| A | B |
|---|
| Adapter | A device that allows one system to connect to and work with another. |
| Interrupt | A signal that gets the attention of the CPU and is usually generated when I/O is required. |
| Jumper | The simplest form of an on/off switch. It is just a tiny, plastic-covered metal block, which is pushed onto two pins to close that circuit. It is used to select a myriad of functions on a printed circuit board or on a peripheral device. |
| DMA | (Direct Memory Access) Specialized circuitry or a dedicated microprocessor that transfers data from memory to memory without using the CPU. |
| I/O Address | On PCs, a three-digit hexadecimal number (2AB, 2A0, etc.) used to identify and signal a peripheral device (serial port, parallel port, sound card, etc.). Address assignments must be unique; otherwise, conflicts will occur. |
| AGP | (Accelerated Graphics Port) A high-speed graphics port from Intel that provides a direct connection between the display adapter and memory. AGP is faster than PCI, and only one AGP slot is provided on AGP-equipped motherboards. |
| Bus | A parallel collection of conductors that carry data or control signals from on unit to another. |
| Data Bus | A bidirectional pathway linking the CPU to memory and I/O devices. |
| Address Bus | A pathway that carries data generated by the CPU to the various memory and I/O elements of the computer. |
| PC Bus | The bus architectures used in the first IBM PC's, originally an 8-bit bus expand to a 16-bit bus. |
| ISA | Idustry standard architecture. The 8-and 16-bit used in PC's. |
| EISA | Extended Idustry Standard Architecture. 16-bit ISA was extended to 32-bits and they called it EISA. |
| PCI | Peripheral system interconnect. A high-performence 32/64-bit bus. |
| Plug & Play (PnP) | This is a standard that was suppoesed to make adding peripherals to your system as easy as plugging them in and using them. |
| Bandwidth | A measure, in some amount of bits per second, of the amount of data that can be trasferred over the bus per second. |
| Bus Master | Any class of microprocessor unit with te ability to take control of the system buses of a computer. |
| Bus Speed | A measurement, usally in MHz, of how many times data can be transferred over the bus per second. |
| Expansion Slot | Refers to any type of slot in a computer that you can plug an expansion card into, Generally, it's limited to ISA,EISA,PCI, and PCMIA. |
| Legacy | Describes older computer systems, hardware, and software |
| FireWire (IEE 1394) | High speed serial bus, allows for connection of up to 63 devices primarily used for digital video. |
