hardware
3D XPoint Announced by Intel and Micron in July 2015. First released in the Intel DC P4800X March 19, 2017 Wikipedia
AC adapter Power adapter that plugs into a standard wall outlet and provides direct current.
Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) Legacy port for graphics cards used before PCI. Wikipedia
Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) Wikipedia
Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode (AMOLED) Type of display that only turns on the necessary pixels to save power and have more accurate color. Wikipedia
Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) Website Wikipedia
Alps Type of keyboard switch. Wikipedia
AMD64 Wikipedia
analog-to-digital converter (ADC) Wikipedia
Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC) Often used in multilayer switches. With the right software, can forward packets without the CPU. Wikipedia
Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) Part of a CPU that performs logic and arithmetic. Wikipedia
Asynchronous DRAM (ADRAM) (legacy) First type of DRAM in use. Originated in the 1960s and in commonly in use until about 1997. Replaced by SDRAM. Wikipedia
AT system connector Original power connector for early AT PC motherboards. Wikipedia
Attachment Unit Interface (AUI) Physical and logical interface defined in the original IEEE 802.3 standard for 10BASE5 Ethernet. Phased out in the early 1990s in favor of 10BASE-T. Wikipedia
Ball Grid Array (BGA) Type of surface-mount used for integrated circuits such as microprocessors. Wikipedia
Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) Non-volatile firmware used to perform hardware initialization during the booting process (power-on startup). Created by Gary Kildall and first appeared in the CP/M operating system in 1975. Succeeded by Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). Wikipedia
Bayonet Neill–Concelman connector (BNC connector) (aka: British Naval Connector) Coaxial RF connector that was commonly used to attach stations to a 10Base2 (thinnet) network. Patented in 1951. Wikipedia
Blu-ray Disc (BD) Typically 25GB to 50GB.
Broadwell-E 14nm Microarchitecture from Intel. Intel ARK Wikipedia
bus A path for data to travel. Wikipedia
cable Made up of two or more wires. Wikipedia
Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Wikipedia
Central Processing Unit (CPU) The main processor or "engine" of a computer. Wikipedia
chipset Wikipedia
Compact Disc (CD) Optical disc. Typically 700MB. Wikipedia
Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) Type of memory. Typically used to store a BIOS configuration. Backed up with a battery. Wikipedia
component video When used without any other qualifications the term component video usually refers to analog YPBPR component video with sync on luma. Typically uses three RCA plugs; red, green, and blue. Wikipedia
composite video Type of video connection. Commonly used in RCA connectors. Wikipedia
Content-Addressable Memory (CAM) Wikipedia
CPU cache Fast memory that is used to store data going between main memory and the CPU. Predicts what the CPU will ask for next and prefetches information before it is asked. Each level feeds the next (i.e. Level 3 feeds Level 2 and Level 2 feeds Level 1.)
| L1 | Internal cache built into the processor's silicon wafer, or die. |
| L2 | Can be itegrated on die, backside bus (BSB), or on the motherboard. |
| L3 | Typically integrated on the motherboard. |
| L4 | Uncommon, generally only on DRAM. |
CPU socket Where the CPU is inserted on the PCB. Allows the CPU to easily be placed or replaced without soldering. Wikipedia
DB-9 Standard end used on serial cables. Wikipedia
die Part of an integrated circuit. Wikipedia
Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) Typically 4.7 GB to 8.5 GB.
| DVD | 4.7 GB |
| DVD DL | 8.5 GB |
| DVD DS | 9.4 GB |
| DVD DS, DL | 17 GB |
| DVD-RAM | 4.7 GB |
| MiniDVD | 1.46 GB |
| MiniDVD DL | 2.66 GB |
Digital Video Broadcasting-Common Interface (DVB-CI) Wikipedia
Digital Visual Interface (DVI)
| DVI-I | (integrated, combines digital and analog in the same connector; digital may be single or dual link) |
| DVI-D | (digital only, single link or dual link) |
| DVI-A | (analog only) |
Developed April 1999. Wikipedia
digital-to-analog converter (DAC) Wikipedia
DIN connector Wikipedia
Direct Memory Access (DMA) Wikipedia
Direct Memory Interface (DMI) Website Wikipedia
disk spinning platters (Hard drives)
disk array Wikipedia
DisplayPort (DP) Digital display interface developed by a consortium of PC and chip manufacturers and standardized by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA). Version, 1.0 approved by VESA on May 3, 2006. Wikipedia
Double Data Rate Synchronous DRAM (DDR SDRAM) Wikipedia
Double Data Rate version three Synchronous DRAM (DDR3 SDRAM) Release in 2007. Wikipedia
Double Data Rate version two Synchronous DRAM (DDR2 SDRAM) Release in 2003. Wikipedia
Dual In-line Memory Module (DIMM) Type of memory module that typically comes with 168, 184, 240, or 288 pins. Larger than a SIMM slot.
