The PC (PCMCIA) Card
By Stephen Bucaro
The PC card, technically called the PCMCIA Card because it was developed by the Personal
Computer Memory Card International Association, is a form factor of a peripheral interface
designed for laptop computers.
It was originally designed for computer memory expansion, but it became a standard for
other notebook computer peripherals including network cards, modems, hard disks, and digital cameras.
A PCMCIA Card is 85.6 mm long by 54 mm wide but come in three different types,
each with a different thickness.
| Type | Interface | Thickness |
| I | 16-bit | 3.3 mm |
| I | 16-bit or 32-bit | 5.0 mm |
| III | 16-bit or 32-bit | 10.5 mm |
There was also a Type-IV card released by Toshiba that is not an official PCMCIA standard,
that is 16 mm thick.
The original standard was defined for both 5 volt and 3.3 volt cards. The 3.3 V cards have
a key on the side to prevent them from being inserted fully into a 5 V-only slot.
Today PCMCIA card is a legacy interface, as devices that used PCMCIA now use the USB interface.
More Computer Anatomy Articles:
• Installing an Optical Drive
• IEEE 1284 Parallel Port
• Buffered, Unbuffered, Registered Memory, What is the Difference?
• SD (Secure Digital) Memory Card Basics
• Introduction to Operating Systems
• How to Build Your Own PC - The Smart Way
• PC Disk File Systems
• All About Your Computer's BIOS
• The RS-232 Serial Port
• The Computers Back Connector Panel
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