PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

23.2 Our Picks

Parallel ports are ubiquitous
on modern systems. Any new computer or motherboard you can buy today
(other than a legacy-free system) includes an IEEE-1284-compliant
parallel port.

PC Parallel/Serial adapter . Very few
systems require anything other than the embedded port. However, if
you need to add a parallel porteither to replace an older,
less-capable port or because you need a second parallel port to run a
second printerbuy one of the inexpensive (~$20)
parallel/serial port cards commonly sold by computer stores and mass
marketers. We've used many different ones, all of
which seem to work fine and none of which is noticeably better than
any of the others.

Belkin Gold Series IEEE-1284
cables .

Nowadays, the only parallel cable you are likely to need is a
standard, off-the-shelf printer cable. Belkin stocks a great variety
of standard IEEE-1284 printer cables in lengths up to 50 feet and
various combinations of Type A, B, and C connectors. Although Belkin
makes a less-expensive line of cables, its best grade is worth the
few extra dollars it costs. Once you have one,
you'll probably never need to buy a printer cable
again (http://www.belkin.com).

For updated recommendations, visit: http://www.hardwareguys.com/picks/parallell.