sound card

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(computer hardware) A computer hardware device used for generating and capturing sounds.

聲卡

a computer hardware device used for generating and capturing sounds


drive

en-noun

drive (countable and uncountable, plural drives)

[d̠ɹ̠ ̝ʷaɪv]

From Middle English driven, from Old English drīfan (“to drive, force, move”), from Proto-West Germanic *drīban, from Proto-Germanic *drībaną (“to drive”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreybʰ- (“to drive, push”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots drive (“to drive”), North Frisian driwe (“to drive”), Saterland Frisian drieuwe (“to drive”), West Frisian driuwe (“to chase, drive, impel”), Dutch drijven (“to drive”), Low German drieven (“to drive, drift, push”), German treiben (“to drive, push, propel”), Norwegian Bokmål drive, Danish drive (“to drive, run, force”), Norwegian Nynorsk driva, Swedish driva (“to drive, power, drift, push, force”), Icelandic drífa (“to drive, hurry, rush”).

cog

(computer hardware) An apparatus for reading and writing data to or from a mass storage device such as a disk.

(computer hardware) A mass storage device in which the mechanism for reading and writing data is integrated with the mechanism for storing data.

jednotka

computing: apparatus for reading and writing to or from a storage device


device

From Middle English devis, devise, devyce, devys, devyse, from Old French devis and devise, from Latin dīvīsus, past participle of dīvidō (“to divide”). Doublet of devise (noun).

(computer hardware) A peripheral device; an item of hardware.


computer architecture

en-noun

computer architecture (countable and uncountable, plural computer architectures)

(computer hardware) The conceptual structure around which a given computer is designed.

(computer hardware) The science of computer design.


USB

(computer hardware, trademark, informal) A USB flash drive.


CPU

central processing unit
central processing unit#English

(computer hardware) Initialism of central processing unit.


printer

→ Azerbaijani: printer

→ Georgian: პრინტერი (ṗrinṭeri)

→ Japanese: プリンター (purintā)

→ Korean: 프린터 (peurinteo)

→ Russian: при́нтер (prínter)

→ Serbo-Croatian: prìnter, прѝнтер

The use of the Hughes type printer is extending on the main circuits, where speed of transmission is a great object; but it is highly improbable that it will ever be adopted, except on main circuits.

1872 February 24, “Telegraph Instruments”, in The Mechanics’ Magazine and Journal of Science, Arts, and Manufactures, volume XCVI, London: Mechanics' Magazine Offices, 166, Fleet Street, and 85, Gracechurch Street, E.C., →OCLC, page 172, column 1:

By the use of these keys in conjunction with the other keys, the operator has perfect control over the receiving printer at the distant station.

1903, “The Rowland Multiplex Printing Telegraph System”, in Telegraph Age. A Semi-monthly Journal Devoted to Telegraphy, volume XX, New York, N.Y.: J[ohn] B. Taltavall, →OCLC, page 461, column 1:

For long distance messages, reports, etc., the use of the printer telegraph renders a highly satisfactory and efficient service, especially where the line circuits are derived through a composite or phantom circuit without the exclusive use of wires for this circuit. The Union Pacific recently installed a two-channel multiplex automatic printer on a simplexed circuit, thereby eliminating the necessity for at least one additional overland wire, and also speeding up the service and reducing the cost for each message.

1924, Railway Signaling and Communications, volume 17, number 1, Bristol, Conn.: Simmons-Boardman Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 36, column 1:

In a telegraph system, a multiplex transmission circuit in which the signals transmitted comprise equal-impulse code combinations, a receiving distributor for separating the successive combinations into separate channels, a simplex printer for each channel, and local means including said distributor for generating start and rest impulses for each printer.

1928 August 18, Robert F. Dirkes, Vernon R. Kimball, James W. Long, Operating Simplex Printers in a Multiplex System, US Patent US1802240A, claim 3, page 5, column 1:

Top-quality prints in minutes, at savings up to 80%, are said to be possible with the Satellite printer. Printer is sold by Eugene Dietzgen Co, Chicago, Ill.

1959 September, “Compact Printer”, in Air Conditioning, Heating and Ventilating, volume 56, New York, N.Y.: Industrial Press, →OCLC, page 103:

Much like a regular printer can print out a picture or text file, these machines can turn a digital 3-D model into a real, tangible object, and they are becoming more and more widespread. All over the world, makerspaces (places where people can gather, share ideas, learn, and use tools like 3-D printers to let their dreams become reality) are opening the doors.

