Types of Computer Cables You Must Know About

1
Types of Computer Cables You Must Know About

• If you look at computer hardware and accessories
  keenly and try to identify them, you will
  find yourself overwhelmed by product
  descriptions, features and their
  abbreviations. Sometimes the product
  descriptions are abbreviated and users are
  expected to research and understand things
  about them on their own. And it gets even
  tougher if you are asked to set up the system.
• As there are plenty of computer cables
  available in the market today and a lot is
  written about them, it is difficult to
  find a common resource which brings
  forth the common differences between them.
  Heres a small guide to all the computer cables
  and their features.
• 1. VGA- Video Graphics Array
• VGA cables were designed in the 1980s and
  they were standard cables which were used to
  connect computer to the monitor. These

2

• cables have 15 pins that are arranged in 3 rows
  with 5 pins in each row. Each row corresponds
  to 3 types of colours including red, green
  and blue. As people started preferring
  digital connections over analog ones, its
  popularity died down over the time. However, if
  you look at any display accessory or video card,
  you might come across a VGA Port.
• DVI- Digital Visual Interface
• As technology moved from Analog to
  digital, people started preferring DVI
  connections. Also known as Digital Visual
  Interface, it is a successor to VGA technology.
  Heres what DVI can do
• DVI-A is capable of transmitting analog
  signals, making it backward compatible with VGA
• DVI-D can transmit the latest digital signals
• DVI-I can work with both analog and digital
  technology
• Sometimes, you might also need VGA to DVI and DVI
  to VGA cable converter.

3

• HDMI- High Definition Multimedia Interface Cables
• High-definition broadcasts have become the
  latest standard of superior quality. HDMI is
  different from VGA and DVI as it can send both
  video and audio signals at once. But as
  these signals are digital, HDMI cables are
  only compatible with new devices. There are
  four types of HDMI
• Type A The connector of this cable has 19 pins
  on the male head. It is compatible to single link
  DVI-D connections
• Type B This connector is bigger than connector
  A and has 29 pins on the male head. Type B is
  compatible to dual link DVI-D connections
• Type C It is a connector with 19 pins and is
  mostly used with portable devices, digital
  cameras and camcorders
• Type D This one also has 19 pins and looks like
  a micro-USB cord
• Ethernet Cables
• When it comes to setting up local area
  networks, Ethernet cables are used. They
  are usually used for connecting routers
  to

4

• computers and modems. In case you
  have tried to set up a computer system
  at home, you might have come across Ethernet
  cables. There are 3 types of Ethernet cables
• CAT 5 These are the most basic type of cables
  and are used to provide speed of 10 or 100 Mbps
• CAT 5e It is an abbreviated form of
  Category 5 Enhanced and enables one to
  transmit data at 1,000 Mbps. This makes it faster
  and better as compared to CAT 5 cables.
• CAT 6 This one is the latest cable and
  provides with best performance as compared to
  other two.
• USB (Universal Serial Bus) Cables
• USBs are ubiquitous in todays world. It
  is possible to connect all types of
  peripheral devices including mice, keyboards,
  headsets, flash drives, adapters etc to a
  computer through a USB port and accompanying
  USB cables. You can find several versions of USBs
  in the market. These include
• USB 1.0/1.1 It can transmit data up to 12
  Mbps speed

5

• USB 2.0 It is the most commonly found USB
  in the market and can transmit data at the
  speed of 480 Mbps. It is also compatible
  with old USB versions.
• USB 3.0 It can transmit data with the speed of
  4.8 GB/S and is compatible with its previous
  versions.
• Above mentioned are some of the majorly used
  computer cables. There are many other cables like
  SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment),
  IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) etc. You
  can read more about them and their features on
  the internet.