Which devices can connect to which ports. What is a computer software port

External devices are connected to connectors and sockets located on the outside of the PC system unit (back and front sides) or laptop (sides or back):

The response connectors look like this:

Power cables for computer, printer, suitable for other household appliances

Power cables (220 V)

ASUS laptop power supply

PS/2 plugs for connecting a keyboard (purple) and a mouse (green). When turning on these devices, the computer or laptop must be turned off.

LPT cable. The LPT (parallel port) port was mainly used to connect printers. Modern printer models provide connection to a USB port or local network.

COM cable.

USB cable.

The USB port was developed later than the above ports. Most peripheral devices are connected via the USB port: modems, printers, scanners, flash drives, portable hard drives, digital cameras, etc.

VGA cable. Used to connect a monitor.

(RJ-45 connector)

Cable for connecting to the Internet and local network. May be called “twisted pair”, “network cable”, “RJ-45”. Maximum length up to 100 meters.

Types of slot connectors used on the motherboard (ISA or EISA, PCI, AGP):

Slots with PCI connector (female):

and sound card with PCI connector (male):

PCI connectors used to connect an internal modem, sound card, network card, SCSI disk controller.

ISA slots (Mother). The ISA interface is deprecated. In modern PCs, it is usually absent.

PCISA FlipPOST diagnostic board with connectors PCI and ISA (male) PCZWiz company

Slot with AGP connector(dad is at the top, mom is at the bottom).

The AGP interface is designed to connect a video adapter to a separate bus, with output directly to system memory.

UDMA slot(father is on the right, mother is on the left).
Hard drives and more are connected to it.

It should be noted that each slot type has its own color. By opening access to the motherboard, you can easily find your way around. But it’s better that you don’t need it. But the cables that connect external devices to the PC “you need to know by sight.” Remember that the mother and father of the connector must be the same color. Always remember to match the colors of the male and female connectors or know what the colors of the connectors on the PC (laptop) case indicate.

Take, for example, a standard sound card:

Linear audio output to the speaker is always green.

The line input for audio amplification is always blue.

The microphone connector is always pink.

Match them with plugs:

The color design of the connectors will help you. True, colors among PC manufacturers are not unified. For example, some may have a purple keyboard connector, while others may have a red or gray one. Therefore, pay attention to the special symbols that mark the connectors. In this case, it will not be difficult for you to find out.

Decoding computer connector symbols

Appearance of computer and laptop ports

The interface cables for external devices are unique. You cannot insert it into another connector on your PC (the design and number of sockets are different). All this will help you move your PC (laptop) from place to place without prompting from anyone. You will be able to connect devices and cables to your PC correctly. I hope that the material presented will help you with this.

Now let's look at each connector in more detail. Let's start from top to bottom in order. First on the list will be socket for connecting the power cable: Standard power cable, this cable connects all computer devices, from printers and scanners to faxes and monitors. A very convenient cable, differing only in the length of the wire and the thickness of the wire section. Accordingly, the thicker the cable, the greater the load it can withstand. PS/2 connector used for connecting mouse and keyboard. In their visual appearance they are absolutely identical, the only difference is in their coloring. The green port is for connecting a mouse, the purple port is for connecting a keyboard. In modern motherboards you can find one PS/2 port, which is painted in two colors at once, green and purple, this means that you can connect either a mouse or a keyboard to it. COM port– was once used to connect a mouse, modems, scanners. Now this port is practically not used. Over the past 7 years, I have had to use this port several times. To connect temperature sensors to it. It was through this port that the data accumulated on it was read. I also connected an attachment for satellite dishes through this port (updating the firmware). VGA port – for connecting a monitor. The port is very similar to the previous one, but has three rows of contacts and is always painted blue. This port has been used for connecting monitors for many years. Now new video cards with a DVI port are being actively introduced (photo on the right). When choosing a monitor with such a cable, I advise you to carefully check which DVI port you have on your motherboard, since there are at least five different types. LPT port– previously used to connect a printer or scanner. Now this port is obsolete and no one uses it. The outdated LPT port has been replaced by a new, more functional USB port. In modern motherboards this port is not installed as unnecessary. USB port- The most widely used connector in any modern computer. You can connect a mouse, keyboard, camera, flash drive, printer, scanner, video camera and much more to this connector. There are two types of USB ports – USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. The USB 3.0 port has a blue color inside; this port has a high throughput speed. USB 2.0 ports are white and black. Network port – for connecting a network cable. A cable from the provider that provides you with Internet service is connected to this port. The same ports are present on your router (if you use one). Using this port, you can connect to your Internet provider's network directly or through a router. Typically, such a port is equipped with a link indicator. If the indicator lights up green, the connection is OK. Connectors for connecting audio devices. For connecting speakers, headphones, microphones, etc. Red connector for connecting a microphone, green connector for connecting speakers (headphones), blue connector for line output (for transmitting an audio signal to another device).