2015, Nicki Peter Petrikowski, “Introduction”, in Getting the Most out of Makerspaces to Create with 3-D Printers (Makerspaces series), New York, N.Y.: Rosen Publishing, →ISBN, page 5:

(computer hardware) A device, usually attached to a computer, used to print text or images onto paper; an analogous device capable of producing three-dimensional objects.

rekenaardrukker

computing: device used to print text or images


diskette

→ Portuguese: disquete

From disk + -ette, by analogy with cassette.

(computer hardware, dated) An 8-inch floppy disk.


floppy disk

→ Italian: floppy disk

→ Japanese: フロッピーディスク (furoppī disuku)

→ Welsh: disg hyblyg (calque)

A hacker starts with nothing but a dream and a floppy disk and presently finds himself in a business that's doubled and trebled.

1984, Venture (volume 6, part 1, page 142)

The floppy disk itself is a magnetically coated flexible plastic disk which is mounted in a protective envelope and can be used as a mass data storage medium.

1994, Alexander John Anderson, Foundations of Computer Technology, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 107:

(computer hardware) A removable disk used for storing digital data, measuring between 2 and 8 inches diagonally and storing between 80 KB and 240 MB.

قُرْص مَرِن

flexible disk used for storing digital data


disk

→ Japanese: ディスク (disuku)

→ Korean: 디스크 (diseukeu)

→ Norwegian Bokmål: disk

→ Thai: ดิสก์ (dìt)

→ Turkish: disk

→ Welsh: disg

From Ancient Greek δίσκος (dískos, “a circular plate suited for hurling”), from δικέω (dikéō, “to hurl, to launch”). Doublet of dais, desk, disc, discus, dish, and diskos.

doublet

He still uses disks from 1979.

(computer hardware) Ellipsis of floppy disk.

(computer hardware) Ellipsis of hard disk.

She burned some disks yesterday to back up her computer.

(computer hardware, nonstandard) An optical disc, such as a LaserDisc, CD, DVD, Blu-ray, or similar removable optical storage medium.


core

en-noun

core (countable and uncountable, plural cores)

desc

Translingual: core eudicots, core Malvales

From Middle English core, kore, coor (“apple-core, pith”), of obscure and uncertain origin. Possibly of native English origin, from Old English *cor, related to Old English *coruc, *corc (diminutive) (> Middle English cork, crok (“core of a apple or other fruit, heart of an onion”)) and Old English corn (“seed", also "grain”); or alternatively perhaps from Old French cuer (“heart”), from Latin cor (“heart”); or from Old French cors (“body”), from Latin corpus (“body”). Compare also Middle English colk, coke, coll (“the heart or centre of an apple or onion, core”), Dutch kern (“core”), German Kern (“core”). See also heart, corpse.

unc

obscure and uncertain

non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger

сърцеви́на

something that produces a hollow space in a casting

I wanted to play a particular computer game, which required I buy a new computer, so while the game said it needed at least a dual-core processor, I wanted my computer to be a bit ahead of the curve, so I bought a quad-core.

particular parts of technical instruments or machines essential in function:

(computer hardware) An individual computer processor, in the sense when several processors (called cores or CPU cores) are plugged together in one single integrated circuit to work as one (called a multi-core processor).

nüvə

one of several parts in a computer processor


minicomputer

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-minicomputer.wav

(computer hardware) A computer smaller than a mainframe, but larger than a microcomputer.


bus bridge

(computer hardware) A device for connecting two disparate hardware buses.


storage

en-noun

storage (usually uncountable, plural storages)

/ˈstɔː.ɹɪd͡ʒ/

/ˈstɔɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/

I′d recommend backing up these files to storage before reinstalling the operating system.

Secondary storages are used to store system programs (viz; operating system, assembler, interpreter, compiler and so on), data files, software packages and so on.

2007, Ramesh Bangia, Computer Fundamentals and Information Technology, India: Firewall Media, page 43:

(usually uncountable, computer hardware) Any computer device, including such as a disk, on which data is stored for a longer term than main memory.


mainframe

→ Italian: mainframe

→ Japanese: メインフレーム (meinfurēmu)

→ Portuguese: mainframe

→ Spanish: mainframe

(computer hardware) A large, powerful computer able to manage very many simultaneous tasks and communicate with very many connected terminals; used by large, complex organizations (such as banks and supermarkets) where continuously sustained operation is vital.

