Member Avatar for Dani

I heard some people talk in a different thread about PCI-e and I wanted to step in and ask what it was, but I didn't want to hijack the thread. So my question is ... what is PCI-e? I've never heard of it before. I have heard of PCI-X though. For example, my Apple G5 has PCI-X slots.

  • 7 Contributors
  • 10 Replies
  • 236 Views
  • 1 Week Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by Catweazle
Member Avatar for suRoot

the x = xtreme
the e = Extreme .. figure

Member Avatar for rcrevolution

yeah some people call it extreme or e the way its suposed to be spelled, others try to make themselves sound cool and spell it xtreme or x. :lol:

Member Avatar for Dani

So PCI-e is the same as the PCI-X that I am familiar with?

Member Avatar for suRoot

apart from the name :p

Member Avatar for ockaho

i think........they are diffierent..............
one mac
one pc :cheesy:
hoho
but all computer....... :twisted:
i don't mind which better
i just want they work....
that's enough.....

Member Avatar for Catweazle

PCIE and PCI-X are most definitely, certainly NOT the same thing!

PCI is familiar to everybody. It's the slot standard which replaced the old, and now virtually disused ISA slot standard. PCI-X is an extended version of that slot format. This image illustrates PCI and PCI-X slots:

[img]http://www.costronic.com.tw/09p35I.JPG[/img]

The AGP slot format has more recently been added for use with display cards. The PCI and AGP slots use different buses for communication:

[img]http://www.guiadohardware.net/tutoriais/052/sv78o79c.jpg[/img]

The most recent standard, PCI-E is a bifferent slot format and bus standard altogether. It comes in a number of different configurations, and slot sizes. All of the PCI-E slots use the same PCI-E bus, but different slot sizes use more or less of the bandwidth available. This picture illustrates a motherboard with two legacy PCI slots (using a different bus) at right, a PCI-E x1 slot beside them (for a PCI-E add-in card) and a PCI-E x16 slot (for PCI-E display card).

[img]http://article.pchome.net/2003/09/18/9-23-6.jpg[/img]

Member Avatar for cdt1983

PCIE and PCI-X are most definitely, certainly NOT the same thing!

PCI is familiar to everybody. It's the slot standard which replaced the old, and now virtually disused ISA slot standard. PCI-X is an extended version of that slot format. This image illustrates PCI and PCI-X slots:

[img]http://www.costronic.com.tw/09p35I.JPG[/img]

The AGP slot format has more recently been added for use with display cards. The PCI and AGP slots use different buses for communication:

[img]http://www.guiadohardware.net/tutoriais/052/sv78o79c.jpg[/img]

The most recent standard, PCI-E is a bifferent slot format and bus standard altogether. It comes in a number of different configurations, and slot sizes. All of the PCI-E slots use the same PCI-E bus, but different slot sizes use more or less of the bandwidth available. This picture illustrates a motherboard with two legacy PCI slots (using a different bus) at right, a PCI-E x1 slot beside them (for a PCI-E add-in card) and a PCI-E x16 slot (for PCI-E display card).

[img]http://article.pchome.net/2003/09/18/9-23-6.jpg[/img]

I thought PCI-E stands for PCI-Express and being used for newer video cards.

Member Avatar for Catweazle

Yes, it stands for PCI Express. Yes, it's being used for newer video cards. No, that's not ALL it is ;)

It's an overall design standard which is serial rather than shared, and also provides better flow control, better power management and the capability of delivering increased power levels, peer to peer communication, and other features. The standard also has the capability for components to be hot-swappable, although that feature is not yet implemented.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.