| 100-pin DIMM | printer SDRAM |
| 168-pin DIMM | SDR SDRAM (less frequently for FPM/EDO DRAM in workstations/servers, may be 3.3 or 5 V) |
| 184-pin DIMM | DDR SDRAM |
| 200-pin DIMM | FPM/EDO DRAM in some Sun workstations and servers |
| 240-pin DIMM | DDR2 SDRAM, DDR3 SDRAM and FB-DIMM DRAM |
| 278-pin DIMM | HP high density SDRAM |
| 288-pin DIMM | DDR4 SDRAM |
DVD Double Layer (DVD DL) 8.55 GB
| DVD-R DL | 8,543,666,176 Bytes |
| DVD+R DL | 8,547,991,552 Bytes |
DVD Double Sided (DVD DS) 9.4 GB
| DVD-R DS, DVD-RW DS | 9,414,639,616 Bytes |
| DVD+R DS, DVD+RW DS | 9,400,745,984 Bytes |
DVD Double Sided, Double-Layer (DVD DS, DL) (aka: dual-layer) 17.09 GB
| DVD-R DS, DL | 17,087,332,352 Bytes |
| DVD+R DS, DL | 17,095,983,104 Bytes |
DVD+R Single Sided, Single Layer DVD recordable (DVD+R) and DVD rewritable (DVD+RW) discs have a 4.7 GB capacity.
| DVD+R, DVD+RW | 4,700,372,992 Bytes |
DVD-R Single Sided, Single Layer DVD recordable (DVD-R) and DVD rewritable (DVD-RW) discs have a 4.7 GB capacity.
| DVD-R, DVD-RW | 4,707,319,808 Bytes |
Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) Type of RAM that stores each bit of data in a separate capacitor within an integrated circuit. Wikipedia
Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) Type of non-volatile memory. Flash memory is a type of EEPROM designed for high speed and high density. Wikipedia
embedded MMC (eMMC) Wikipedia
embedded system Computer system with a dedicated function inside a larger system. Wikipedia
Error-Correcting Code (ECC) memory Wikipedia
ExpressCard (initially called NEWCARD) Developed by the PCMCIA as a way to support USB 2.0, USB 3.0, and PCI Express in laptops. two form factors, ExpressCard/34 (34 mm (1.3 in) wide) and ExpressCard/54 (54 mm (2.1 in) wide). First released in 2003. Wikipedia
ExpressCard 1.x Supports USB 2.0 at 480Mbps and PCIe 1.0 x1 at 2.5Gbps. Wikipedia
ExpressCard 2.0 Supports PCIe 2.0 x1 or USB 3.0 at 5Gbps. Standardized March 4, 2009. Wikipedia
Extended Data Out DRAM (EDO DRAM)
eXtended Frequency Range (XFR) Allows AMD CPUs to achieve higher clock frequencies with better cooling.
F connector (aka: F-type) Coaxial RF connector commonly used for cable television and modems, usually with RG-6/U cable or the older RG-59/U. Invented by Eric E. Winston in the early 1950s. Wikipedia
Fast Page Mode DRAM (FPM DRAM)
FireWire 400 (aka: IEEE 1394-1995) Supports data transfer up to 400Mbps. Can have either 4 or 6 pins. 1394a standardized the 4-conductor alpha connector developed by Sony and trademarked as "i.LINK". Wikipedia
FireWire 800 (aks: IEEE 1394b-2002) Apple's name for the 9-conductor "S800 bilingual" version of the IEEE 1394b standard. Capable or data transfers of 800Mbps. Wikipedia
Front Side Bus (FSB) (aka: memory bus, system bus, local bus, host bus) Computer communication interface (bus) that connects the CPU to the controller chipset. Often used in Intel-chip-based computers during the 1990s and 2000s. Replaced by HyperTransport, Intel QuickPath Interconnect or Direct Media Interface in modern CPUs. Wikipedia
Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) Wikipedia
Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Usually shortened to hard drive, it uses a spinning platter to store information. Divided into tracks, sectors, clusters, and cylinders.
