What Is a PCI Board?
A PCI board, also called an expansion board, is a board that can be connected to a PC to expand the available functions.
They are mainly used in desktop PCs and can be connected to motherboards or other expansion board interfaces. Some PCs may not have an interface for PCI boards.
There are many types of PCI boards on the market, and the functions that can be added vary from board to board.
Uses of PCI Boards
There are many different types of PCI boards, but the most common types are as follows.
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- Graphic cards: Allow expansion of connectors for connecting a PC to a monitor.
- Network boards: Allow expansion of connectors for LAN, fiber optics, etc., to the PC.
- Soundboards: Extend the audio interface to your PC.
- Storage boards: Allow expansion to control storage on a PC.
- For external interface: You can add an external interface such as a USB.
- Tuner: You can extend a PC with a digital terrestrial tuner, etc.
Principles of PCI Boards
PCI boards come in various standards, and care must be taken to select the right PCI board for your PC, or you will not be able to connect correctly.
The most common standards are PCI and PCI Express. Recently, PCI has been less commonly used, and PCI Express is the mainstream.
Within PCI Express, the standard is subdivided according to the number of lanes, and the number of connector pins and connector cutout positions at the connection varies. The higher the number of routes, the faster the communication speed.
PCI also comes in two sizes: regular PCI and LowProfile PCI. LowProfilePCI is often used for space-saving PCs and cannot be installed with standard PCI. Standard PCI and LowProfilePCI have different board sizes and bracket sizes.
Also, some types of PCI boards use two or more brackets, and if there is not enough space for the brackets, the board may not be able to be installed.