(computer hardware) A computer chassis that hosts and interconnects modules that perform various tasks.


actuator

[ˈæk.t͡ʃʉ.æɪ.ɾə(ɹ)]

From actuate + -or. First attested in 1652.

(computer hardware) The mechanism that moves the head assembly on a disk drive.

toimilaite

the mechanism that moves the head assembly on a disk drive


controller

/kənˈtɹəʊlə/

From Middle English countreroller, from Anglo-Norman contreroulour and Middle French contreroleur (French contrôleur), from Medieval Latin contrārotulātor, from *contrārotulāre (from which control). By surface analysis, control + -er.

(computer hardware) A mechanism that controls or regulates the operation of a machine, especially a peripheral device in a computer.

řadič

computer hardware: mechanism that controls or regulates the operation of a machine

driver

device that regulates a machine's operation


touch screen

(computer hardware) An input/output device that allows the user to interact with the computer by touching the display screen.


copro

Oddly enough, a copro in a 286 is slower than one in an XT, due to the connections.

2001, Phil Croucher, The BIOS Companion, page 48:

(computer hardware, informal) Clipping of coprocessor.


electromechanical computer

electromechanical computer (plural electromechanical computers)

In 1937, Howard Aiken, a mathematician at Harvard University, developed the idea for a general-purpose electromechanical computer, the Harvard Mark I.

(computer hardware) An early type of computer that used electromagnetic relays.


FW

Alternative form: f/w

(computer hardware, software) Abbreviation of firmware.


WORM

write once, read many
write once, read many#English

(computing, computer hardware) Initialism of write once, read many.


add-on

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-add-on.wav

Microdrives that can hold several gigabytes (see Figure 2.20) have been available as add-ons for portable devices.

2010, Kenneth Baldauf, Ralph Stair, Succeeding with Technology, page 77:

(computer hardware, software) A software extension or hardware peripheral that provides additional functions or customization for a core application or system.


home computer

Coordinate term: personal computer

This last section is meant to draw your attention to a further sphere of potential use for your home computer, namely letting it monitor and control some activity directly, without your own participation […]

1983, Using Your Home Computer, Macmillan International Higher Education, →ISBN, page 80:

(computer hardware, dated) A computer intended for use in the home.


flash drive

So called because it is a storage device that uses flash memory.

(computer hardware) A small electronic device used to store digital data, more portable and robust than a hard drive.

قُرْص وَامِض m (qurṣ wāmiḍ) (a literal translation prescribed by some purists, though virtually unused)

Flash-Laufwerk

a literal one, not the usual term for a USB stick


hard drive

(computing, computer hardware) An electromechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid, rapidly rotating platters coated with magnetic material.

hardeskyf

device used for storing large amounts of data

ഹാർഡ് ഡിസ്ക് ഡ്രൈവ്

hāṟḍŭ ḍiskŭ ḍraivŭ


microprocessor

When the microprocessor decodes the JSR opcode, it stores the operand into the TEMP register and pushes the current contents of the PC ($00 0128) onto the stack.

1992, Michael A. Miller, The 68000 Microprocessor Family: Architecture, Programming, and Applications, page 47:

When you think of current microprocessors (μPs), the Intel Itanium processor with 592 million transistors may come to mind. […] Clearly today's FPGAs will not be able to implement such a top-of-the-range μP with a single FPGA.

2007, Uwe Meyer-Baese, “Microprocessor Design”, in Digital Signal Processing with Field Programmable Gate Arrays, 3rd edition, Berlin: Springer Science+Business Media, →ISBN, page 537:

(computer hardware) The entire CPU of a computer on a single integrated circuit (chip).


EMI

EMI (countable and uncountable, plural EMIs)

external memory interface
w:external memory interface

(computer hardware) Initialism of external memory interface.


sector

Sector (Star Trek)
Sector (instrument)
sector

Coordinate term: block

(computer hardware) A fixed-sized unit (traditionally 512 bytes) of sequential data stored on a track of a digital medium.

قِطَاع

fixed-sized unit of sequential data storage


SIMM

(computer hardware) initialism of Single in-line memory module


write once

(computing, computer hardware) Of a type of storage technology in which data, once written, cannot be erased or modified.


road map

→ French: roadmap

→ German: Roadmap

CPU speeds continue to increase with no end in sight. For instance, Sun's UltraSPARC processor roadmap, shown in Figure 16-2, show CPU speed increasing from 143 MHz in 1995 to 1.5 Ghz in 2002, roughly doubling every year as predicted by Moore's Law.

