| A | B |
|---|
| Generic computer | Computer built from parts that can be aquired anywhere the builder or repairer can find them. |
| Heat Sink | Metal clip-on device, generally made of aluminum, that sits on top of a CPU and used in conjunction with a fan to dissipate heat fromthe CPU. |
| I/O | Any equipment used to transfer information into or out of the computer. |
| IRQ | Interrupt request; a line used by a peripheral needing to gain the attention of the CPU. |
| ISA bus | Industry Standard Architecture bus; the 8 or 16 bit pathway used on older motherboards to accept the addition of optional equipment. |
| LED | Light Emitting Diode; used to display hard drive activity and power on/off conditions of a computer; also used to display the status of power and signal conditions on a monitor. |
| MicroATX | small form factor motherboard used in PCs where reduced size is desired. |
| Motherboard | also known as main board, planar board and system board; contains all the pathways of wires to connect the CPU to memory and the expansion boards. |
| Motherboard form factors | the various shapes, sizes and orientation of the main system boards in a PC. |
| Multiprocessor motherboards | system board that allows more than one CPU to be attached. |
| PC bus | also known as the 8 bit ISA bus |
| PGA | Pin Grid Array; the square package style for CPUs where the pins line up in straight rows and columns and are typically made of a ceramic material. |
| PPGA | Plastic Pin Grid Array; the square package style for CPUs where the pins line up in straight rows and columns and are typically made of a ceramic material. |
| PROM | Programmable Read Only Memorly; memory chip that can only be programmed once, used for older BIOS chips tha could not be updated. |
| Proprietary computer | Computer built from parts that come from a certain manufacturer and replacement parts must also come from that source. |
| PS/2 Ports | the 6 pin mini-DIN ports for the keyboard and mouse |
| SATA | Serial Advanced Technology Attachment; newer interface attachment for hard drives that gives faster transfer speeds of up to 3 Gbps with the newest version. |
| Slot 1 | Connector type used to hold SECC(Single Edge Contact Cartridge) processor modules used with some PII and PIII processors |
| Slot A | The single edge cartridge connector used by AMD processors. |
| Socket | The connector used to attach a CPU to the motherboard. |
| Socket 370 | The motherboard connector used with PII and PIII processors having 370 pins. |
| Socket 423 | The motherboard connector used with Pentium 4 processors having 423 pins. |
| Socket 478 | The motherboard connector used with Pentium 4 prcessors having 478 pins. |
| Socket A | The motherboard connector used with AMD Duron and newer Athlon processors and having 462 pins. |
| SPGA | Staggered Pin Grid Array; the package style for CPUs where the pins are in staggered rows that line up diagonally. |
| System board | The main printed circuit board in a computer that hold the memory, CPU, and the expansion boards. |
| ZIF | Zero Insertion Force; socket type where the processor just drops in with no effort and then a level is locked down to hold the processor in place. |
