Lecture 03

Personal Computer Systems and

Management
Topic: “Ports and Plugs”
 When we buy a computer, there are lots of
wires and plugs that need to be connected.
New computers now have colored ports that
help users put their computers together.

(Everyone should periodically look at the back of

a computer during this lecture)
 Monitors or display units, are plugged into the
VGA (Video Graphics Array) port. This port
is blue and it has 15 holes, arranged in three
rows like this:
 A serial port is 9 or 25 Pins and can transmit 1
bit* at a time. Data can be sent reliably over
long cheap, cables. Usually external scanners
and modems use the serial port. These ports
have no color.

9 Pins 25 Pins
(*Note: Bits and Bytes will be covered at a later lecture. Serial Port is
considered a legacy software and may not be on newer
computers)
 A parallel port has 25 holes and can transmit 1
byte (8 bits) at a time. Data is sent quickly,
cables are expensive and cannot send data
reliably if they are longer than 50 feet. Used
mainly for printers.

25 holes
The color of the parallel port is pink. Also
considered legacy hardware
 USB ports are used for lots of different
devices, such as cameras, external hard drives,
scanners and more. The USB symbol is:

 The USB Port is a flat port, like this:

 There are two versions of USB: 1.0 and 2.0.

They look alike but 2.0 is faster
 Firewire ports are much faster then USB ports, but
found on fewer computers.

 Here is the symbol for Firewire:

 A Firewire port comes in two varieties: 6 pin and 4

pin, the difference is that the 6 pin provides more
power.

 This port is mainly used by mp3 players and digital

cameras.
 PS/2 Port is used to connect keyboards and mice. It
looks like:

PS2 Ports are green (mouse) and purple (keyboard)

in color.
 Keyboards and Mice can be plugged into the
following ports:
 Keyboard – USB, PS/2 and an old style keyboard
port:

 Mouse – USB, PS/2 and a 9 pin serial port

Ports for AUDIO are usually multi-color, although in
newer models it is an ALL-IN-ONE Port.
 Modem ports (same as telephone jacks) use
standard telephone wires called RJ-11.
Network ports are called RJ-45, and they are
used to connect Ethernet (network) cables.

RJ-11 RJ-45