1999, Marc Hamilton, Software Development: Building Reliable Systems, Prentice Hall Professional, →ISBN, page 236:

In the software business, a product roadmap gives an overview how a product is going to develop over the strategic timeframe of up to 5 years in terms of new releases or versions, their schedules and major themes.

2008, Hans-Bernd Kittlaus, Peter N. Clough, Software Product Management and Pricing, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 77:

(originally computing, computer hardware) A structured representation of objects to display a development plan, used in business for strategic planning and communications.


ALU

arithmetic logic unit
arithmetic logic unit

(computer hardware) arithmetic logic unit.


dongle

Unknown. Likely a descendant of dangle, reflecting that electronic accessories such as computer peripherals often are plugged in via a flexible cable (although wirelessness is also often relevant). Claims that the word comes from a man named "Don Gall" were made up by an advertisement. First usage 1980-1985.

FreedomPop will offer three different flavors of broadband: a USB dongle that allows you to connect your computer to the internet, a WiFi hotspot device, and an iPhone case that allows you to override the phone's existing network and use it as a FreedomPop hotspot.

2012, Tecca, FreedomPop offering 1GB of free wireless data, hopes you’ll pay for more, via Yahoo! Tech, link:

(computer hardware) Any small device that plugs into an electronic device, typically a computer, and alters its functionality. Common examples include wireless modems, digital media players, software copy protect devices, and adapters.

Take the dongle, for example. It is the summit of copy protection, an explicit melding of software and hardware. Without the right hardware key—the dongle—plugged into the machine's parallel port, the software won't run.

1997 April 1, David McCandless, “Warez Wars”, in Wired, →ISSN:

(computer hardware) A hardware device used by a specific application for purposes of copy protection.

motxilla

A hardware device utilized by a specific application for purposes of copy protection


GPU

graphics processing unit
graphics processing unit#English

electronic circuit
electronic circuit#English

(computer hardware) Initialism of graphics processing unit (an electronic circuit dedicated to generating graphics and displaying images).


central processing unit

central processing unit (plural central processing units)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-central processing unit.wav

Coordinate term: graphics processing unit

(computer hardware) The part of a computer that fetches, decodes and executes instructions; attached directly to the memory.

中央演算処理装置

ちゅうおうえんざんしょりそうち


blowhole

(computer hardware) A vertical opening in the top of a computer case that lets hot air (primarily from the CPU heat sink) escape quickly.


motherboard

→ Bengali: মাদারবোর্ড (madarbōrḍ)

→ Japanese: マザーボード (mazābōdo)

→ Chinese: 母板 (mǔbǎn) (calque)

→ Dutch: moederbord (calque)

→ Estonian: emaplaat (calque)

→ Finnish: emolevy (calque)

→ Icelandic: móðurborð (calque)

→ Irish: máthairchlár (calque)

→ Italian: scheda madre (calque)

→ Portuguese: placa-mãe (calque)

desc

матери́нская пла́та

→ Russian: матери́нская пла́та (materínskaja pláta) (calque)

матери́нська пла́та

→ Ukrainian: матери́нська пла́та (materýnsʹka pláta) (calque)

/ˈmʌðɚˌbɔɹd/

Compound of mother + board. Attested since 1965.

An electronics shop was selling ugly refurbished computers. They were small black and grey things with exposed motherboards and cracked cases.

2018, Nnedi Okorafor, Who Fears Death, HarperVoyager, page 8:

central processing unit
central processing unit

(computer hardware) The primary circuit board of a personal computer, containing the circuitry for the central processing unit, keyboard, mouse and monitor, together with slots for other devices.


flash memory

en-noun

flash memory (usually uncountable, plural flash memories)

(computer hardware) A rewritable memory chip that retains its data without a power supply.


SMART

w:self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technology

(computer hardware) Acronym of self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technology; also S.M.A.R.T.: a monitoring system included in computer HDDs and SSDs in order to detect and report various indicators of drive reliability with the intent of anticipating imminent hardware failures.


peripheral device

peripheral device (plural peripheral devices)

(computer hardware) An electronic device that is outside the computer's system unit (external to the computer's enclosing case), but used by the computer to which it is connected, such as a printer or a scanner.


mobo

Truncation of the first and last syllables.

(slang, computer hardware) A motherboard.


control key

First use appears c. 1978 in the publication Practical Computing.

