Cases & Motherboards

A technician is installing a cable modem that supplies internet connectivity for a home office.

Which of the following cabling types would they use to connect the cable modem to the wall outlet?

• Cat 6a

• Multi-mode fiber

• RG-6

• Cat 5e

Answer explanation

Cable modems are connected to a wall outlet using coaxial cabling. RG-6 is the most common coaxial cable used for this connection.

Cat 5e, Cat 6a, and multi-mode fiber cables cannot be used to connect cable modems to a wall outlet.

You need to connect the satellite television signal to your HD 4K flat screen TV using a coaxial cable.

Which of the following is the BEST type of coaxial cable to use?

• RG-6

• BNC

• F-type

• RG-59

Answer explanation

RG-6 cables have much lower signal loss over long distances than RG-59, resulting in a higher quality signal. RG-6 cables are used for cable television, satellite television, and cable modems.

RG-59 coaxial cables are not used much anymore because they lose signal quality over long distances. Instead, almost all industries are using RG-6.

BNC and F-type are types of connectors for coaxial cabling. They are not types of coaxial cables.

Which of the following situations is MOST likely to justify an investment in a Cat 6a cable instead of a Cat 6 cable?

• The cable needs to be run though a raised floor.

• Users will be doing a lot of high-resolution printing.

• Users will be streaming a lot of video.

• The work area has a lot of electromagnetic interference (EMI).

Answer explanation

A Cat 6a (advanced) cable is designed to be less susceptible to electromagnetic interference (EMI) than Cat 6. Network performance can be greatly diminished by higher-than-average EMI.

When cabling is run under the floor, the cabling must be plenum-insulated so as to be fire resistant and non-toxic, but it does not need to be Cat 6.

Streaming video or doing high-resolution printing does not justify the extra cost of a Cat 6a cable when Cat 6 can handle the same bandwidth.

A technician is running a network above a dropped ceiling that is also used for ventilation. The cable must be twisted pair and must be capable of Gigabit Ethernet speeds.

Which of the following cables should the technician use?

• Plenum-rated Cat 6a

• Riser-rated RG-58

• Riser-rated Cat 5e

• Plenum-rated multimode fiber

Answer explanation

Plenum-rated Cat 6a cables can transfer data at 10 Gbps and can be placed in plenum spaces used for ventilation.

Riser-rated RG-58 cables are coaxial and can transfer data at 10 Mbps. Plenum-rated cables can be used in riser applications, but riser-rated cables cannot be used in plenum applications.

Riser-rated Cat 5e cables can transfer data at 1 Gbps, but they cannot be used in plenum applications.

Plenum-rated multimode fiber can transfer data at 10 Gbps, but it is not twisted pair.

References

What is a major benefit STP provides that UTP does not?

• Ability to install longer cable lengths

• Lower cost

• Safer for installations in overhead ceiling spaces

• Greater resistance to interference

Answer explanation

Shielded twisted pair (STP) has a grounded outer copper shield around the bundle of twisted pairs or around each pair. This provides added protection against EMI. Unshielded twisted pair (UTP) does not have a grounded outer copper shield.

STP costs considerably more than UTP. Neither is safer for installations in overhead ceiling spaces unless they are made with plenum plastic shielding.

STP and UTP are equally effective at transmitting a signal over the same distance.

The CEO of your small company has asked you to connect a laptop computer to the small conference room LED TV. The CEO will be showing a promotional video that demonstrates the new company strategy through images and sound.

Which of the following cable types would work BEST for connecting the laptop to the display?

• VGA

• HDMI

• Composite

• DVI

Answer explanation

HDMI is the default cable standard for newer electronic devices, such as Blu-ray players and LED TVs. HDMI can carry both digital video and audio signals. Most modern computers include an HDMI port.

DVI and VGA only support video signals.

Composite cables support video, but not audio.

You are installing a new SATA hard drive in your Windows workstation.

Which of the following connectors should you use to connect your hard drive to the motherboard?

• 40-pin connector

• 50-pin connector

• 7-pin connector

• 80-pin connector

Answer explanation

You use a 7-pin connector to connect a SATA hard drive to the motherboard.

IDE hard drives use a 40-pin connector.

SCSI and SPI-SCSI parallel interfaces use 50-, 68-, or 80-pin connectors.

Circle the Mini-ITX Tower

Answer explanation

Mini-ITX towers are designed to house Mini-ITX motherboards. Mini-ITX towers are typically smaller than Micro-ATX towers. The ITX form factor was designed for low-power, small, form factor (SFF) computers. The most common ITX form factor is the Mini-ITX form factor. Mini-ITX towers are often used with home theaters PC (HTPCs).

Circle the Micro-ATX Slim Tower

Answer explanation

Micro-ATX slim towers are typically half the width of a Micro-ATX tower and are designed to lay flat or upright.

Circle the ATX Mid Tower

Answer explanation

ATX mid-tower cases are slightly smaller than ATX full-tower cases. Mid-tower cases have fewer external and internal bays. ATX mid-tower cases are compatible with the Standard ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX, and some EATX form factors.