The following conventional terms are used throughout this guide. In addition, see the Hardware Glossary in the References part of this guide.
| Convention | Meaning |
| Add-on device | Refers to devices that are traditionally added to the basic PC system to increase functionality. Examples include audio, networking, graphics, small computer system interface (SCSI) controller, and so on. Add-on devices fall into two categories: devices built on to the system board and devices on expansion cards added to the system through a system-board connector, such as Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI). |
| Intel Architecture | Refers to computers based on 32-bit microprocessors that use the Intel Architecture instruction set, such as Intel® 80486, Intel Pentium®, Intel Pentium with MMX™ technology, Pentium Pro, Pentium II, or compatible processors. MMX technology refers to Intel’s media-enhancement technology that includes new instructions to the Intel Architecture instruction set. |
| PC 97 | Collection of requirements and recommendations for PC system design defined in the PC 97 Hardware Design Guide. |
| PC 98 | Collection of requirements and recommendations defined in this guide that make up the 1998–99 requirements for PC system design. |
Note: The term “PC 98” as used in this guide should not be confused with NEC PC98, a Japanese-specific product.
| RISC-based | Refers to computers based on reduced instruction set computing (RISC) architecture. Notice that all requirements and recommendations for RISC-based PCs are for the Windows NT operating system only. |
| System device | Also on-board device. Refers to devices on the system board such as interrupt controllers, keyboard controller, real-time clock, direct memory access (DMA) page registers, DMA controllers, memory controllers, floppy disk controller (FDC), Integrated Device Electronics (IDE) ports, serial and parallel ports, PCI bridges, and so on. In today’s PCs, these devices are typically integrated with the supporting chip set. |
Windows For PC 98, refers to the Microsoft Windows 98 operating system, including any add-on capabilities and any later versions of the operating system.
Windows NTFor PC 98, refers to the Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 5.0 operating system, including any add-on capabilities and any later versions of the operating system.