(computing, computer hardware) A key on a personal computer or terminal keyboard used in combination to modify the function of other keys; normally labelled "Ctrl".


SATA

Advanced Technology Attachment
Advanced Technology Attachment

(computer hardware) Serial ATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment), a computer bus technology primarily designed for transfer of data to and from a hard disk. It is the successor to the legacy Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) standard.


microcomputer

In recent years, it had become the hallmark of the scientist, much as the stethoscope was that of the physician and the microcomputer that of the statistician.

1956 July 7, Isaac Asimov, Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, volume 11, New York: Fantasy House, page 9:

The operation has installed nine Cygnet CoSystems, computerphones that send memos, letters, and even whole files from one microcomputer to another.

In time of course, things became more efficient, with newer machines which could cope with large amounts of data - the microcomputers had 64 kilobytes of memory; your mobile phone has vastly more capacity.

2021, Pat Manser, More Than Words: The Making of the Macquarie Dictionary, Sydney: Macquarie Dictionary, page 83:

(computer hardware, now chiefly historical) A computer designed around a microprocessor, smaller than a minicomputer or a mainframe.


memory card

(computer hardware) A solid state digital memory storage format, commonly found on computers, digital cameras and cellphones.

(computer hardware) A personal computer's expansion memory module that fits in a standard interface such as a PCI or ISA slot.


arithmetic logic unit

arithmetic logic unit (plural arithmetic logic units)

(computer hardware) the section of a CPU that performs calculations and logical operations

aritmetikilo

part of a CPU that does calculations and logical operations


PATA

(computer hardware) Initialism of parallel ATA: a computer bus technology primarily designed for transfer of data to and from a hard disk.


inkjet printer

(computer hardware) A device for the printing of documents which that operates by propelling tiny droplets of liquid ink onto paper.

噴墨打印機

device that prints using droplets of ink


hard disk

(computer hardware) One of a series of parallel magnetic recording disks in a drive unit, used for the recording and retrieval of digital information; used especially in personal computers.

(computer hardware) The unit itself, and all the disks within it.


laser printer

(computer hardware) A computer printer that uses a laser beam to produce an image on a rotating drum before transferring it to the paper.


multiprocessor

(computer hardware) A computer that has multiple CPUs or execution units under an integrated control.


KVM

(computer hardware) Initialism of keyboard-video-mouse: a device allowing these input and output devices to be swapped between a series of server consoles, especially in a rack configuration.


PSU

(electronics, computer hardware) Initialism of power supply unit.


light pen

(computer hardware) A pen-like device allowing a computer user to interact with the screen display.


storage device

(computer hardware) A piece of hardware whose main function is to store data.


clock speed

clock speed (countable and uncountable, plural clock speeds)

(computing, computer hardware) The rate, measured in hertz, at which a processor performs its fundamental operations.


volatile memory

volatile memory (countable and uncountable, plural volatile memories)

(computer hardware) Computer memory (such as RAM) that requires a constant electrical charge to maintain its contents.

haihtuva muisti

computer memory requiring constant charge


MDI

MDI (countable and uncountable, plural MDIs)

medium-dependent interface
w:Medium-dependent interface

(computer hardware, communication) Initialism of medium-dependent interface.


MMU

MMU (countable and uncountable, plural MMUs)

(computer hardware) Initialism of memory management unit.


floppy disk drive

floppy disk drive (plural floppy disk drives)

(computer hardware) A floppy drive; a disk drive for floppy disks.


disk drive

(computer hardware) A computer drive that reads disks.


mass storage

The mass storage of the network consisted of 40 megabytes of Bernoulli boxes.

(computer hardware) Any form of persistent data storage technology with high capacity relative to that of the high-speed non-persistent memory of computers of its time.


daisywheel printer

daisywheel printer (plural daisywheel printers)

daisy wheel, from the resemblance to the flower.

(computer hardware) A printer that operates by striking the page with moulded characters from a rotating circular arrangement, obsolete since the late 1980s.

margarétafejes nyomtató

a printer that operates by striking the page with moulded characters from a rotating circular arrangement


thermal printer

thermal printer (plural thermal printers)

(computer hardware) A printer that operates by applying heat to selected areas of specially treated paper.


multicore

After several consecutive quarters of losing market share, Intel in recent quarters has released a host of new multicore processors, including its first quad-core chip[…].

