Chp.2 Expansion,Ports

Chp.2 Expansion,Ports

1. Expansion Buses

   • Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)
     • allows connections to modems and to video, sound, and network adapters
       • PCI connects exclusively to the Southbridge, or main chipset
     • version 2.1 cards are rated at 66 MHz
       • Corresponding PCI bus is 32-bits wide, allowing maximum data transfer rate of 266 MB/s
     • derivatives of PCI
       • PCI-X
         • designed for servers
         • uses a 64-bit bus and rated for 133 MHz/266 MHz
       • Mini-PCI
         • used by laptops
   • Accelerated Graphics Port
     • alleviates disadvantages of PCI for video
     • AGP 1x
       • 32-bit 66 MHz bus
       • maximum data transfer rate of 266 MB/s
     • AGP 2x
       • data rate of 533 MB/s
         • Doubling the fastest PCI output
       • double-pumped
         • 66 MHz bus was doubled up to 133 MHz
     • AGP 4x
       • quad-pumped
       • 1 GB/s
     • AGP 8x
       • maximum data rate of 2 GB/s
     • AGP bus connects directly to Northbridge
       • Addresses one of the limitation of PCI
     • Different slots use different voltages (1x, 2x, 4x, 8x)
   • PCIe
     • high-speed serial replacement of older PCI parallel standard
     • this bus receives and sends data in lanes
       • Full-duplex lanes
         • can send and receive data simultaneously
     • PCI e versions
       • version 1
         • data rate of 250 MB/s per lane
       • Version 2
         • data rate of 500 MB/s
       • Version 3
         • data rate of 1 GB/s
     • the amount of lanes a PCI e bus uses is indicated with an x and a number (x1)
     • x4 and x16 are controlled by NB, or by the processor, where as x1 are controlled by SB
   • AMR and CMR
     • Intel's audio/modem riser expansion slot offers a slot with small footprint that can accept sound cards or modems
     • The communications and Networking riser was Intel's adaption of AMR and was meant for specialized
       • Network, audio and Modem Technologies
   • PCMCIA
     • an organization that develops PC card technology used in laptops
       • first designed for additional storage and later for
         • Modems, network cards, combo cards and hard drives
       • superseded by express card

2. I/O Ports and Front Panel Connectors

   • Without input and output ports, one could not communicate with the computer
   • IEEE 1394
     • known as FireWire or i.Link
     • used for devices that demand the low-latency transfer of data, usually concerning music and video
     • this port has a maximum data rate of 400 Mbps
   • Universal Serial Bus (USB)
     • used by many devices such as keyboards, mice, cameras and more
     • USB versions
       • 1.0
         • lowband width 1.5 Mb/s
         • fullband width 12 Mb/s
       • 2.0
         • data rate of 480 Mbps
       • 3.0
         • data transfer rate of 5 Gbps
   • Audio Cluster
     • there are six ports in this audio cluster
       • optical digital output, microphone in, line in, and speaker outs
   • RJ45 LAN Port
     • this is a wired network connection
     • Gigabit Ethernet LAN Controller
       • rated 10/100/1000 Mbps
         • meaning it can connect to any of those speed networks and function
   • front panel also has connections for
     • power button
     • reset button
     • power LED light
     • hard drive activity LED light