| A | B |
|---|
| Bus | A parrallel collection of conductors that carry data or control signals from one unit to another |
| Data Bus | A bidirectional path way linking the CPU to memory and 1/0 devices |
| Address Bus | A path way that carries data generated by the CPU to the various memory, 1/0 elements of the computer |
| PC Bus | The bus architectures used in the first IBM PCs, originally an 8-bit bus expanded to a 16-bit bus |
| ISA | 8 and 16-bit original connectors used in PCs/ run at a clock speed of 8 MHz |
| EISA | Extended Industry Standard Architecture 16 bit ISA extended to 32 bits |
| PCI | Periphreal System Interconnect. A high preformance 32/64-bit bus |
| Plug and Play (PnP) | Supposed to make adding perpherals to your system as easy as plugging them in |
| Bandwidth | A measure in some amount of bits per second of the amount of data that can be sent over aparticular cable, interface or bus |
| Bus Master | Any class of microprocessor unit with the ability to take contral of the system buses of a computer |
| Bus Speed | A measurement, usually in MHz of how many times data can be transferred over the bus persecond |
| Expansion Slot | Any type of slot in a computer that you can plug an expansion card into |
| Legacy | Describes older computer sustems, hardware, software |
| Fire Wire (IEEE 1394) | High speed serial Bus. Allows for connection of up to 63 devices primarily used for digital video |
| Adapter | A device that allows one system to connedt to and work with another |
| Interrupt | Asignal that gets the attention of the CPU and is uaually generated when 1/0 is requierd |
| Jumper | A small plug placed over pins to configure hardware settings |
| DMA | Direct Memory Access. Specialized circuitry or a dedicated microprocessor that transfers data from adapters to memory without using the CPU |
| 1/0 Address | On PCs, a three-digit hexadecimal nunber used to identify and signal a peripheral device like a serial port, parrallel port, or sound card |
| AGP | Accelerated Graphics Port. Architecture that is based on the PCI architecture and is designed specifically to speed up 3D graphics |
