User:STXX0267

Jon Boisvert & Judy St. Ores

CNT2300-91 Service Project

Ben Franske

May 2010

A Guide to Cables, Connectors, Wires and Ports

Because there are so many cables, connectors, wires and ports both internally and externally used for a computer, we thought it would be useful to have a guide with pictures and descriptions of the different types used.

Different wires have different voltage, are made of different materials and are colored differently.

A twisted-pair cable is a copper cable used for phone lines and Ethernet networks. A pair of wires forms a circuit that can transmit data. The two wires are twisted to prevent crosstalk. The wires are encased in color coded plastic insulation.

There are two types of twisted-pair cables. Generally they have two or four pairs of wires combined together and encased in an outer jacket.

Unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) – has a range of 328 ft.

Shield twisted-pair(STP) – is wrapped in metallic foil to shield the wires from noise.

A Fiber Optic cable is made of glass or plastic that transmits using light. They have one or more fibers enclosed in an outer jacket. They can reach distances of several miles. Two types are Mulitmode and Single-mode.

Internal Cables and Connectors

A power supply can have many different wires and connectors attached used to connect to various components and to various locations on the Motherboard.