Users Guide

Glossary 185
PC card
A credit-card sized, removable module for portable computers standardized by
PCMCIA. PC Cards are also known as "PCMCIA cards." PC Cards are 16-bit
devices that are used to attach modems, network adapters, sound cards, radio
transceivers, solid state disks and hard disks to a portable computer. The PC Card
is a "plug and play" device, which is configured automatically by the Card
Services software.
PCI
Abbreviation for Peripheral Component Interconnect. The predominant 32-bit
or 64-bit local-bus standard developed by Intel Corporation.
PCMCIA
Personal Computer Memory Card International Association. An international
trade association that has developed standards for devices, such as modems and
external hard drives, that can be plugged into portable computers.
PERC
Acronym for Expandable RAID controller.
peripheral device
An internal or external device—such as a printer, a disk drive, or a keyboard—
connected to a system.
PGA
Abbreviation for pin grid array, a type of microprocessor socket that allows you to
remove the microprocessor chip.
physical memory array
The physical memory array is the entire physical memory of a system. Variables
for physical memory array include maximum size, total number of memory slots
on the motherboard, and total number of slots in use.
physical memory array mapped
The physical memory array mapped refers to the way physical memory is divided.
For example, one mapped area may have 640 KB and the other mapped area may
have between 1 MB and 127 MB.
PIC
Acronym for programmable interrupt controller.
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