Hard drive connectors

In the process of computer development, HDD or hard drive changed several connector specifications; for many modern computer scientists, names such as IDE, SCSI and their modifications are already history. The dimensions of the hard drive have also changed significantly; the first bricks I had to work with weighed more than a kilogram!

At the moment, the following hard drive connectors are relevant:

The SATA connector is the most popular nowadays; hard drives with this interface are found in computers, laptops, servers, video recorders and other computer equipment.

There are from 4 to 8 SATA connectors on the computer motherboard. Not only hard drives are connected through this interface. CD-ROM, DVD-ROM drives also use it.

MSATA connector— Variety SATA connector, designed specifically for solid state drives (SSDs), which have replaced mechanical hard drives. SSD drives with this interface are found in computers, laptops, servers, video recorders, and other computer equipment.

A modern personal computer would never have gained such enormous popularity if it only performed computing functions. The current PC is a multifunctional device, with the help of which the user can not only carry out any calculations, but also perform a lot of different things: print text, control external devices, communicate with other users using computer networks, etc. All this enormous functionality is achieved with the help of additional devices - peripherals, which are connected to a personal computer through special connectors called ports.

Personal computer ports

Port- an electronic device running directly on the PC motherboard or on additional boards installed in a personal computer. The ports have a unique connector for connecting external devices – peripherals. They are intended for data exchange between a PC and external devices (printers, modems, digital cameras, etc.). Quite often, in the literature you can find another name for ports - interfaces.

All ports can be divided into two groups:

• External- for connecting external devices (printers, scanners, plotters, video devices, modems, etc.);
• Domestic- for connecting internal devices (hard drives, expansion cards).

External ports of a personal computer

1. PS/2- port for connecting a keyboard;
2. PS/2- port for connecting a mouse;
3. Ethernet- port for connecting a local network and network devices (routers, modems, etc.);
4. USB- port for connecting external peripheral devices (printers, scanners, smartphones, etc.);
5. LPT- parallel port. Serves to connect now outdated models of printers, scanners and plotters;
6. COM- RS232 serial port. Used to connect devices such as dial-up modems and old printers. Now outdated, practically not used;
7. MIDI- a port for connecting game consoles, midi keyboards, musical instruments with the same interface. Recently, it has been practically replaced by the USB port;
8. Audio In- analog input for linear output of audio devices (tape recorders, players, etc.);
9. Audio Out- analog audio signal output (headphones, speakers, etc.);
10. Microphone- microphone output for connecting a microphone;
11. SVGA- a port for connecting video display devices: monitors, modern LED, LCD and plasma panels (this type of connector is obsolete);
12. VID Out- the port is used to output and input low-frequency video signals;
13. DVI- a port for connecting video display devices, more modern than SVGA.

Serial port (COM port)

One of the oldest ports, installed in PCs for more than 20 years. You can find it quite often in literature classic name – RS232. Data exchange using it occurs in serial mode, that is, the transmission and reception lines are one-bit. Thus, information that is transmitted from a computer to a device or vice versa is divided into bits that follow each other sequentially.

The data transfer rate provided by this port is not high, and has a standardized range: 50, 100, 150, 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 14400, 38400, 57600, 115200 Kbps.

A serial port was used to connect such “slow” devices to a PC as the first printers and plotters, dial-up modems, mice, and even to communicate between computers. No matter how slow its speed, in order to connect the devices to each other, only three wires were required - the data exchange protocol was so simple. It is clear that for full operation a larger number of conductors in the cord was required.

Today, the serial port is practically no longer used and is completely supplanted by its younger, but also faster “brother” - USB port. It should be noted, however, that some manufacturers still equip their motherboards with a COM port. However, the name itself - “serial port” is still used by software developers. For example, Bluetooth devices and cell phone ports are often presented as a “serial port.” This may be a little confusing, but this is done because they also transfer data serially, but at a higher speed.

