The Mini DisplayPort (MiniDP or mDP) is a miniaturized version of theDisplayPort audio-visual digital

interface.
Announced by Apple in October 2008, the Mini DisplayPort. As of 2013, all new Apple Macintosh
computers had the port, as did the LED Cinema Display.[2][not in citation given] The Mini DisplayPort is also fitted to
some PC motherboards, and some PC notebooks from Asus, Microsoft, Lenovo, Toshiba, HP, Dell, and
other manufacturers.
Unlike its Mini-DVI and Micro-DVI predecessors, the Mini DisplayPort can drive display devices with
resolutions up to 25601600 (WQXGA) in its DisplayPort 1.1a implementation, and 4096x2160 (4K) in its
DisplayPort 1.2 implementation. With an adapter, the Mini DisplayPort can drive display devices
with VGA, DVI, or HDMI interfaces.[3][4][5]
Apple offers a free license for the Mini DisplayPort[6] but they reserve the right to cancel the license should
the licensee "commence an action for patent infringement against Apple". [7]
PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express), officially abbreviated as PCIe, is a highspeed serial computer expansion bus standard designed to replace the older PCI, PCI-X, and AGP bus
standards. PCIe has numerous improvements over the older standards, including higher maximum system
bus throughput, lower I/O pin count and smaller physical footprint, better performance scaling for bus
devices, a more detailed error detection and reporting mechanism (Advanced Error Reporting, AER [1]), and
native hot-plug functionality. More recent revisions of the PCIe standard provide hardware support for I/O
virtualization.
The PCI Express electrical interface is also used in a variety of other standards, most notably
in ExpressCard as a laptop expansion card interface, and in SATA Express as a computer storage
interface.
Format specifications are maintained and developed by the PCI-SIG (PCISpecial Interest Group), a group
of more than 900 companies that also maintain the conventional PCI specifications. PCIe 3.0 is the latest
standard for expansion cards that is in production and available on mainstream personal computers.[2][3]