Glossary
Glossary
ACPI (Advanced Configuration & Power Interface)
This power management specification enables the OS (operating system) to control the amount of power given to each device attached to the computer. Windows 98/98SE, Windows 2000 and Windows ME can fully support ACPI to allow users managing the system power flexibly.
AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port)
A new,
ATX
A modern shape and layout of mainboard that supersedes the
BIOS (basic input/output system)
On PCs, an essential software that contains all the control code of input/output interface (such as keyboard, disk drives, etc.). It executes hardware test on booting the system, starts the OS, and provides an interface between the OS and the components . The BIOS is stored in a ROM chip.
Buffer
A region of memory reserved as a temporary storage area. In most cases, the OS or applica- tions will create buffer areas to save the necessary data, and the applications can find the data in the areas first to increase the processing speed.
Bus
A set of hardware lines within the computer system, through which the data is transferred among different components. In a PC, the term bus usually refers to a local bus that connects the internal components to the CPU and main memory.
Cache
A special memory subsystem that is used to speed up the data traffer. It stores the contents of frequently accessed RAM locations and the addresses where these data items are stored.
Chipset
A collection of integrated chips designed to perform one or more related functions. For example, a modem chipset contains all the primary circuits for transmitting and receiving data;