Reference
I/O Ports & Connectors
Physical shape, pin count, and typical speed for common computer and device I/O ports.
USB Family
| Port | Shape | Max Speed | Pins | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USB-A 2.0 | Rectangular, flat | 480 Mbps | 4 | Keyboards, mice, flash drives |
| USB-A 3.0 / 3.2 Gen1 | Rectangular (blue insert) | 5 Gbps | 9 | External HDD/SSD |
| USB-A 3.2 Gen2 | Rectangular (teal insert) | 10 Gbps | 9 | Fast external storage |
| USB-B | Square | 480 Mbps | 4 | Printers, scanners |
| USB Mini-B | Small trapezoid | 480 Mbps | 5 | Older cameras, MP3 players |
| USB Micro-B | Small flat trapezoid | 480 Mbps (5 Gbps for 3.0 variant) | 5 (10 for 3.0) | Older Android phones, peripherals |
| USB-C | Oval, reversible | Up to 40 Gbps (USB4 / Thunderbolt) | 24 | Phones, laptops, power delivery |
Networking & Wireless
| Port | Shape | Max Speed | Pins | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethernet / LAN (RJ45) | 8P8C modular jack | 10 Mbps – 10 Gbps (10GBASE-T) | 8 | Wired network |
| WiFi Antenna (RP-SMA) | Threaded coax | N/A (RF) | 1 | External WiFi/router antenna |
| WiFi Module (U.FL / IPEX) | Miniature coax | N/A (RF) | 1 | Internal WiFi card antenna lead |
Legacy & Storage
| Port | Shape | Max Speed | Pins | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCSI (50-pin Centronics) | Wide ribbon-style | 5–40 MB/s | 50 | Legacy servers, scanners |
| SCSI (68-pin HD / VHDCI) | High-density | Up to 320 MB/s (Ultra-320) | 68 | Enterprise storage arrays |
| IEEE 1394 FireWire 400 | 6-pin (or 4-pin) | 400 Mbps | 6 | Legacy video/audio capture |
| IEEE 1394 FireWire 800 | 9-pin beta | 800 Mbps | 9 | Pro audio/video equipment |
| Serial / RS-232 (DB9) | D-sub 9-pin | Up to 115.2 kbps | 9 | Legacy modems, industrial control |
| Parallel (DB25 / Centronics 36) | D-sub 25-pin | ~2 Mbps | 25 | Legacy printers |
| PS/2 | Mini-DIN round | N/A | 6 | Legacy keyboard/mouse |
| SATA (internal) | L-shaped flat | Up to 6 Gbps (SATA III) | 7 | Internal HDD/SSD |
| eSATA | Shielded L-shape | 6 Gbps | 7 | External HDD (legacy) |
Video & Display
| Port | Shape | Max Speed | Pins | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HDMI (Type A) | Flat trapezoidal | Up to 48 Gbps (HDMI 2.1) | 19 | TV/monitor video + audio |
| Mini-HDMI (Type C) | Smaller trapezoidal | Same as HDMI | 19 | Cameras, tablets |
| Micro-HDMI (Type D) | Smallest trapezoidal | Same as HDMI | 19 | Compact cameras, phones |
| DisplayPort | Flat with latch | Up to 80 Gbps (DP 2.1) | 20 | PC monitors |
| Mini DisplayPort | Small flat | Same protocol | 20 | Older Apple laptops |
| Thunderbolt 3 / 4 | USB-C shaped | 40 Gbps | 24 | High-speed data + video + power |
| VGA (DB15) | D-sub 15-pin, 3 rows | Analog only | 15 | Legacy analog video |
| DVI | D-sub 24+5 / 24+1 | Up to 9.9 Gbps (dual-link) | 24–29 | Legacy digital/analog video |
Expansion & Memory Cards
| Port | Shape | Max Speed | Pins/Contacts | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCIe Slot (x16 Gen5) | Card-edge slot | Up to 64 GB/s | Varies by lane count | GPUs, NICs, expansion cards |
| SD Card | Card slot | Up to 985 MB/s (UHS-III) | 8–9 | Cameras, laptops |
| microSD | Smaller card slot | Same as SD | 8 | Phones, compact devices |
Speed and pin-count figures are the standard published specifications for each connector generation and are illustrative reference values, not measurements from a specific device.