Legacy port

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A parallel port implemented as a PCI card. Users can use expansion cards to add deprecated legacy ports to newer computer systems that do not provide them.

In computing, a legacy port is a computer port or connector that is considered by some to be fully or partially superseded.[1] The replacement ports usually provide most of the functionality of the legacy ports with higher speeds, more compact design, or plug and play and hot swap capabilities for greater ease of use. Modern PC motherboards use separate Super I/O controllers to provide legacy ports, since current chipsets do not offer direct support for them. A category of computers called legacy-free PCs omits these ports, typically retaining only USB for external expansion.

USB adapters are often used to provide legacy ports if they are required on systems not equipped with them.

Common legacy ports

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Legacy port Typical appearance Typical uses Replacement(s)
Centronics port, parallel port A parallel port Printer,[2] scanner, removable media USB, Wi-Fi, Ethernet
External parallel SCSI A parallel SCSI port Removable media USB, Thunderbolt, Serial Attached SCSI
AT connector / DIN A device-side AT (DIN 41524) connector Keyboard USB
Serial port / RS-232 An RS-232 serial port Console, modem, mouse[2]
Game port / DA-15 A DA-15 game port MIDI, gaming devices such as joysticks[2]
PS/2 port / 6-pin mini-DIN A selection of mini-DIN F ports, in this example used for mouse and keyboard Keyboard, mouse[2][3][4]
Apple Desktop Bus / mini-DIN Low speed external peripherals; such as keyboard, mouse, or joystick
LocalTalk / mini-DIN OldWorld Macintosh printer and LAN USB, Wi-Fi, Ethernet
Bus Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) ISA ports on a motherboard Connect peripheral cards to motherboard[2] PCI, PCI Express
VGA / DE-15 A DE-15 SVGA port Display connector[5] DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort
Parallel ATA[6] A parallel ATA port on a hard disk drive Internal hard drives, CD-ROM Serial ATA, M.2
Floppy drive connector A floppy drive connector on a floppy disk drive Floppy drives, tape drives USB
IEEE 1394 (FireWire) Two firewire ports on a PCI expansion card Video devices, external storage USB 3.0, Thunderbolt
Accelerated Graphics Port An AGP port, with ruler for scale Graphics card PCI Express
PC Card A pair of PC card devices, showing the connector Laptop storage cards, other peripherals ExpressCard, USB

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ definition of legacy from Oxford Dictionaries Online
  2. ^ a b c d e "Archived White Papers". Microsoft.com. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
  3. ^ Computing (2002-09-17). "Build It: Legacy Free PC". ExtremeTech. Retrieved 2013-12-21.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Fisco, Richard (2005-03-22). "Top Ten Buying Tips - Desktop PCs: The Essential Consumer Buying Guide". PCMag.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
  5. ^ [1] Archived June 11, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "What Is PATA? (with picture)". Wisegeek.com. 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
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