If for some reason you may need a COM port, but your PC does not have one, then for this purpose you can use an adapter that connects to a modern USB port, available on all modern PCs, and on the other hand, such an adapter has serial port connector. There is, however, one limitation: if the software accessed directly the hardware of a real COM port, then it will not work with such an adapter. In this case, you need to purchase a special board that is installed inside your PC.

Structurally, the PC serial port has a male connector (with protruding pins):

Today, the 25-pin serial port connector has practically fallen out of use and has not been installed on a PC for several years. If the manufacturer provides the motherboard with a COM port, then it is a 9-pin DB9 connector.

It is an interface for connecting devices such as printers, scanners and plotters.

Allows you to simultaneously transmit 8 bits of data, albeit in one direction - from the computer to the periphery. In addition to this, it has 4 control bits (as with data bits, control bits are transferred from the PC to the external device), and 4 status bits (these bits can be “read” by the computer from the device).

In recent years, the LPT port has been improved, and it has become two-way, that is, it has become possible to transmit data bits through it in both directions. Today it is outdated and practically not used, although motherboard manufacturers still include it in its composition.

Enthusiasts and radio amateurs often use this port to control any non-standard devices (crafts, etc.).

USB interface

USB– this is an abbreviation of the full name of the port – universal serial bus (“universal serial bus”).

It is one of the most widely used ports on a personal computer today. And this is no coincidence - its technical characteristics and ease of use are truly impressive.

The data exchange speed for the USB 2.0 interface can reach 480 Mbit/s, and for the USB3.0 interface – up to 5 Gbit/s (!).

Moreover, all versions of this interface are compatible with each other. That is, a device using interface 2.0 can be connected to a USB3.0 port (in this case, the port will automatically reduce the speed to the desired value). Accordingly, a device using a USB 3.0 port can be connected to a USB 2.0 port. The only condition is that if normal operation requires a speed higher than the maximum speed of USB 2.0, then the normal functioning of the peripheral device will not be possible in this case.

In addition, the popularity of this port is also due to the fact that the developers included one very useful feature in it - this port can serve as a power source, for an external device connected to it. In this case, no additional unit is required to connect to the electrical network, which is very convenient.

For the USB 2.0 port version, the maximum current consumption can reach 0.5A, and for the USB3.0 version – 0.9A. It is not recommended to exceed the specified values, as this will lead to failure of the interface.

Developers of modern digital devices are constantly striving for minimization. Therefore, structurally, this port can have, in addition to a standard connector, also a mini-version for miniature devices - mini-USB. It has no fundamental differences from a standard USB port other than the design of the mini-USB connector itself.

Almost all modern devices have a USB port for connecting to a PC. Ease of installation - the connected device is recognized by the operating system almost immediately after connection, making it possible to use such a port without special “computer” knowledge. Printers, scanners, digital cameras, smartphones and tablets, external drives are just a small list of peripheral equipment that currently uses this interface. A simple principle - “plug and play” made this port truly a bestseller among all currently available personal computer interfaces.

Fire-Wire port (Other names - IEEE1394, i-Link)

This type of interface appeared relatively recently - since 1995. It is a high-speed serial bus. Data transfer rates can reach up to 400 Mbit/s in the IEEE 1394 and IEEE 1394a standard, 800 Mbit/s and 1600 Mbit/s in the IEEE1394b standard.

Initially, this interface was designed as a port for connecting internal drives (SATA type), but the licensing policy of Apple, one of the developers of this standard, required payment for each controller chip. Therefore, today only a small number of digital devices (some models of cameras and video cameras) are equipped with this type of interface. This type of port never became widespread.

The importance of this interface can hardly be overestimated; as a rule, it is what is used to connect a personal computer to a local network or to access the Internet in most cases. Almost all modern PCs, laptops and netbooks are equipped with an Ethernet port built into the motherboard. This is easy to verify if you inspect the external connectors.

To connect external devices, a special one is used, which has identical connectors at both ends. connectors – RJ-45, containing eight contacts.

The cable is symmetrical, therefore, the order in which the devices are connected does not matter - any device of your choice can be connected to any of the identical cable connectors - a PC, router, modem, etc. It is marked with the abbreviation - UTP, common name is “twisted pair”. In most cases, for both home and office use, a cable of the fifth category, UTP-5 or UTP-5E, is used.

