Simple Q::-Computer ports explained| How many ports are there ?

Many of computer users have heard terms like USB, HDMI port, firewire, RJ 45 but only a few know about them,  in this post we will see how to identify the different ports and understand which devices use which plugs and ports.Computers come full of holes (ports) where every port has its own use. These ports change from time to time and we need to upgrade them accordingly. To keep in track with latest technology, it is important to know the basics about these ports.

How many ports are there

  1) USB  

Universal Serial Bus port is a small rectangular port  that comes with every computer. A single USB port can be used to connect up to 127 devices such as mouse, modem, keyboard or external hard disk.  These USB ports come with three standard versions- USB 1.1 (obsolete), 2.0, and 3.0.

 

The major difference is speed. USB 1.1 could transfer data up to 12 Mbps. USB 2.0 (High-Speed USB)  transmits a max of 480 Mbps.  But its only usb 3.0 which transfers data at an unbelievable rate of 4.8 (10x than usb 2.0) gbps .

  2) HDMI : 

High-Definition Multimedia Interface  carries both video and sound, making one less cable for video 

or audio. This gives high definition video output and has ability  to send audio to different format .

 3) SERIAL AND PARALLEL PORTS : 

If you have old PC you may have seen that, but nowadays they are not that common. Serial port has 9 pins and parallel port has 25 pins. Today these have been replaced by USB interface. The basic difference between serial and parallel ports is that of the speed. Parallel port is needed  for high speed connection like printers.

 4) LAN (RJ45 ETHERNET CONNECTION) : 

These look similar to our telephone line connection. The only difference between the two is that RJ45 is bigger in size and has 8 pins in them whereas RJ11, that we use for our telephone lines, has only 6 pins. So you can tell the difference by simply looking at them. The usually support 10-1000 Mbps connection. Used mainly for data transfer.

 5) KEYBOARD/ MOUSE PORTS : 

These are the small round shaped ones consisting of 6 pins. Both ports .ie. the ones for mouse and keyboard look the same. The only difference comes in their color. The purple one is for  keyboard and green is for mouse. But nowadays it has become a lot more easier as we have USB ports for mouse and keyboard.

  6) FIREWIRE : 

Like serial and parallel ports, firewire are outdated now. You would not find it in new computers. The FireWire port has been in common use since 1995, when Apple, Inc. first began to include the port on a number of digital camcorders

  7) E-SATA : 

They are found on the latest computers. These let you plug in the newest breed of portable hard drives with extra speed and larger capacity. One reason why people prefer e-sata over USB is that the transfer rate is fast, really fast. Currently there is a 1.5 Gbps and a 3 Gbps Standard, way much faster than USB 2.0  and firewire.