2007 September 11, Laurie J. Flynn, “Intel Raises Its Outlook; Rival Offers New Chip”, in New York Times:

(computer hardware, of a processor) Combining two or more independent cores into a single package composed of a single integrated circuit


optical disc

(computer hardware) A modern data storage medium consisting of a flat disc read mechanically by illumination with laser light, including the Laserdisc, compact disc, DVD, and Blu-ray.


floating-point unit

floating-point unit (plural floating-point units)

(computer hardware) A microprocessor that performs floating-point arithmetic. In older models of computer the FPU was not integrated into the central processing unit, but rather as a coprocessor if included at all.


FPU

Coordinate term: CPU

floating-point unit
floating-point unit#English

(computer hardware) Initialism of floating-point unit.


coprocessor

graphics processing unit
graphics processing unit

(computer hardware) An additional microprocessor used to supplement the functionality of the central processing unit, performing tasks such as floating-point arithmetic (floating-point unit) or graphics calculations (graphics processing unit).


web server

(computer hardware) the computer on which such software runs.


dot matrix printer

dot matrix printer (plural dot matrix printers)

(computer hardware) A type of printer that prints characters using an array of small wires that produce an array of dots when striking the paper.


storage medium

(computer hardware) Any hardware (such as disks or tape) used to store data


DIMM

dual in-line memory module
w:dual in-line memory module

(computer hardware) Initialism of dual in-line memory module.


conventional memory

(computing, computer hardware) The first 640 kilobytes of RAM in an IBM-compatible PC.


data terminal equipment

data terminal equipment (plural data terminal equipments)

(computer hardware) an end instrument that converts user information into signals or reconverts received signals.


Data Carrier Equipment

Data Carrier Equipment (usually uncountable, plural Data Carrier Equipments)

(computer hardware) Synonym of Data Circuit-Terminating Equipment


Data Communications Equipment

Data Communications Equipment (usually uncountable, plural Data Communications Equipments)


Data Circuit-Terminating Equipment

Data Circuit-Terminating Equipment (usually uncountable, plural Data Circuit-Terminating Equipments)

Data Circuit-Terminating Equipments (plural)

data terminal equipment
Data Terminal Equipment

(computer hardware) A device interconnecting data terminal equipment (DTE) and a data transmission circuit.


DTE

DTE (countable and uncountable, plural DTEs)

Data Terminal Equipment
Data Terminal Equipment

(computer hardware) Data Terminal Equipment


DCE

data circuit-terminating equipment
w:data circuit-terminating equipment

(computer hardware) Initialism of data circuit-terminating equipment.


optical drive

(computer hardware) A drive that reads optical media.


unicore

(computer hardware, of a processor) Having only one core.


(computer hardware, serial bus) Initialism of Inter-Integrated Circuit, a standard for integrated circuit communication using two lines.


data stick

(computer hardware) Synonym of flash drive


Cat 5

Cat-5 UTP cable – level 5 cables have twisted-pair cores with a characteristic impedance of 100Ω (±15Ω) and a capacitance of 45.9 pF/m. Conductor resistance is around 9Ω/100 m.

2000, Bill Buchanan, Computer Busses: Design and Application, Arnold, London, →ISBN, page 60:

When first connecting the service, it may be necessary to connect the Cat 5 or Cat 6 Ethernet cable directly to the computer to sign up with the ISP before inserting the router/firewall and switch between the modem and the computer(s).

2006, Dennis C. Brewer, Paul A. Brewer, Wiring Your Digital Home For Dummies, Wiley Publishing, Inc., →ISBN, page 200:

On Cat 5 cable, the jacket is usually stamped with the manufacturer’s name and cable type, including the Cat 5 specification.

2010, Tamara Dean, Network+ Guide to Networks, fifth edition, Course Technology, Cengage Learning, chapter 3 “Transmission Basics and Networking Media”

(computer hardware) A twisted pair cable for carrying signals, particularly for Ethernet-based computer networks.


legacy-free

(computer hardware, of a personal computer) Lacking certain older components such as a floppy disk drive, legacy ports, and ISA or other expansion bus.


S.M.A.R.T.

(computer hardware) Acronym of self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technology; also SMART: a monitoring system included in computer HDDs and SSDs in order to detect and report various indicators of drive reliability with the intent of anticipating imminent hardware failures.


capture card

(computer hardware) A circuit board allowing a computer to record video from an external source.


TPU

TPU (countable and uncountable, plural TPUs)

The GPU and TPU computing resources were used to investigate the influence of hardware-supported quantization on performance of the DNNs.