IEEE 1394 (aka: FireWire, i.LINK, Lynx) Serial bus interface for high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data transfer. Typically a coper cable which can be up to 4.5 meters (15 ft.) long. Comes in 4, 6, or 9 pin variants. Maximum power of 30 V and 1.5 A. Supports up to 63 daisy chained devices. Similar to USB, though USB requires a master controller. Developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s by Apple, who called it FireWire. Also known by the brands i.LINK (Sony), and Lynx (Texas Instruments). Wikipedia
ink-jet printer Uses drops of ink to print.
Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) Interface between hardware and software. Wikipedia
Integrated Circuit (IC) Through hole or surface mount. Wikipedia YouTube (Make:)
Intel Itanium architecture (IA-64) (aka: ia64) Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) for 64-bit Intel microprocessors in the Itanium family. First released June 2001. Wikipedia
Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) Wikipedia YouTube (Tek Syndicate)
Itanium Family of 64-bit microprocessors from Intel. First released June 2001. Wikipedia
Land Grid Array (LGA) Pins are on the socket instead of the integrated circuit. Wikipedia
laser printer Should output these voltages when tested with a multimeter.
| Pin 1 | +5v |
| Pin 5 | -5v |
| Pin 9 | +24v |
LGA 1150 (LGA, 1150 pins, aka: Socket H3) CPU socket used with Intel microprocessors based on Haswell and Broadwell microarchitectures. Released in 2013. Wikipedia
LGA 1155 (LGA, 1155 pins, aka: Socket H2) CPU socket used with Intel microprocessors based on Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge microarchitectures. Released January 2011. Superseded by the LGA 1150. Wikipedia
LGA 1156 (LGA, 1156 pins, aka: Socket H, H1) CPU socket used with Intel microprocessors based on Nehalem and Westmere microarchitectures. Integrates the features traditionally located on a northbridge within the processor itself. Released in 2009. Superseded by the LGA 1155 socket. Discontinued in 2012. Wikipedia
LGA 1366 (LGA, 1366 pins, aka: Socket B) CPU socket used with high-end Intel microprocessors. The list includes the Core i7 (9xx series), Xeon (35xx, 36xx,55xx, 56xx series), and Celeron P1053. Released November 2008. Wikipedia
LGA 2011 (LGA, 2011 pins, aka: Socket R, LGA 2011-0) CPU socket used with high-end Intel microprocessors. The list includes Sandy Bridge-E (desktop Core i7-38xx, -39xx) and -EP (Xeon E5) as well as Ivy Bridge-E (desktop Core i7-48xx and -49xx) and -EP processors (Xeon E5 v2). Released on 14 November 2011. Replaced LGA 1366. Wikipedia
LGA 2011-1 (aka: Socket R2) CPU socket used with Intel microprocessors including Ivy Bridge-EX (Xeon E7 v2) and Haswell-EX (Xeon E7 v3) CPUs. Successor of LGA 1567. Released February 2014. Wikipedia
LGA 2011-v3 (aka: Socket R3, LGA 2011-3) CPU socket used with Intel microprocessors including Haswell-E (desktop, X99 chipset) and Haswell-EP (Xeon E5 v3) CPUs. Supports DDR4 memory. Released August 2014. Wikipedia
LGA 775 (LGA, 775 pins, aka: Socket T) CPU socket used by Intel microprocessors from 2004-2007. The list includes Prescott and Cedar Mill Pentium 4, Smithfield and Presler Pentium D, Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad. Released in 2004. Superseded by LGA 1156 (Socket H) and LGA 1366 (Socket B). Wikipedia
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Wikipedia
M.2 Wikipedia
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) (check scanners)
medium Storage or transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data.
memory Stores data temporarily or long-term. Wikipedia
memory module Physical form factor of a memory stick. Two common types are Dual In-line Memory Module (DIMM) and Small Outline Dual In-line Memory Module (SO-DIMM).
