The PCI is also a part of the PCI bus standard.

Further detailed information about PCI slot will be introduced in this post ofMiniTool.

These devices can be called PCI devices.

The PCI slot usually is used as a component of conventional do-it-yourself desktop computer.

Hence, PCI is also referred to as conventional PCI.

With the occurrence of the successorPCI Express, PCI slot gradually get obsolete.

Even so, it is still in use.

They look different and accept different devices as well.

64-bit PCI

Some manufactures have stopped producing any products compatible with this 64-bit PCI slot.

It is not commonly utilized now.

But all the G4 and G3 Macintosh computers used it.

Hence, these devices can be referred to as PCI computer.

This 64-bit PCI slot can be recognized by its three segments.

And the shortest segment is located in the center.

32-bit PCI and PCI-X

Several expansion cards produced by LaCie use this 32-bit PCI and PCI-X.

The medium-length slot on the left side is the main difference between the normal 32-bit PCI slot and PCI-X.

It is markable that only PCI-X has this final segment.

Generally speaking, all PC motherboards at least have the 32-bit PCI slot.

Macintosh G5 used PCI-X until the new version liquid-cooled hardware comes into being.

These slots can be distinguished from the 64-bit PCI via the organization of the segments.

The small segment is located at the start instead of the center.

PCI Express (PCI-E)

Computers produced after 2005 nearly came with PCIe slots.

As the length of this slot is various, it is difficult to identify.

And these variations are referred to as lanes.

Besides, they are called 1x, 8x, 16x and something like these based on the length.

It seems that the more lanes you have the faster interface speed you will get.

For most PCIe cards, they are 1x or 4x.

The 1x PCIeexpansion cardcan fit into the 16x slot.

Due to different physical size, a part of slot space will be unoccupied.

This is a normal and you dont have to worry about it.

The Evolution of PCI

PCI has a long history.

In this development process, there are several main PCI generations.

Here comes the end of this post.