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From: craig@mstr.hgc.edu (craig chaiken)
Newsgroups: comp.periphs.printers
Subject: Re: How fast is a parallel port?
Keywords: Centronics, Drivers, Hardware, Dataproducts,
Message-ID: <1991Feb28.222736.7806@mstr.hgc.edu>
Date: 28 Feb 91 22:27:36 GMT
References: <1991Feb25.220636.23155@cbnewsh.att.com>
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Reply-To: craig@mstr.hgc.edu (craig chaiken)
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An IBM PC parallel port is generally capable of transmitting data at rates
up to 50 kilobytes per second.  Part of this limitation is the PC's CPU
speed, but the printer port itself is actually a bottleneck, too.  Most
parallel ports consist of various gates and buffers which introduce
considerable delay.  It is possible to achieve far greater speeds by
using faster gate and buffer ICs. In fact, the parallel port on the Hewlett
Packard HP9000/400T workstation is rated at 300 kilobytes per second.

Craig Chaiken
craig@mstr.hgc.edu