Micro Dual In-line Memory Module (Micro-DIMM) (55mm x 30mm) DDR – 172 pins, DDR2 and DDR3 – 214 pins. Wikipedia
Mini-DIN connector Wikipedia
motherboard (aka: logic board, Wikipedia
Multi-Function Device (MFD) (aka: All-In-One (AIO), multi-function product/printer/peripheral (MFP)) Incorporates several machines, or parts of a machine, into one. Typically used to refer to printer-like devices (scanners, copiers…). Can be used to refer to an all-in-one computer such as the iMac. Wikipedia
NAND flash Type of flash Wikipedia
NAND gate Wikipedia
Non-volatile BIOS memory Used to store the BIOS configuration. Previously stored on CMOS, now uses flash memory to store the config. Wikipedia
Non-Volatile Memory Host Controller Interface (NVMHCI) Website Wikipedia
Non-Volatile Random-Access Memory (NVRAM) Non-volatile. Does not lose it's contents when powered off. In networking devices, NVRAM is used to store the start-up configuration file. Wikipedia
Northbridge Chipset on a motherboard. Controlls access to the RAM and comunication between the CPU and I/O. Wikipedia Netacad
optical disc (OD) (disc) Formats include CD, DVD, Blu-ray, etc. Standard physical size is 12cm (4.7 inches). First recorded historical use of an optical disc was in 1884 when Alexander Graham Bell, Chichester Bell and Charles Sumner Tainter recorded sound on a glass disc using a beam of light. Wikipedia
Optical Disk Drive (ODD) (aka: optical drive) Reads and writes optical media such as DVD or Blu-Ray. Sometimes referred to by the highest media they can read. (i.e. CD drive, DVD drive, Wikipedia
Organic Light Emitting Diode Display (OLED) Wikipedia
Parallel Random-Access Memory (PRAM) Wikipedia
Pascal GPU microarchitecture from NVIDIA. Named after Blaise Pascal. First introduced April 2016 with the GP100 chip. Wikipedia
PC/104 Embedded computer standards which define both form factors and computer buses. PC/104 is intended for specialized environments where a small, rugged computer system is required. The standard is modular, and allows consumers to stack together boards from a variety of COTS manufacturers to produce a customized embedded system. Originally devised by Ampro in 1987 (led by CTO Rick Lehrbaum), and later standardized by the PC/104 Consortium in 1992. Wikipedia
PCI Express 4.0 Officially announced June 8, 2017. First devices expected to be released by the end of 2017. Wikipedia
PCI Express 5.0 PCI-SIG officially announced the release of the final PCI-Express 5.0 specification May 29, 2019 Wikipedia
PCI Express Mini Card (Mini PCIe) 52-pin card designed to replace Mini PCI cards. Full-sized cards are 30 × 50.95 mm (width × length) while a Half Mini Card (HMC) are 30 x 26.8 mm. Wikipedia
Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) Expansion card slot found on a motherboard. Created by Intel June 22, 1992. Wikipedia
Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) (aka: PCI Express) Serial communication with unidirectional serial lanes. Does not slow down when slower devices are connected. Replaced PCI, PCI-X, and AGP. Developed in 2004. Wikipedia
Peripheral Component Interconnect eXtended (PCI-X) (aka: PCI eXtended) Based on PCI. Designed for servers. Higher bandwidth and four times faster clock speed than PCI. 1064 MB/s throughput. Parallel communication. Developed in 1998. Wikipedia
Physical Address Extension (PAE) Memory management feature for the x86 architecture. Defines a page table hierarchy of three levels (instead of two), with table entries of 64 bits each instead of 32, allowing these CPUs to directly access a physical address space larger than 4 gigabytes. First introduced by Intel in the Pentium Pro, and later by AMD in the Athlon processor. Wikipedia Ask Ubuntu
Pin Grid Array (PGA) Type of integrated circuit package, often mounted on printed circuit boards using the through hole method or inserted into a socket. Wikipedia
Platform Controller Hub (PCH) Website Wikipedia
Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Wikipedia
PS/2 Peripheral connection using 6-pin mini-DIN. Designed in 1987. Wikipedia
Punch card Wikipedia
Quantum bit (qubits) Atoms or nuclei function as processor and memory that can represent more than two states (such as binary). Wikipedia
Quantum Computer Wikipedia
Random-Access Memory (RAM) Volatile. In networking devices, RAM is used to store the running IOS, running configuration file, IP routing and ARP tables, and packet buffer. Wikipedia
RCA Cable Red, White (audio) and, Yellow (video) analog cable. A type of coaxial cable. Wikipedia
Read Only Memory (ROM) Non-volatile. In networking devices, ROM is used to store bootstrap instructions, basic diagnostic software, limited IOS.