The speed of data transmitted over an Ethernet connection depends on the technical capabilities of the port and is 10 Mbit/s, 100 Mbit/s and 1000 Mbit/s. It should be understood that this throughput is theoretical, and that in real networks it is somewhat lower due to the peculiarities of the Ethernet data transfer protocol.

Also, you should keep in mind that not all manufacturers install high-speed chips in their Ethernet controllers, since they are very expensive. This leads to the fact that in practice, the actual data transfer speed is much lower than that indicated on the packaging or in the specification. As a rule, almost all Ethernet cards are compatible with each other and from top to bottom. That is, newer models that have the ability to connect at speeds of 1000 Mbit/s (1 Gbit/s) will work without problems with older models at speeds of 10 and 100 Mbit/s.

To visually monitor the integrity of the connection, the Ethernet port has Link and Act indicators. Link indicator - lights green when the physical connection is correct and working, i.e. the cable between the devices is connected, it is intact, the ports are working. The second Act indicator (“activity”) is usually orange and flashes while transmitting or receiving data.

Internal ports of a personal computer

As mentioned above, internal ports are designed for connecting peripherals such as hard drives, CDs and DVD-ROMs, card readers, additional COM and USB ports, etc. Internal ports are located either on the motherboard, or on additional expansion cards installed in the system bus.

A now outdated interface for connecting older models of hard drives (“hard drives”, HDD). After the creation of the SATA interface, it was called the PATA interface, or ATA for short. PATA – ParallelAdvanced Technology Attachment. This parallel data transfer interface for connecting drives was developed in mid-1986 by the now famous company WesternDigital.

Depending on the manufacturer, the motherboard may contain from one to four IDE channels. Modern manufacturers, as a rule, leave only one IDE port for compatibility, and recently it has also been excluded from the motherboard, having been completely replaced by the modern SATA interface.

The data transfer speed in the latest version of the EnhancedIDE interface can reach 150 Mbit/s. Devices are connected using an IDE cable having 40 or 80 cores for the old or new interface type, respectively.

Typically, you can connect up to two devices simultaneously to one IDE port using a single cable. In this case, using jumpers on the drives that determine the “seniority” of devices operating in pairs, the operating mode is selected - on one device - "master", and for the other "subordinate" (slave).

You can connect either the same type of device, for example, two hard drives or two DVD-ROMs, or different devices in any combination - DVD-ROM and HDD or CD-ROM and DVD-ROM. The connector for connection does not matter, you should just pay attention that the two connectors for connecting peripherals are shifted for convenience to one of the ends of the cable.

You should also keep in mind that by connecting a “fast” device designed for an 80-wire cable using an old 40-wire cable, you will greatly reduce the exchange speed. In addition, if one of the devices in the pair has an old (slow) ATA interface, then the data transfer speed in this case will be determined precisely by the speed of this device.

If there are two IDE ports and two drives inside the PC, to increase the data exchange speed, you must connect each drive to a separate IDE port.

This interface is a development of its predecessor, the IDE interface, with the only difference that, unlike its “older friend,” it is not a parallel, but a serial interface. SATA – SerialATA.

Structurally, it has only seven conductors for its operation and a much smaller area of ​​​​both the connector itself and the connecting cable.

The data transfer speed of this interface is significantly higher than the outdated IDE and, depending on the SATA version, is:

1. SATARev. 1.0 – up to 1.5 Gbit/s;
2. SATARev. 2.0 – up to 3 Gbit/s;
3. SATARev. 3.0 – up to 6 Gbit/sec.

Just like the IDE interface, the cord for connecting devices is “universal” - the connectors are the same on both sides, but unlike its “brother”, now using one SATA cable you can connect only one device to one SATA port.

But there is hardly any need to be upset about this. Manufacturers made sure that the number of ports was sufficient for a wide variety of applications, installing up to 8 SATA ports on one motherboard. The third revision SATA port connector is usually bright red.

Additional ports

Most motherboards are equipped by manufacturers with an additional number of USB ports, and sometimes with another, additional COM port.

This is done for the convenience of the user. Most modern desktop PC cases have USB connectors installed on the front panel for convenient connection of external drives. In this case, you do not need to reach to the back wall of the system unit and “get into” the USB connector, which is located on the rear panel.

This connector is on the front panel and connects to an additional USB port installed on the motherboard. Among other things, the USB interfaces located on the rear panel may simply not be enough, due to the large number of peripheral devices, in this case you can purchase additional bracket with USB connectors and connect them to additional ports.

