The success of the personal computer is due largely to its ability to expand to meet the changing needs and economic requirements of the user. In this chapter, we describe the array of expansion buses that help to expand the system and that work with an ever-growing number of enhancements, including modems, video cards, and portable drives. We also discuss conflicts within the computer—how they are created and reconciled.
This chapter requires knowledge of processors, motherboards, and the binary/hexadecimal number systems. If you are not familiar with these concepts, take some time to review earlier chapters.