Peripheral device

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In computer hardware, a peripheral device is any device attached to a computer in order to expand its functionality (basically input and output devices together are known as peripherals). Some of the more common peripheral devices are printers, scanners, disk drives, tape drives, microphones, speakers, and cameras. Peripheral devices can also include other computers on a network system. A device can also refer to a non-physical item, such as a pseudo terminal, a RAM drive, or a network adapter.

Before the advent of the personal computer, any connected device added to the three base components — the motherboard, CPU and working memory (RAM, ROM, or core) — was considered to be a peripheral device.

The personal computer has expanded the sense of what devices are needed on a base system, and keyboards, monitors, and mice are no longer generally considered to be peripheral devices.

See also

• Peripheral