register High-speed memory in a processor. Wikipedia
Registered Dual In-line Memory Module (RDIMM) (aka: buffered memory) Includes a specialized register chip that acts as a buffer between the DRAM modules and the memory controller. By buffering these signals, the electrical load placed on the controller is reduced because the memory controller communicates in series with the register, instead of in parallel with the memory chips. Wikipedia
RG-59 Type of coaxial cable, often used for low-power video and RF signal connections. The cable has a characteristic impedance of 75 ohms, and a capacitance of around 20pF/ft (60pF/m). Center conductor of 0.762mm. Sufficient for analog cable TV but not digital. Has a maximum distance of about 228 meters (750 feet). Wikipedia
RG-6/U Type of coaxial cable commonly used for cable TV or internet. Has a characteristic impedance of 75 ohms. Center conductor of 18 AWG (1.024 mm), can run up to 304 meters, or 1000 feet. Supports digital signals. Wikipedia
RG-8 Type of coaxial cable that was commonly used with 10Base5 (thicknet). Wikipedia
RS-232 (serial connection) Now replaced by the newer USB standard on PCs. Some WANs may still use a serial connection though. Wikipedia Wikipedia
RS-423 Wikipedia
S-Video (aka: separate video, Y/C) Signaling standard for standard definition video, typically 480i or 576i. It transmits video signals over a cable by dividing the video information into two separate signals: one for color (chrominance), and the other for brightness (luminance). Better image quality than composite video, but has lower color resolution than component video. Uses a 4, 7, or 9 pin Mini-DIN connector. Designed in 1987. Wikipedia
schematics Simplified representation of an electronic circuit. YouTube (Make:)
Secure Digital eXtended Capacity (SDXC) Announced January 2009. Wikipedia
Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) Announced January 2006. Wikipedia
Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) Released in 2003. Wikipedia
Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) Point-to-point serial protocol used for storage devices. Wikipedia
Silicon Wikipedia
Single Data Rate Synchronous DRAM (SDR SDRAM) Wikipedia
Single-board computer (SBC) All parts of a computer are on a single board. The Raspberry Pi is an example SBC. Wikipedia
Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) Wikipedia
Small Form Factor (SFF) Desktop computers with a small footprint. The Mac Mini is a good example of a SFF computer. Wikipedia
Small Form Factor 8639 (SFF-8639) Website Wikipedia
Small Outline Dual In-line Memory Module (SO-DIMM) (aka: SODIMM) Memory form factor roughly half the size of regular DIMMs. Often used in laptops, Mini-ITX motherboards, and office printers. All 64-bit modules have a single keying notch.
| 72-pin SO-DIMM | older 32-bit |
| 100-pin SO-DIMM | older 32-bit, two notches |
| 144-pin SO-DIMM | single notch near the center |
| 200-pin SO-DIMM | (DDR/DDR2) single notch nearer to one side |
| 204-pin SO-DIMM | (DDR3) single notch closer to the center than on 200-pin SO-DIMMs |
| 260-pin SO-DIMM | (DDR4) 69.6 mm (2.74 inches) wide and 30 mm (1.2 inches) high, making them 2 mm (0.079 inches) wider than DDR3 SO-DIMMs, with a single notch after pin 144 |
| 260-pin SO-DIMM | (UniDIMM), 69.6 mm (2.74 inches) wide and 30 mm (1.2 inches) or 20 mm (0.79 inches) high, with a single notch placed differently than on DDR3 SO-DIMMs |
Socket AM3 (941 pins) CPU socket for AMD processors. Supports DDR3 memory. Compatible with AM3 and AM3+ processors including Phenom II, Athlon II, Sempron, Opteron 138x. Released February 9, 2009 as the successor to Socket AM2+. Wikipedia
Socket AM3+ (942 pins) Modification of the AM3 Socket for CPUs based on the AMD Bulldozer microarchitecture. Retains compatibility with AM3. Also supports the Piledriver microarchitecture including the FX line and Opteron 3000 series. Wikipedia
