Computer Peripherals

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Computer Peripherals
School of Computer Engineering
Nanyang Technological University
Singapore
These notes are part of a 3rd year undergraduate course called "Computer Peripherals", taught at Nanyang Technological University 
School of Computer Engineering in Singapore, and developed by Associate Professor Kwoh Chee Keong. The course covered 
various topics relevant to modern computers (at that time), such as displays, buses, printers, keyboards, storage devices etc... The 
course is no longer running, but these notes have been provided courtesy of him although the material has been compiled from 
various sources and various people. I do not claim any copyright or ownership of this work; third parties downloading the material 
agree to not assert any copyright on the material. If you use this for any commercial purpose, I hope you would remember where you
found it.
Further reading is suggested at the end of each chapter, however you are recommended to consider a much more modern alternative 
reference text as follows:
Computer Architecture: 
 
 
an embedded approach
 
 
Ian McLoughlin
McGraw-Hill 2011

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Chapter 0 Introduction and Revisions
A course in Computer Peripherals is relatively uncommon. Most courses in Computer or
Electronics Engineering do not offer such a subject. Some of the material covered in this course
is found as parts of courses covering computer interfacing, but the interdisciplinary nature of the
technology involved in most computer peripherals has caused the devices to be omitted from these
courses.
However, peripherals comprise a most significant component in any computer system for
three reasons. Firstly, it is the most visible part of the hardware, as peripherals provide the
interface between the human user and the system. Secondly, it constitutes a significant portion of
the total cost of the system, and thirdly, it is often a significant contributor to the performance
constraints of the system.
In the typical personal computer, the user enters commands and data at an input peripheral,
usually the keyboard and the results are presented to him at a CRT display or on hard copy
output produced by a printer. From an economic viewpoint, for a total hardware value of the
cost contribution of the central processor, memory, associated power supply and cabinetry would
amount to approximately 30%. With Intel Pentium processors which run at more than 400 Mhz,
performance is undoubtedly limited by disk accesses and printer speeds, as well as by the user
himself.
Since the value of peripherals is a significant factor in any computer system, it is also a
significant contributor to the computer industry as a whole. As a result of the large investments in
manufacturing facilities made by disk drive manufacturers, Singapore has become the disk drive
capital of the world. Companies like Seagate, Conner and Maxtor are among the largest disk
drive manufacturers in the world, and most of their manufacturing capacities are based in
Singapore. Local companies like Creatives who specialised in peripherals devices like sound
blaster cards, video blaster cards, DVD ROMs and RAMs is growing and contributed a lot to our
economy.
Apart from the above, other peripherals manufactured in Singapore include printers, CRT
displays and keyboards.