All of the above also applies to other ports installed on the motherboard. For example, a COM or FireWireIEEE1394 serial port may simply not be displayed on the back panel of a personal computer, but it is still present on the motherboard. In this case, it is enough to buy the appropriate cable and take it out.

It would be technically incorrect to call these connectors ports, although the method of connecting additional cards to them is still somewhat similar to other conventional ports. The principle is the same - plug it in and turn it on. In most cases, the system will find the device itself and request (or install automatically) drivers for it.

Such buses are used to install, for example, an external graphics card, a sound card, an internal modem, a video input card, and other additional expansion cards that allow the PC to expand its functions and capabilities.

PCI and PCIe buses are incompatible with each other, so before purchasing an expansion card, you need to find out which system buses are installed on the motherboard of your PC.

PCIex 1 and PCIex 16 are modern implementations of the older PCI bus, developed in 1991. But unlike its predecessor, it is a serial bus, and in addition, all PCIe buses are connected in a star topology, while the old PCI bus was connected in parallel to each other. In addition, the new tire has the following advantages:

1. Possibility of hot replacement of boards;
2. The bandwidth has guaranteed parameters;
3. Control of data integrity during reception and transmission;
4. Controlled energy consumption.

PCI Express buses differ in the number of conductors connected to the slot, through which data is exchanged with the installed device (PCIex 1, PCIex2, PCIex 4, PCIex 8, PCIex 16, PCIex 32). The maximum data transfer speed can reach 16 Gbit/s.

Jul 4 2014

Peripheral input/output devices are connected to the ports. Port connectors are usually installed directly on the motherboard and placed on the back wall of the computer.

The ports interact with the south bridge of the chipset; it is also possible that some ports are serviced by a specialized SuperlO chip, which, in turn, interacts with the south bridge. Ports are also called interfaces.

On the back panel of the computer you can find connectors for the following ports (interfaces).

Serial port (COM). It has been present in computers for more than two decades, but has not been used very often recently.

Initially, computers had two serial ports COMI and COM2, but many modern boards have a connector only for COMI, and some new boards do not have a serial port, as it is outdated.

Parallel Port (LPT). Some models of printers, scanners and other devices are connected to it. The standard parallel port is not very fast, so its accelerated ECP or EPP operating modes are used. This port is also obsolete and may not be present on some new boards.

Game port. Joysticks, steering wheels and other game controllers are connected to it. New computers do not have this port, and modern gaming devices are connected using USB.

PS/2 port. Most computers have two of these specialized ports: the first for connecting a keyboard, the second for a mouse. If they are not there, then the keyboard and mouse should be connected to the USB connector.

USB. The most popular interface for a wide variety of peripheral devices. There are usually from 2 to 8 USB connectors on the rear panel, in addition, several connectors may be present on the front panel of the computer

IEEE 1394 (FireWire). High-speed serial port for digital video devices. Not every motherboard supports IEEE 1394, so you usually have to purchase an additional controller to work with digital video.

Audio adapter connectors. Every motherboard comes with a built-in audio adapter, and the back panel usually has several connectors for connecting speakers, a microphone, and other audio devices.

Recently, you can increasingly find high-quality multi-channel audio adapters (HD Audio), as well as new types of connectors: optical and coaxial.

VGA. Used to connect a monitor. If you have an integrated video adapter, this connector will be present on the rear wall of the motherboard.

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In this article, I will try to explain in detail what computer ports are, how they are used, what they are needed for, and why it can be dangerous to leave unused ports open. Let's imagine a country, let it be Spain. It is washed by seas and oceans and, of course, has many seaports.

Each port is specially equipped to receive various cargoes. Vessels coming from different countries of the world enter ports for unloading or loading. Typically each of these ships has a destination (port). For example, a ship from South Africa constantly comes to unload at the port of Cartagena and never to any of the other ports. Despite the fact that there are specially equipped ports in Spain, almost every ship can anchor in any bay, for example near the city of Bilbao, take on cargo and sail away calmly. To prevent this from happening, you need to have a good border team that will constantly monitor the coastline and prevent cargo from being brought into or out of the country.

Countries and oceans are all interesting, of course, but our goal is a little different, so now let’s try to draw a parallel with your computer. After connecting to the Internet, your computer becomes similar to the country from our example. He receives an IP and becomes known on the network under this name. Your computer, just like in the example, has many ports.

