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Your Guide To Knowing All Types Of Laptop Ports And Their Benefits For You


Your Guide To Knowing All Types Of Laptop Ports And Their Benefits For You


Ports are an important part of laptops today, as they are constantly evolving, becoming faster and more capable of transferring files and data, and there are many types of laptop ports such as traditional USB and USB-C as well as the modern Thunderbolt 3 port and many other ports that differ Between them in terms of uses and their own specifications, and with this huge amount of types of ports, it may be difficult to easily determine the type of port required, so we offer you below a comprehensive guide to know all types of laptop windows and what their benefit for you.

3.5mm port

3.5mm Audio Jack

This port is known as 3.5mm or Headphone jack, and it is found in laptops as well as many mobile phones as well, and through it you can connect the headphone or microphone to the laptop, and despite its presence in many electronic devices, some smart phone companies have started removing it from phones during the past years. Like Apple phones starting from the iPhone 7 and in this case we will need to use a wireless headphone or a wired USB headphone or use a Lightning to 3.5mm adapter etc.

Ethernet

Ethernet

This port has many names and different shapes, but it generally serves the same purpose, which is to connect the Internet to the computer in a wired form. Although the Wi-Fi network has become the most popular in our time, wires are necessary in some cases, and this port is found in laptops as well as devices. Desktop computer, and if you don't have it (which is rare) you can use a USB to Ethernet adapter.

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Display ports

Types of screen display ports

Display ports or screen cables are one of the most popular and important types of laptop ports for users, as they are developing significantly so that their speed and ability to transmit the image in the best possible quality increases. Of course, the primary use of these ports is to connect the screen to a laptop or computer, but there are many other uses for it. There are many types of these outlets, and here are the most famous ones:

HDMI port

One of the most famous and oldest ports in computers, and it is also found in many other devices such as laptops, monitors, game consoles, etc. The HDMI port can transfer video in 4K quality if the screen and graphics card support that, and the port also transfers the image and sound together and thus if the screen They contain built-in speakers, the sound will also be transmitted to them, and there are converters between the HDMI port and other ports such as DVI which are at a low price, while the HDMI to DisplayPort adapter is more expensive.

DisplayPort

Laptop DisplayPort Port

DisplayPort is considered one of the most advanced display ports at the present time due to its superior ability to transmit video in 4K and 60Hz resolution, and it can also connect multiple screens together accurately, so you find this port present in modern and advanced screens, and in order to use this cable to broadcast more than one screen in the same Time You will need an MST adapter, which costs between $ 70 and $ 100 and has 3 or 4 ports for connecting additional monitors.

DVI

This connector was present in old computers, but it is rarely found in laptops today, however it is found in abundance in screens that work with a resolution of Full HD or less, and despite the somewhat lower specifications compared to the previous two ports, what distinguishes DVI is its low price Relatively, therefore, you can find it in most economic screens in addition to the VGA port, and the DVI port also features the availability of many adapters for it, either for the HDMI port or the DisplayPort.

VGA

The VGA port is very old and underdeveloped as it first appeared in 1987, but it is still common in many screens and projectors even today, but you will not find it in many laptops or even desktop computers, and because this port is very old It is not used much nowadays it is not possible to convert VGA to any other display standard (DVI, DisplayPort, HDMI) however you can connect VGA displays through DVI-to-VGA, HDMI-to-VGA or DisplayPort-to-VGA adapters. And that comes in at under $ 10.

MicroSD card reader

microSD card reader

This port is dedicated to connecting a microSD card and reading data from it, and microSD is used in many mobile phones and tablets in order to increase their storage space, and adapters are also available to connect it to the laptop via the USB port, which comes at a very low price, and you can use the microSD on Computer in order to install programs on it or keep files on it.

SD Card Reader

SD Card Reader

There are many different names for this connector such as 3-in-1 card reader, 4-in-1 card reader, 5-in-1 card reader and SDHC. Great if you frequently transfer images from your DSLR to your computer, and if you don't have this port then you can buy an SD card to USB adapter which comes at a low price as well.

Types of USB ports

Among the different types of laptop ports, USB is the most popular type, and there are many different types and versions, which vary in terms of their uses and speed in transferring data, and regardless of the age of your laptop or computer, you will find in it at least one or two USB port, which can be It is one of the following types:

USB-type-ABC port types

The first USB-A : USB Type A is the most popular type of computer connectors, and there are different versions of it, the most famous of which are USB-2.0 and USB-3.0. that.

The second USB-B : This port is not widely found in laptops, but it is found in some types of printers, connection boards, etc. You may need an adapter from Type A to Type B in order to connect it to the laptop.

The third USB-C : This port is characterized by a great speed and a high capacity for transferring data, but it has not gained enough spread so far as it is expected to replace USB-A, USB-B and microUSB in many devices in the future, and the USB-C ports can Transfer files at speeds of USB 3.1 of the first generation (5 Gbps) or USB 3.1 of the second generation (10 Gbps) and thus it is considered one of the fastest types of laptop ports as well.

Recommendation : The USB Type-C cable is available from Amazon Basics, and it is one of the premium options in the price range of 25 SAR and less.

USB port versions

Types of laptop ports

USB version 2.0 : This version is characterized by a very fast data transfer up to 480 MB per second and is considered the most common version, and there are various types of it, including Type A in the form of a rectangle, Type B in the form of a square, and always the USB 2.0 port On laptops and desktops it is a type A, while on tablets and smartphones it is a micro USB.

USB 3.0 version : The third generation of USB connectors comes with higher speeds than the previous generation and is great for external hard drives and many other devices. This version features a light blue color or a small SS logo to indicate the higher data transfer rate (5 GB per second).

USB port versions

USB 3.1 Gen 1 port : This version comes with the same speed as USB 3.0, i.e. 5 gigabytes per second, but it only exists in the USB-C type and is compatible with previous versions of the USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 connectors, and this port can be used to charge laptops.

USB 3.1 second generation port: This port comes with a high- speed data transfer rate of up to 10 gigabytes per second, which is similar to USB 3.1 first generation, but its data transfer rate is almost double, as is evident from the numbers.

Micro USB and Mini USB

Types of laptop USB ports

Micro USB : This port is also known as Micro-B and is widely found in many low-power smartphones and tablets as it acts as a charging port, and these ports support data transfer speeds of up to 480 Mbps, but there are a few devices that support it, most of which are drives External hard drives with a micro USB 3.0 port have some extra pins and offer faster transfer rates, but fortunately you can still use the micro USB 2.0 connectors with the micro USB 3.0 ports.

Mini USB : This port is mainly found on external hard drives and game consoles like PS3 consoles, as well as some other accessories. This port is not found on computers or cell phones, but adapters from USB-A, USB-C, or micro USB to Mini USB are available.

Thunderbolt 3 port

Thunderbolt 3 port

And now we come to the newest port among the various types of laptop ports, which is known as the "Thunderbolt" port, which is considered the fastest port available today, as the data transfer speed through it reaches 40 gigabytes per second, which is four times faster than the fastest USB port, which is USB 3.1 second generation (10 Gbps) via Thunderbolt 3, which is available at prices under $ 25.

Thunderbolt 3 ports can be used to connect two 4K displays simultaneously as it carries dual DisplayPort signals, and on some devices the Thunderbolt 3 port supports connection to an external graphics card, allowing you to play advanced games on medium laptops, and all Thunderbolt 3 ports use USB connections. Type C, which allows the ability to connect to many external devices and accessories via a " Thunderbolt Dock " distribution station .



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