2019, “Scaling Analysis of Specialized Tensor Processing Architectures for Deep Learning Models”, in Witold Pedrycz, Shyi-Ming Chen, editors, Deep Learning: Concepts and Architectures, Springer Nature, →ISBN, page 73:

Tensor Processing Unit
w:Tensor Processing Unit

(countable, computer hardware) Initialism of Tensor Processing Unit, a circuit optimized for neural network machine learning.


payment terminal

payment terminal (plural payment terminals)

(computer hardware) An electronic device which interfaces with payment cards to make electronic funds transfers.


keybounce

Many of you have experienced what we call “Keybounce” — multiple letters from one keystroke.

1978 November, Radio Shack Microcomputer Newsletter:

A typical inexpensive key will settle down within five milliseconds, so if the keyboard scanning software polls the key less often than this, the controller will effectively miss the keybounce.

2004, Randall Hyde, Write Great Code Volume 1: Understanding the Machine, →ISBN, page 348:

(computer hardware, electronics) Multiple recorded keystrokes from a single press of a key on a computer keyboard due to poor electrical contact.


Molex to SATA, lose all your data

(computer hardware, Internet) Using a Molex-to-SATA adapter to power a storage device may lead to loss of data, as a poorly designed and unreliable connector may cause damage by failing in an unsafe manner.


Blu-ray drive

(computer hardware) An optical drive used for reading data from and possibly writing data on a Blu-ray disc.


HD DVD drive

(computer hardware) An optical drive used for reading data from and possibly writing data on an HD DVD.


CD drive

(computer hardware) An optical drive used for reading data from and possibly writing data on a compact disc.


DVD drive

(computer hardware) An optical drive used for reading data from and possibly writing data on a DVD.


PPU

physics processing unit
w:physics processing unit

(computer hardware) Initialism of physics processing unit, a dedicated microprocessor designed to handle the calculations of physics.


graphics processing unit

graphics processing unit (plural graphics processing units)

(computer hardware) A specialized electronic circuit designed to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device.


RIMM

(computer hardware) Initialism of Rambus in-line memory module.


WORM drive

(computer hardware) A write once, read many drive; data storage technology that allows information to be written to a disc a single time and prevents the drive from erasing the data.


iGPU

(computer hardware) Initialism of integrated graphics processing unit (a graphics processing unit which has been built into another major system component, such as the CPU or motherboard, and typically utilises system RAM instead of having VRAM chips of its own)


dGPU

(computer hardware) Initialism of discrete graphics processing unit (a graphics processing unit which has access to dedicated graphics memory)

discrete graphics processing unit

(computer hardware) Initialism of dedicated graphics processing unit (a graphics processing unit which has access to dedicated graphics memory)

(computer hardware, colloquial) video card, graphics card


engineering sample

engineering sample (plural engineering samples)

(computer hardware, semiconductors) A non-final version of an integrated circuit meant for product development, validation, or demonstration purposes.


POS terminal

payment terminal
payment terminal#English

(computer hardware) Synonym of payment terminal


credit card terminal

credit card terminal (plural credit card terminals)


pedestal server

pedestal server (plural pedestal servers)

(computer hardware) A type of computer rack consisting of a box-like frame or a columnar support, and may include wheels for transportation.


deskside server

deskside server (plural deskside servers)

(networking, computer hardware) A type of computer server intended to be placed alongside a desk, contrasted with the shelf model.


dock connector

(computing, computer hardware) A connector used to attach a mobile electronic device simultaneously to multiple external resources.


VPU

vector processing unit
vector processing unit#English

(computer hardware) Abbreviation of vector processing unit.


FPDP

Front Panel Data Port
w:Front Panel Data Port

(computer hardware) Initialism of Front Panel Data Port.


silicon lottery

silicon lottery (plural silicon lotteries)

(computing, computer hardware) The process of binning microprocessors based on their overclocking potential.


DPRAM

DPRAM (countable and uncountable, plural DPRAMs)

(computer hardware) Initialism of dual-ported RAM.


USB key

(computer hardware) A USB drive used to identify and authenticate a user.


enter key

First known use appears c. 1955, in the publication Applied Electronics: Proceedings.

(computing, computer hardware) A type of return key generally present on extended keyboards with a numeric keypad.


return key

First known use appears c. 1965 in the publication Programming IBM 1620 by E.A. Weiss.

