EXPANSION CARDS/PERIPHERAL DEVICES

 Prepared by: Dennis S. Chua

CHS NCII-INSTRUCTOR/ASSESSOR
Expansion Slots and Cards
 Allow for new devices to be added
 Open architecture
 Slots provide for expansion
 Expansion cards are also called …
 Plug-in boards
 Controller cards
 Adapter cards
 Interface cards
 6-

.. Expansion Slots and Cards

 Expansion slot - long, narrow socket on the
motherboard into which you can plug an expansion
card
 Graphics card (for connecting monitor)
 Modem (for transmitting data over phone or cable lines)
 Sound card (for connecting speakers)
 Expansion card - small circuit board that provides
computer with ability to control storage, input or
output device
 Most computers have 4 - 8 expansion slots
PC Cards
 Most notebook computers are equipped with a special
type of external slot called a PCMCIA slot (personal
computer memory card international association)
 Typically a notebook only has one slot, but the slot can
hold more than one PC card (PCMCIA expansion cards)
PC card
 Commonly Used Expansion Cards
 Video cards
 Modem cards
 Network interface cards (NIC)
 TV tuner cards
 PC cards
Installing a New Expansion Card
 Internal devices
 Tools required
 Screwdriver
 Directions
 Before installing
 Unplug the computer
 Ground yourself
 Installing
 Follow the directions
.. Installing a New Expansion Card
 Some devices require software, called a device driver
 The device driver sets up communication between your
computer and the device
 Normally, disk or CD used only once
 Today’s PCs include Plug and Play (PnP) that
automatically takes care of these technical details
Installing a New Expansion Card
 For installing a new device, following setup is needed:
 Inserting the device card into the matching slot
 Installing the device driver program for the device
 Configure the system (tedious step, requires sufficient
technical background)

 “Plug and Play” is a new technology for making the

device installation procedure much faster and easier.
“Plug and Play” A plug-n-play card requires
the user to:
 Hardware and software standards •Switch off the system

 Makes system expansion easy •Insert the card

for the user
•Open the system
 Automatically installs drivers and again.

system configuration •System automatically

configure itself for the
 System unit recognizes the new newly installed device
device
-User is asked for the
latest device driver.
Bus Lines
 Connect parts of the CPU to each other
 Data roadway for traveling bits
 Measured as bus width
 More lanes, faster traffic
 Two basic categories
 System buses
 Expansion buses
Types of Expansion Buses
 Industry Standard Architecture (ISA)
 Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)
 Advanced Graphic Port (AGP)
 Universal serial bus (USB)
 FireWire buses
 HPSB – high performance serial bus
 Used with digital
camcorders & video editing software
… Types of Expansion Buses
 The microcomputer motherboard typically has up to
three types of expansion slots:
 ISA - older technology, modems and slow devices
 PCI - for graphics, sound, video, modem or network cards
 AGP - for graphics cards
 Expansion cards are built for only one type of slot
 AGP slot

ISA slot

PCI slot
ISA Bus
 Developed by IBM for personal computers

 Slow

 Originally 8 bit, later expanded to 16 bit

 Still used by some expansion cards

 Replaced by PCI bus in the near future

PCI Bus
 Originally developed to meet demands of
graphical user interfaces
 High speed
 32 bit or 64 bit

 Widely used to connect CPU, memory, and

expansion cards
AGP Bus
 Dedicated bus for acceleration of graphics
performance

 Replacing the PCI bus for transfer of video data

Other Bus Types
 USB
 Connects directly to the PCI bus on the
motherboard
 Supports external devices without inserting
expansion cards for each device
 HPSB
 FireWire
 Similar to USB but faster
EXPANSION CARDS/PERIPHERAL DEVICES
Graphics Card (VGA card)
This is the device that sends the output to your monitor.
You fix the monitor cable to the back of the VGA card
(VGA port) in order to get the display. to fix the graphics
card.
MODEM CARD

Internal Modem is used to connect your

computer to the Internet.
SOUND CARD
This computer hardware component is used to send
the sound to your speakers.
LAN CARD
LAN card (Network card) is used to connect your PC to
a Network. Some broadband modems also can be
connected to the PC using LAN cards.
MEMORY(RAM)
RAM (Random Access Memory) holds all of the
"active" information that the computer is using.
Memory is empty when your PC is switched off Then
each program or data file used grab part of the
system memory
T h a n k Y o u!!!