Socket FM1 (PGA-ZIF, 905 pins) CPU socket used by AMD Llano processors such as early A-series APUs and Athlon II. Released July 2011. Succeeded by Socket FM2. Wikipedia
Socket FM2 (PGA-ZIF, 904 pins) CPU socket used by AMD Trinity and Richland APUs as well as Athlon X2 and Athlon X4. Released September 27, 2012. Wikipedia
Socket FM2+ (PGA-ZIF, 906 pins, aka: FM2b) CPU socket used by AMD Steamroller microarchitecture Kaveri and Godavari APUs. Supports Socket FM2 CPUs. Released January 2014. Wikipedia
Solid State Drive (SSD) A storage media that uses flash memory and allows data to be accessed faster than a standard HDD. Wikipedia
Southbridge Wikipedia
Static Random-Access Memory (SRAM) (aka: Static RAM) Typically used as CPU cache memory. Faster than DRAM but more expensive and less dense. Does not need to be refreshed often. Type of semiconductor memory that uses bistable latching circuitry (flip-flop) to store each bit. Wikipedia Netacad
storage medium Where data can be stored. (Hard Drive, Blue-Ray Disc, paper, Wikipedia
Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) (aka: sim card) Developed in 1991 by Munich smart-card maker Giesecke & Devrien. Wikipedia
Synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM) Wikipedia
System on a Chip (SoC) (aka: System on Chip) An integrated circuit with all components of a computer. Wikipedia
through-hole Leads are inserted into holes in the PCB. Wikipedia
Thunderbolt Developed by Intel and used mainly by Apple. Allows for seed up to 10x faster than USB 3.0 Wikipedia
U.2 Wikipedia PCPartPicker Forums
Universal Serial Bus (USB) Standard connector that replaced the plethora of serial and parallel IO. Designed to be "Plug-and-Play" hot swappable and self-configuring. Supports up to 127 connected devices through a single bus (port) at one time. First introduced January 1996. Wikipedia
USB 1.0 (aka: Low Bandwidth, Low Speed) Up to 1.5Mbps transfer rate. First introduced January 1996. Wikipedia
USB 1.1 (aka: Full Speed) Up to 12Mbps (1.5MBps) transfer rate. Max cable length is 3 meters (18 meters if using the maximum of five hubs). Released in August 1998. Wikipedia
USB 2.0 (aka: High Speed) Up to 480Mbps (60MBps) transfer rate. Max cable length is 5 meters (30 meters if using the maximum of five hubs). Released in April 2000. Wikipedia
USB 3.0 (aka: SuperSpeed) Up to 5Gbps transfer rate. Max cable length is 3 meters (18 meters if using the maximum of five hubs). Released November 12, 2008. Website
USB 3.1 Gen 1 Preserves the existing SuperSpeed transfer rate under a new label USB 3.1 Gen 1, and introduces a new SuperSpeed+ transfer mode, USB 3.1 Gen 2 with the maximum data signaling rate to 10 Gbit/s (1250 MB/s, twice the rate of USB 3.0). Released in July 2013. Website Wikipedia
USB 3.1 Gen 2 Up to 10Gbps transers rate. Website Wikipedia
USB 3.2 Specification for USB. Maximum transfer speed of 2GBps (gigabytes per second). Doubles the speed of existing USB Type-C cables. Published September 22, 2017. USB-IF Tom's Hardware Ars Technica
USB Type-C Reversible 24-pin connector. Standardized August 12, 2014. Wikipedia AnandTech
vector processor Wikipedia
Vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) Type of semiconductor laser diode with laser beam emission perpendicular from the top surface, contrary to conventional edge-emitting semiconductor lasers (also in-plane lasers) which emit from surfaces formed by cleaving the individual chip out of a wafer. VCSEL applications include fiber optic communications, precision sensing, computer mice, laser printers and augmented reality. Wikipedia
Video Graphics Array (VGA) (DE-15) Analog video connector based off RS-232. Wikipedia
Virtual Memory Wikipedia
Virtual Random Access Memory (VRAM)
Voice Interface Card (VIC) Cisco
Voice/WAN Interface Card (VWIC) Cisco
Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) Type of integrated circuit socket that requires little to no effort to install and is held in with a lever or slider. Wikipedia