Many programs that work with the network are designed to connect to specific ports. As can be seen from the figure, Internet browsers, for example Internet Explorer, use port 80 in their work. Mail programs, for example Outlook Express, use 2 ports, port 25 for sending mail and port 110 for receiving. If you install the emule file sharing program, it will open the ports 4662 and 4672 necessary for its operation. Thus, if your computer is not protected, then each program installed on your computer will be able to open the port it needs. In the same way, any external program can connect to any port on your computer. For example, in one of many ways, they can plant a Trojan program on you (for example, I-Worm.MyDoom), which will open a port on your computer (for example, 3127), through which it will quietly take out all your important information. To prevent this from happening, you must use programs that are designed to close unused ports. Such programs are called Firewalls. We will find out what these programs are and how to work with them in the next article. In the meantime, check your computer for open, most dangerous ports, you can

In this article I will try to list the most common types of interfaces and ports that may be present on a computer, laptop, smartphone, or other similar device. Each type of port has its own structure and purpose, unique to it. It is clear that the presence of various ports in the device allows you to connect and use many different equipment, expanding the standard capabilities of a computer, laptop or smartphone.

The most common and common interface in computer equipment is . The USB port is designed for connecting various additional equipment to transfer digital data at high speed. Modern USB ports also allow you to transfer electricity, for example, by connecting a smartphone to a computer via USB, you can transfer data in both directions and at the same time charge the device’s battery.

There are several USB standards that differ in information transfer speed, currently this is . There are also several types of interfaces that differ in connector design. There are 4 types of USB ports, which are shown in the figure above.

In almost every laptop you can find the so-called. This connector is designed for data transfer, just like a USB port. The main advantage of this connector is its high data exchange speed, comparable to the USB 3.0 standard, as well as the ability to connect devices in a daisy chain with the ability to transfer data.

In a computer, laptop or all-in-one computer, also called an Ethernet connector is found almost everywhere. This type of interface is designed to connect an Ethernet cable used to create a wired Internet connection.

Firewire port, also called IEEE 1394. Outwardly, it looks a little like USB, but only a little. This interface is quite rare; the Firewire port is typical for Apple devices. This interface is designed for data transfer, similar to the first two ports. Most often it is used to connect video cameras.

Audio jack

This type of interface is found in almost all modern computer devices; it is designed to connect headphones and a microphone. It is typical for almost all devices to have exactly two connectors, one 3.5 mm jack for headphones and a similar one for a microphone. Less often you can find one combo interface for connecting both a microphone and headphones.

This interface is called, it is intended for connecting a monitor. It is found in computers, laptops and less often in other devices.

HDMI port

This interface is called HDMI. Lately it has become more and more popular and has several standards and versions. The HDMI port is designed to transmit high-quality video content. Used in almost all modern computer devices.

Kensington Lock

This hole is typical for laptops, it is called Kensington and is designed to secure the laptop to various surfaces via an appropriate cord, to protect against theft. Often such an interface is used at computer equipment exhibitions, where everyone can “use” the device and hold it in their hands, moving away from the stand by the length of the protective cord.

Card reader

This interface is called, it is designed for connecting memory cards of various formats, such as SD, microSD or SDXC. Memory cards store information such as photos, videos, text data, or any other such type.

PS/2 port

This connector is called PS/2, it is designed to connect a computer keyboard or a wired computer mouse. Found in computers, laptops, monoblocks. Recently, it has been used less and less, due to the transition to wireless types of connecting the corresponding devices.

S/PDIF port

- used to connect a digital optical audio cable.

DVI port

DVI interface intended for transmitting video data to a monitor or TV. Mainly found in computers or televisions. There are several types of DVI ports, DVI-A is designed to transmit only an analog signal, DVI-D allows you to transmit digital data, DVI-I allows you to transmit both an analog and digital signal.

eSATA port

eSATA— serial interface for data exchange with information storage devices. Used for external implementation of the SATA interface. Can be used to hot-plug a hard drive (BIOS requires AHCI mode). There is also a combined eSATA+USB connector.

COM port

COM– the so-called bidirectional serial interface. Currently, it has practically ceased to be used in computers. Previously used to connect network equipment.

LPT port

LPT- an international parallel interface standard for connecting peripheral devices of a personal computer, such as a printer. Currently not in use.