Cable Types

Question 1

What are the three types of cases?

Answer 1

Tower, gaming, and all-in-one

Question 2

What are Serial Cables?

Answer 2

D-Shaped serial cables that connected to computers using DB9 or DB25 connectors

Question 3

What are the limitations to serial connections?

Answer 3

Serial connections could only have one device plugged into one serial port, and they can only send data one bit at a time

Question 4

Powered Device (PD) Port

Answer 4

Dedicated power port that can give up to 1500 milliamps or 1.5 amps or 7.5 watts of power

Question 5

High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI)

Answer 5

Displays 1080p or 1920 by 1080 pixels using a graphical display, but can support 4k and 8K resolutions with 60, 120, 144 Hz

Question 6

HDMI Digital Content Protection (HDCP)

Answer 6

Allows a device to validate and do a handshake with the display it’s connect to to make sure both the display and the device are authorized to receive that signal

Question 7

What are the three types of HDMI connectors?

Answer 7

Type A (Regular full-size connector), Type C (Mini connector), Type D (Micro connector)

Question 8

What are the two main categories of HDMI?

Answer 8

Category 1 (Standard), and Category 2 (High-speed)

Question 9

Display Port

Answer 9

Created as a direct competitor to HDMI, and has the same capabilities

Question 10

What are the two types of display ports?

Answer 10

Full-size DisplayPort (DP) and Mini DisplayPort (MiniDP/mDP)

Question 11

What are the similarities between modern HDMI and DP?

Answer 11

Both support high speed data transfer

Question 12

What are some differences between modern HDMI and DP?

Answer 12

HDMI has outpaced DP in terms of data transfer speed, as the former can go up to 48 Gbps, while the latter can only achieve up to 20 Gbps

Question 13

What is the difference between analog and digital signals?

Answer 13

Analog signals reproduce real-world data, while digital signals convert this data into binary form. Interference can distort analog signals, making them unclear. Digital signals, however, remain clear despite interference because they only need to distinguish between ones and zeros.

Question 14

Digital Visual Interface (DVI)

Answer 14

Designed to support both analog and digital outputs

Question 15

What are the three types of DVI cables?

Answer 15

DVI-A (supports analog signals), DVI-D (supports digital signals), and DVI-I (supports both analog and digital signals)

Question 16

Video Graphics Array (VGA)

Answer 16

Uses a 15-pin standard analog video interface port, shaped similarly to serial cables

Question 17

Thunderbolt cables

Answer 17

Can act like a display interface, but can also be used for data transfer.

Question 18

What are the four types of thunderbolt cables?

Answer 18

Thunderbolt 1 and 2 use a physical connector that looks like mini DP and are backwards compatible with DP, Thunderbolt 3 and 4 use the same port connector as USB-C

Question 19

What is the main limitation of thunderbolt ports?

Answer 19

Not all thunderbolts work on USB-C, but all USB-C work on thunderbolt

Question 20

What is the length limitation for Thunderbolt 3 cables?

Answer 20

Should be kept at a maximum of 1.6 feet to get speeds of up to 40 Gbps. Often used for storage devices like hard drives and NAS arrays because of its very high transfer speeds

Question 21

Thunderbolt 4

Answer 21

Provides a maximum resolution of 8K and has the ability to support daisy chaining

Question 22

USB Type-C

Answer 22

Can transmit video signals through protocols like DisplayPort Alternative Mode, allowing a single cable to provide both power and display. Can also support 4K and 8K resolutions