Networking To connect a computer to the Internet or a home network, the computer needs a network adapter installed. Often times the network adapter is an onboard feature of the motherboard, especially if the computer came from a retail computer outlet. The network adapter connects through an RJ45 cable connection, linking the computer to the network router or switch. A typical network adapter runs at 10/100 MB/sec, but newer gigabit adapters have many people enjoying 1000Mb/sec speeds on their network. This does not mean the Internet would download at this speed, or even that those speeds are realized – ever. Instead they relate to the possible potential speeds. 
A wireless network card can take the place of a wired connection. The wireless network card relays information through the wireless router, giving it access via a broadcast frequency like 802.11 b/a/g/n. The wireless speeds largely depend on the frequency at which the wireless router broadcasts and the fastest speed the wireless card can interpret. The router and the wireless adapter card should be able to speak on the same frequency in order to achieve the best speeds. I/O Connections We love our add-ons – the peripherals we purchase to accompany our desktops. We have printers, keyboards, mice, speakers, scanners, cameras, iPods, and other external devices. None of these devices would even work without the input/output connections available through the computer’s motherboard. Most new peripherals require a USB connection. Even the keyboard and mice can be connected via a USB connection. Gone are the PS/2 connections which used to be found on older computers. Instead we have the flat connection of USB to take its place. 
USB is largely version 2.0 nowadays, but older computers may still have USB 1.x technology. This also relates to how much bandwidth can be transferred through the USB ports to the external device. A USB 1.1 device can transfer data at a speed of 12 Mbit/sec at full speed, which is rarely realized in real world applications. A fast USB 2.0 connection can achieve speeds of 480 Mbit/sec – a stark improvement on USB 1.1 technology. When you connect a USB 2.0 capable device to a USB 1.1 or lower connection port on the computer, a window will likely appear telling you the hardware can achieve greater speeds on a USB 2.0 port. To identify if your computer has USB 2.0 ports, open the Device Manager through the Control Panel and look at the Universal Serial Bus controllers to see if any of them say “Enhanced” or “Advanced”. If they do, then you have USB 2.0 ports on the computer. If you see no mention of these two words, then you may need to purchase a PCI USB expansion card in order to enjoy the faster USB 2.0 speeds. You can find more information about USB technology and how to add a USB 2.0 expansion card to your PC here. |