TYAN S1867 THUNDER 2500, Manual

Page: 64 / 70

http://www.tyan.com
64
Appendix 2
Glossary
ACPI ( A dvanced C onfiguration and P ower I nterface) is a power management specifica-
tion that allows the operating system to control the amount of power distributed to the
computer’s devices. Devices not in use can be turned off, reducing unnecessary power
expenditure.
AGP ( A ccelerated G raphics P ort) is a PCI-based interface which was designed specifically
for demands of 3D graphics applications. The 32-bit AGP channel directly links the
graphics controller to the main memory. While the channel runs at only 66MHz, 2X
supports data transmission during both the rising and falling ends of the clock cycle,
yielding an effective speed of 133MHz.
The AT was the original form factor of IBM’s PC.
ATAPI ( AT A ttachment P acket I nterface), also known as IDE or ATA, is a drive imple-
mentation that includes the disk controller on the device itself. It allows CD-ROMs and
tape drives to be configured as master or slave devices, just like hard drives.
The ATX form factor was designed to replace the AT form factor. It improves on the AT
design by rotating the board ninety degrees, so that the IDE connectors are closer to the
drive bays, and the CPU is closer to the power supply and cooling fan. The keyboard,
mouse, serial, USB, and parallel ports are built in.
Bandwidth refers to carrying capacity. The greater the bandwidth, the more data the bus,
phone line, or other electrical path, can carry. Greater bandwidth, then, also results in
greater speed.
A BBS ( B ulletin B oard S ystem) is a computer system with a number of modems hooked
Appendix
2
Glossary