(computing, computer hardware) A key on a computer keyboard commonly used to execute a command or confirm the input of keyed text.


average access time

(computing, computer hardware) The average amount of time required for a storage device to transfer data to the CPU.


seek time

seek time (countable and uncountable, plural seek times)

(computing, computer hardware) The measurement of time required for the head assembly on the actuator arm of a hard drive to travel to the track of the disk where the data will be read or written.


disk access time

disk access time (countable and uncountable, plural disk access times)

(computing, computer hardware) The total amount of time required for an operating system to process a read-write request involving disk storage.


average seek time

average seek time (countable and uncountable, plural average seek times)

(computing, computer hardware) Of a hard drive, the average of all possible seek times equivalent to the time of all possible seeks divided by the number of all possible seeks.


maximum seek time

maximum seek time (countable and uncountable, plural maximum seek times)

Coordinate term: minimum seek time

(computing, computer hardware) The amount of time required for a disk drive to seek through all possible tracks, from the innermost to the outermost or vice versa.


minimum seek time

minimum seek time (countable and uncountable, plural minimum seek times)

Coordinate term: maximum seek time

(computing, computer hardware) The amount of time required to move the head of a disk drive from one track to the next.


virtual 8086 mode

(computing, computer hardware) A mode allowing the execution of real mode applications that are incapable of running directly in protected mode while the processor is running a protected mode operating system.


unreal mode

Coordinate term: real mode

(computing, computer hardware) A variant of real mode, in which one or more segment descriptors have been loaded with nonstandard values, like 32-bit limits allowing access to the entire memory.


PC-compatible

(computing, computer hardware) Of a computer, functionally identical to the original IBM personal computer and able to accept all software and hardware designed or intended for it.


spindown time

spindown time (countable and uncountable, plural spindown times)

Coordinate term: spinup time

(computing, computer hardware) The period of time required by a hard drive or optical disc to decelerate from an operational speed to stopped state.


spinup time

spinup time (countable and uncountable, plural spinup times)

Coordinate term: spindown time

(computing, computer hardware) The period of time required by a hard drive or optical disc to accelerate from a stopped state to an operational speed.


startup time

startup time (countable and uncountable, plural startup times)

(computing, computer hardware) The boot time of a system in addition to the amount of time required for the operating system to load and initialize all its services and programs.


boot time

boot time (countable and uncountable, plural boot times)

Coordinate term: startup time

(computing, computer hardware) The amount of time required to load the kernel of an operating system, its device drivers, and the initialization of the hardware.


fieldbus

(computer hardware, networking) A member of a family of industrial digital communication networks used for real-time distributed control.


waiting time

waiting time (countable and uncountable, plural waiting times)

(computing, computer hardware) The total amount of time in which a process spends in a ready queue before it reaches the CPU.


ready queue

(computing, computer hardware) A data structure that holds a process that is ready to run, but is unable to do so because the CPU is already occupied.


neural processing unit

neural processing unit (plural neural processing units)

In addition, the large weight size inevitably causes latency, power, and energy overhead when transferring the weight data between the storage/memory and the processing units, such as central processing units (CPUs), graphic processing units (GPUs), neural processing units (NPUs), or accelerators, which are not desirable for resource-constrained edge devices.

2023, Arslan Munir, Joonho Kong, Mahmood Azhar Qureshi, Accelerators for Convolutional Neural Networks, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 43:

(computer hardware, machine learning) A specialized hardware circuit designed to accelerate machine learning applications.


address bus

address bus (plural address buses or address busses)

address buses (plural)
address busses (plural)

(computer hardware) A bus that is used to specify a physical address.


control bus

control bus (plural control buses or control busses)

control buses (plural)
control busses (plural)

(computer hardware) A part of the system bus that is used by CPUs for communicating with other devices within the computer.


system bus

system bus (plural system buses or system busses)

system buses (plural)
system busses (plural)

(computer hardware) A single computer bus that connects the major components of a computer system, combining the functions of a data bus, an address bus, and a control bus.


write once, read many

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(computing, computer hardware) A data storage device in which information, once written, cannot be modified.


mask work

(computer hardware) A type of three-dimensional image or pattern on a layer of materials used to design or manufacture a semiconductor chip.


segment descriptor

segment descriptor (plural segment descriptors)

(computer hardware) A part of the segmentation unit, used for translating a logical address to a linear address.


very-large-scale

(computer hardware) Of a system, containing hundreds of thousands of transistors on a single integrated circuit.