Bus A computer bus is a physical connection that links a computer’s components on the motherboard. Each bus consists of a circuit between two or more chips, expansion cards and slots, or ports using a series of small wires. These circuits let the components exchange data while also providing power from the motherboard. At any …
Cable Management Cable management is the organization of cables connected to electrical devices. This includes power cables, network cables, audio/video cables, and many others. Managing cables is a key aspect of a clean and safe home or work environment. Electrical devices often require multiple cables. For example, a desktop computer may require a power cord, …
Cable Modem A cable modem is a peripheral device used to connect to the Internet. It operates over coax cable TV lines and provides high-speed Internet access. Since cable modems offer an always-on connection and fast data transfer rates, they are considered broadband devices. Dial-up modems, which were popular in the early years of the …
Card Reader A card reader is a hardware device that reads and writes various flash memory card formats. Some computers (particularly laptops) may include built-in card readers, but they are more common on other devices like printers, scanners, digital cameras, and audio recorders. Computers without a built-in card reader can use external USB-connected card readers. …
Cat 5 Cat 5 (short for “Category 5”) is a type of Ethernet cable. It supports data transfer rates of up to 100 Mbps, or 12.5 megabytes per second. Cat 5 cables operate at a 100 MHz frequency and can extend up to 100 meters between connected devices. Each Cat 5 cable has eight internal …
Cat 5e Cat 5e (short for “Category 5 Enhanced”) is a type of Ethernet cable. A Cat 5e cable has the same appearance and wiring scheme as a Cat 5 cable, but supports data transfer rates of 1,000 Mbps or one gigabit per second. Therefore, Cat 5e cables are sometimes called Gigabit Ethernet cables. Cat …
Cat 6 Cat 6 (short for “Category 6”) is an Ethernet standard. It operates at 250 MHz and supports data transfer rates of 10 Gbps. The maximum speed of Cat 6 is 10x faster than the previous standard, Cat 5e. From the outside, Cat 6 cables look identical to Cat 5 and Cat 5e cables. …
Chip Technically speaking, a computer chip is a piece of silicon with an electronic circuit embedded in it. However, the word “chip” is often used as a slang term that refers to various components inside a computer. It typically describes an integrated circuit, or IC, such as a central processor or a graphics chip, but …
Chiplet A chiplet is a small, self-contained block of integrated circuits that performs a specific function. Chip designers combine multiple chiplets with different uses into a single chip package. This type of chip package is similar to a System-on-a-Chip (SoC) processor, which combines several distinct components into a single chip. However, an SoC is manufactured …
Chipset A chipset is a group of integrated circuits that work together. It may refer to the design of a single component or may describe the relationship of multiple components within a computer system. For example, the chipset of video card describes the design of the card, while a motherboard chipset describes its layout and …