holes) is used for high definition digital computer monitors/displays. Higher priced graphic cards will usually have one of these in addition to their SVGA adaptor, should you want to make use of it's enhanced data transfer rate (equals better picture quality). PS/2: These ports (small circular ports about a 1/4 inch in diameter) are used for Keyboards and mice...(the purple shaded one being for keyboards, and the lime green one being for mice.) They are the most popular port for keyboards and mice (due to their tried and true performace and better compatability)..even though USB keyboards and mice are available as well. USB: The most common port for peripheral devices....this rectangle shaped port (under an inch in length, and about a tenth of an inch thick) is usually found in pairs. This one will accomodate printers, mice, keyboards, digital cameras, and a host of other devices. It's ease of use, and the ability to plug in a device and have the PC recognize it instantly...even while the computer is on. USB 2.0: A recent upgrade to the USB port. These port look identical to standard USB, only they are often shaded white, and are MUCH faster. Anything that plugs into one wil plug into the other, but if the device you plug in wasn't made for 2.0, or the port itse'f isn't 2.0, you won't see any enhanced speed. Serial: These ports looks like the SVGA port, some longer, some smaller, some male, some female. You'll see a few of these on the back of your computer. Back in the day, they were used mainly for printers and other peripheral devices. USB however has almost completely taken over...and this port remains today only for backward compatability. SP/DIF (Optical): This port is relatively common, but don't be suprised if you don't have one. This port (slightly smaller than the PS/2..usually with a little black plug piece covering it) uses light instead of electricity to transmit audio. Because of the lack of elecromagnetic interference...the sound it transmits is crystal clear, and perfect for high end audio systems. Pricier sound cards will have one of these. 1/8 inch stereo (headphone): These are used for standard speakers and microphones. While not as quality rich as the SP/DIF, ther are much more common, and if your computer doesn't have a few of these...there's something wrong. IEEE 1394 (firewire): This port looks a bit like te USB, only more "Box like" and with one end rounded out a bit. Back before USB 2.0, this port was a God-Send for anybody transfering video from a video-camera...etc. onto their computer...as it was lighting fast. USB 2.0 is now faster, but firewire is still widely used among video editors..etc. who havn't made the switch yet...or havn't desired to, since the speed diference isn't THAT significant. Mudular jack (telephone plug): Slef explainatory. used for the internet, or to make telephone calls from the computer. "Ethernet jack": This jack looks like a large telephone plug. It is used for networking computers (hooking them up together so that they can share information). Broadband internet makes use of this jack. Coaxial: This port is a small cirular piece of extended metal with spiral grooves along the side. You are probably familiar with this port. It is used mainly to hook TV's up to Dish and Cable, as well as to connect VCRs and other analog devices to them. These are used for people who want to watch TV on their computer, or transfer Video without a firewire port. RCA (composite): This small, extended circular jacks come in thre colors...red, whit, and yellow. Yellow is for video, and is common (though disappearing) due to the fact that it's quality is better than coaxial (but not as good as some others). The red and white ones are for audio, (red being for the "right" speaker, and white being for the "left"). Also fairly common for people who want better sound quality than 1/8 inch, but don't have SP/DIF. Component video is the highest quality jack for video (these look like RCA, but are colored differently). You'll rarely find these on computers, but they are common on Nicer TV's and DVD players. Feel free to look this up if you are interested. Hope that helps out a bit. Any questions...post here or e-mail synapse7@att.net.

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