Types of Computer Cables

Computer cables are still important in this blue tooth and wi-fi era. We have not been able to totally do away with the computer cables. We use computer cables to connect the CPU or the Central Processing Unit to the power supply and various peripherals such as monitors or displays systems, keyboards, printers, mouse or pointing devices, external modem, etc.

The purpose of all the computer cables is the same; it is to provide connectivity between various components or gadgets and transfer power, data signals of various forms from one device to the other. Though the purpose is the same, there are different types of computer cables such as Serial Cables, USB Cables, Ethernet Cables, etc.

Serial Cables:
Serial cables provide connectivity between different peripherals and the CPU or other equipment with compatible interface. Serial cables send data signals through a wire at the rate of one bit at a time and receive data through another wire at the same rate. The connectors of a serial cable are referred in terms of male and female. There are connector different configurations depending on the requirement such as 9-pin and 25-pin. They also come in various lengths and the maximum length as per current standard is 15meters.

USB Cables:
USB cables or Universal Serial Bus cables are made of twisted pair of cables with a rectangular connector in one end and an USB connector on the other end. The idea behind USB is to have standardized connecting interface for all peripherals. So it is possible to use USB cables interchangeably between different types of equipment. The maximum length of a single cable is 5 meters. However you can use up to 5 USB hubs in a connection.

Ethernet Cables:
These cables are used to connect the computer with the Ethernet network. These cables have 4 pairs of color-coded wires. The 4 pairs of wires are connected using an RJ-45 connector at both ends. These cables have the capacity of transferring up to 10 Mbps per second.
GPIB Cables:
GPIB cables or General Purpose Interface Bus Cables have 16 signal lines and they allow up to 15 devices to share the same 8 bit parallel electrical bus. They have 24-pin micro ribbon connectors in the form of male and female combination. These cables come in various lengths and the maximum standard length is 20 meters.

Besides the above categories, cables also can be categorized based on their usage such as power cordage, extender cables, flat cables, patch cable, etc.
Power cordages are nothing but power cords for low-voltage devices. They have 3 heavily insulated wires to ensure safe power transmission from the power board to the device. Extender cable on the other hand as the name suggests is used to increase the length of an existing cable. Patch cables on the other had will have plugs at both ends to connect various circuits on a patch panel. You will find flat cables normally inside the devices used for internal connections.
Now the trend is to move from serial to USB cables and all the new devices come with USB ports to mark this changing trend.